Clues & Culprits › Hints › Oct 17, 2026 Easy
Spoiler-Free Hints for Oct 17, 2026
Stuck on the Easy case, “Eleven Thousand Votes for a Small Room”? Open one nudge at a time. Nothing below reveals a verdict unless you click a box marked spoiler.
Back to the case Rules refresher
About this case
'The Lighthouse Keeper' won the city's audience vote for Best New Play by eleven thousand votes — remarkable, given that the Wren Playhouse seats four hundred and the play ran for only three weeks.
This Easy case seats 16 suspects on a 4×4 grid. 12 of them carry a clue; the other 4 only have something to say about themselves. Every step can be proven from a single clue plus what you already know.
Nudge 1 — where to start
The case opens with Celia the patron (C1) already proven. Their statement is enough on its own to prove one more suspect straight away — read it word by word, especially the counting words (exactly, neighbors, between).
The person between Nico and Pia is innocent.— Celia, patron (C1)
Spoiler: who can I prove first?
Olive (C4) is innocent, proven by Celia’s statement.
Nudge 2 — the opening
Four suspects get proven in this stretch, in rows 3 and 4. The statements doing the work are “between” clues, direction clues and neighbor counts. Tip: with “between” clues, two suspects side by side have nobody between them, so watch for empty stretches.
Spoiler: whose statement to read
Celia’s statement.
Spoiler: which suspect does that settle?
Olive (C4) — innocent.
Nudge 3 — after about 4 proven suspects
Four suspects get proven in this stretch, across rows 1, 2 and 3, most of them in row 1. The statements doing the work are paired verdicts, neighbor counts and role counts. Tip: with paired verdicts, two suspects tied together share their fate — prove one and the other follows.
Spoiler: whose statement to read
Iris’s statement.
Spoiler: which suspect does that settle?
Ada (A1) — innocent.
Nudge 4 — after about 8 proven suspects
Three suspects get proven in this stretch, in rows 1 and 2. The statements doing the work are paired verdicts, direction clues and “between” clues. Tip: with direction clues, the speaker is never included, and nor is anyone in a different row or column.
Spoiler: whose statement to read
Hugo’s statement.
Spoiler: which suspect does that settle?
Felix (B2) — innocent.
Nudge 5 — the endgame
Four suspects get proven in this stretch, in columns C and D. The statements doing the work are paired verdicts, neighbor counts and role counts. Tip: with neighbor counts, treat the number as a budget — once enough of the ring is proven, the rest is forced.
Spoiler: whose statement to read
Ezra’s statement.
Spoiler: which suspect does that settle?
Gemma (C2) — a criminal.
Clue types in this case
role counts ×2, “between” clues ×2, direction clues ×3, paired verdicts ×3 and neighbor counts ×2.
Questions
How many clues does this case have?
12 of the 16 suspects carry a clue. The rest only talk about themselves — you can hide those asides in Settings.
Where is the full solution?
The step-by-step walkthrough proves every verdict in order.