Clues & Culprits › Archive › October 2026 › Oct 1, 2026 Easy
Oct 1, 2026 — Easy case
Overnight at Fenwick Abbey, the portrait of the Second Duchess grew a crack it never had — because the canvas on the wall is no longer the one painted in 1781. The household's painting retreat ends at noon, and the original is still somewhere on the estate.
This Easy case seats 16 suspects on a 4×4 grid. 14 of them carry a clue; the other 2 only have something to say about themselves. Every step can be proven from a single clue plus what you already know. Every verdict you enter is checked against all the scenarios that still fit the statements on file, so a move only sticks when it is proven.
The opening statement
Celia the heir starts the case already proven innocent:
Joan and I share the same verdict: both criminal or both innocent.— Celia, heir (C1)
The lineup
Suspects stand in alphabetical order, left to right and top to bottom. Each belongs to one of Clues & Culprits’ twelve character classes — the badge on their nameplate. This case uses 5 of them, each cast as a role in the setting: librarians, magistrates, heirs, card sharps, painters. Clues about a role (“exactly one of the heirs”) count everyone in it.
| Seat | Suspect | Role in this case | Class |
|---|---|---|---|
| A1 | Ada | librarian | Scholar |
| B1 | Basil | magistrate | Official |
| C1 | Celia | heir | Noble |
| D1 | Dexter | heir | Noble |
| A2 | Esme | librarian | Scholar |
| B2 | Felix | card sharp | Rogue |
| C2 | Greta | magistrate | Official |
| D2 | Hugo | card sharp | Rogue |
| A3 | Iris | painter | Artist |
| B3 | Joan | librarian | Scholar |
| C3 | Kira | painter | Artist |
| D3 | Lionel | heir | Noble |
| A4 | Mila | painter | Artist |
| B4 | Nico | painter | Artist |
| C4 | Olive | heir | Noble |
| D4 | Pia | card sharp | Rogue |
Stuck?
The in-game hint first points at the statement to re-read, then at the suspect you can prove, then shows the proof. For a gentler nudge, open the spoiler-free hints for Oct 1, 2026, or press Share to send a friend your exact board. New to the format? The deduction-puzzle guide covers the habits that unlock every step.
More cases
- Same day: Medium case · Hard case
- Next Easy: Oct 2, 2026 — Three Hundred Copies of a Lie
- Clue types in this case: Profession clues · Same-verdict and exactly-one clues · Neighbor clues · Above, below, left and right
- All October 2026 cases · More cases in country houses · Meet the cast