Clues & Culprits › Clue types › Neighbor clues
Neighbor clues
Count criminals (or innocents) among the up-to-eight people touching a suspect, diagonals included.
Exactly two of my five neighbors are criminals.
A neighbor clue counts the people touching a suspect. Neighbors always include diagonals, so a suspect in the middle of the grid has eight neighbors, one on an edge has five, and one in a corner has three. The clue usually tells you the size of the group as well ("two of my five neighbors"), so you never have to count the frame yourself.
How to read it
Treat the clue as a budget. "Exactly two of my five neighbors are criminals" means the five neighbors contain two criminals and three innocents — no more, no fewer. Every neighbor you prove uses up part of the budget:
- If two neighbors are already proven criminals, every other neighbor must be innocent.
- If three neighbors are already proven innocent, the remaining two must both be criminals.
- "None of my neighbors is a criminal" settles every neighbor at once.
How it combines with other clues
Neighbor clues are strongest where their frames overlap. If two suspects side by side each make a neighbor claim, the people they share sit in both budgets. Write down how many criminals each budget still needs and look for a shared neighbor that has to fill both — or neither.
They also pair well with row and column counts: a row count tells you how a frame's top or bottom edge splits, which often leaves only one way to fill the rest.
Common mistakes
- Forgetting diagonals. The single most common slip. On Clues & Culprits the clue text says "neighbors", and neighbors are always the full ring of up to eight.
- Counting the speaker. A suspect is never their own neighbor.
- Using the wrong frame size on an edge. Edge suspects have five neighbors, corner suspects three; the clue states the number so you don't have to.
Real examples from recent cases
Exactly one of my three neighbors is innocent.— Dina, doctor (D1) in Oct 25, 2026 Easy: Forty-One Rubbers in a Row
Exactly one of my eight neighbors is a criminal.— Juno, chauffeur (B3) in Oct 25, 2026 Easy: Forty-One Rubbers in a Row
Exactly two of my eight neighbors are criminals.— Kurt, card sharp (C3) in Oct 25, 2026 Easy: Forty-One Rubbers in a Row
Exactly six of Gus's eight neighbors are innocent.— Bea, porter (B1) in Oct 25, 2026 Medium: The Loaf That Ticked
Questions
What does “Exactly two of my five neighbors are criminals.” prove?
Count criminals (or innocents) among the up-to-eight people touching a suspect, diagonals included.
Where do neighbor clues appear most?
In every difficulty. In Easy cases they usually settle someone on their own; in Hard cases they tend to combine with other clues.
Next: Row and column clues · All types: Row and column clues · Profession clues · Above, below, left and right · Between clues · Corner and edge clues · Same-verdict and exactly-one clues · more