Clues & Culprits › Archive › Oct 4, 2026 Hard walkthrough
Oct 4, 2026 Full Proof Walkthrough
Every verdict in the Hard case “Murder Mystery on the Danube Star”, in an order where each step is proven by the statements already on file.
Play it first Just a hint, please
This Hard case seats 20 suspects on a 4×5 grid. 17 of them carry a clue; the other 3 only have something to say about themselves. 6 of the steps can only be proven by reading two or more clues together. The order below is one valid route; any order where each verdict is proven when you enter it reaches the same answer.
Spoiler: show the full walkthrough
Start: Sadie (C5) begins the case proven a criminal.
Ada and Idris have no criminal neighbors in common.— Sadie, porter (C5)
Step 1: Esme (A2, professor) is innocent. This follows from Sadie’s statement and the verdicts already proven.
Step 2: Frank (B2, detective) is innocent. This follows from Sadie’s statement and the verdicts already proven.
Step 3: Joan (B3, professor) is innocent. This follows from Frank’s statement and the verdicts already proven.
Olive and I have no criminal neighbors in common.— Frank, detective (B2)
Step 4: Kofi (C3, porter) is innocent. This follows from Frank’s statement and the verdicts already proven.
Step 5: Olive (C4, aristocrat) is a criminal. This follows from Kofi’s statement and the verdicts already proven.
The person between me and Sadie is a criminal.— Kofi, porter (C3)
Step 6: Nora (B4, detective) is a criminal. This follows from Olive’s statement and the verdicts already proven.
Nora and I share the same verdict: both criminal or both innocent.— Olive, aristocrat (C4)
Step 7: Bruno (B1, detective) is innocent. This follows from Nora’s statement and the verdicts already proven.
Everyone above me is innocent.— Nora, detective (B4)
Step 8: Ada (A1, professor) is innocent. This follows from Bruno’s statement and the verdicts already proven.
The person to my left is innocent.— Bruno, detective (B1)
Step 9: Gemma (C2, porter) is innocent. This follows from Joan’s statement and the verdicts already proven.
Kofi and I have exactly two criminal neighbors in common.— Joan, professor (B3)
Step 10: Ruby (B5, detective) is a criminal. This follows from Esme’s statement and the verdicts already proven.
Exactly one of Ruby and me is innocent.— Esme, professor (A2)
Step 11: Celia (C1, aristocrat) is innocent. This needs 2 statements together — Gemma’s and Ruby’s. Assume the opposite verdict and at least one of them breaks.
Exactly seven of my eight neighbors are innocent.— Gemma, porter (C2)
Frank has more innocent neighbors than anyone else.— Ruby, detective (B5)
Step 12: Idris (A3, commercial traveller) is innocent. This needs 2 statements together — Gemma’s and Ruby’s. Assume the opposite verdict and at least one of them breaks.
Step 13: Quentin (A5, porter) is innocent. This needs 3 statements together — Gemma’s, Celia’s and Idris’s. Assume the opposite verdict and at least one of them breaks.
There are more innocent porters than innocent aristocrats.— Celia, aristocrat (C1)
There are more innocent porters than innocent doctors.— Idris, commercial traveller (A3)
Step 14: Dina (D1, doctor) is innocent. This needs 3 statements together — Gemma’s, Celia’s and Quentin’s. Assume the opposite verdict and at least one of them breaks.
If Marco is a criminal, then Dina is innocent.— Quentin, porter (A5)
Step 15: Tariq (D5, commercial traveller) is a criminal. This needs 3 statements together — Ada’s, Gemma’s and Dina’s. Assume the opposite verdict and at least one of them breaks.
Row 4 has exactly one innocent.— Ada, professor (A1)
Exactly five of the fourteen people on the edges are criminals.— Dina, doctor (D1)
Step 16: Marco (A4, aristocrat) is a criminal. This needs 2 statements together — Dina’s and Tariq’s. Assume the opposite verdict and at least one of them breaks.
There are exactly two criminals in my column.— Tariq, commercial traveller (D5)
Step 17: Lionel (D3, aristocrat) is a criminal. This follows from Marco’s statement and the verdicts already proven.
Lionel and I share the same verdict: both criminal or both innocent.— Marco, aristocrat (A4)
Step 18: Hattie (D2, doctor) is innocent. This follows from Gemma’s statement and the verdicts already proven.
Step 19: Percy (D4, commercial traveller) is innocent. This follows from Ada’s statement and the verdicts already proven.
The final lineup
| A | B | C | D | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ada innocent | Bruno innocent | Celia innocent | Dina innocent |
| 2 | Esme innocent | Frank innocent | Gemma innocent | Hattie innocent |
| 3 | Idris innocent | Joan innocent | Kofi innocent | Lionel criminal |
| 4 | Marco criminal | Nora criminal | Olive criminal | Percy innocent |
| 5 | Quentin innocent | Ruby criminal | Sadie criminal | Tariq criminal |
What happened
The detectives were the thieves. Nora and Ruby, booked as the weekend's 'inspectors', interviewed every passenger and learned exactly what each had locked away. Lionel, Marco and Olive, three titled guests, played suspects so loudly that nobody watched the dining car; Sadie served the doctored champagne that put the 'corpse' and the guard to sleep; and Tariq, travelling with an enormous case of samples, carried the lot off at Linz. The only real detective aboard had solved the brochure's mystery by page two, and solved this one out of sheer habit.