Clues & Culprits › Archive › October 2026 › Oct 21, 2026 Medium
Oct 21, 2026 — Medium case
The Goldmoor Gold Cup ended in a photo finish, and the judges' photograph showed Copper Lane winning by a nostril. Three days later a spectator's video, shot from nearly the same angle, showed the other horse a full head in front.
This Medium case seats 20 suspects on a 4×5 grid. 16 of them carry a clue; the other 4 only have something to say about themselves. 2 of the steps can only be proven by reading two or more clues together. 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
Ada the trainer starts the case already proven a criminal:
Nobody between me and Dev is a criminal.— Ada, trainer (A1)
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 6 of them, each cast as a role in the setting: trainers, clerks of the course, bookmakers, milliners, stable hands, champagne caterers. Clues about a role (“exactly one of the trainers”) count everyone in it.
| Seat | Suspect | Role in this case | Class |
|---|---|---|---|
| A1 | Ada | trainer | Scholar |
| B1 | Basil | clerk of the course | Official |
| C1 | Cal | bookmaker | Merchant |
| D1 | Dev | bookmaker | Merchant |
| A2 | Ezra | milliner | Artist |
| B2 | Freya | stable hand | Laborer |
| C2 | Greta | clerk of the course | Official |
| D2 | Hana | champagne caterer | Cook |
| A3 | Iris | milliner | Artist |
| B3 | Jasper | stable hand | Laborer |
| C3 | Kira | milliner | Artist |
| D3 | Lena | trainer | Scholar |
| A4 | Mabel | champagne caterer | Cook |
| B4 | Nico | milliner | Artist |
| C4 | Otto | stable hand | Laborer |
| D4 | Percy | bookmaker | Merchant |
| A5 | Queenie | champagne caterer | Cook |
| B5 | Raj | trainer | Scholar |
| C5 | Suki | clerk of the course | Official |
| D5 | Theo | trainer | Scholar |
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 21, 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: Easy case · Hard case
- Previous Medium: Oct 20, 2026 — The Chandelier Falls at Eight
- Next Medium: Oct 22, 2026 — Sixty Places in the Trial
- Clue types in this case: Between clues · Above, below, left and right · Common-neighbor clues · Neighbor clues
- All October 2026 cases · More cases in racecourses · Meet the cast