Clues & Culprits › Archive › Oct 17, 2026 Easy walkthrough
Oct 17, 2026 Full Proof Walkthrough
Every verdict in the Easy case “Eleven Thousand Votes for a Small Room”, in an order where each step is proven by the statements already on file.
Play it first Just a hint, please
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. 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: Celia (C1) begins the case proven a criminal.
The person between Nico and Pia is innocent.— Celia, patron (C1)
Step 1: Olive (C4, patron) is innocent. This follows from Celia’s statement and the verdicts already proven.
Step 2: Marco (A4, patron) is innocent. This follows from Olive’s statement and the verdicts already proven.
There are no criminals to my left.— Olive, patron (C4)
Step 3: Nico (B4, leading actor) is innocent. This follows from Olive’s statement and the verdicts already proven.
Step 4: Iris (A3, leading actor) is a criminal. This follows from Marco’s statement and the verdicts already proven.
Exactly two of my three neighbors are criminals.— Marco, patron (A4)
Step 5: Ada (A1, playwright) is innocent. This follows from Iris’s statement and the verdicts already proven.
Exactly one of Ada and me is a criminal.— Iris, leading actor (A3)
Step 6: Joan (B3, playwright) is a criminal. This follows from Marco’s statement and the verdicts already proven.
Step 7: Dexter (D1, patron) is innocent. This follows from Joan’s statement and the verdicts already proven.
Exactly three of the four patrons are innocent.— Joan, playwright (B3)
Step 8: Hugo (D2, understudy) is innocent. This follows from Dexter’s statement and the verdicts already proven.
Nobody below me is a criminal.— Dexter, patron (D1)
Step 9: Felix (B2, understudy) is innocent. This follows from Hugo’s statement and the verdicts already proven.
Felix and I are either both criminals or both innocent.— Hugo, understudy (D2)
Step 10: Bea (B1, usher) is a criminal. This follows from Felix’s statement and the verdicts already proven.
The person above me is a criminal.— Felix, understudy (B2)
Step 11: Ezra (A2, leading actor) is a criminal. This follows from Bea’s statement and the verdicts already proven.
The person between Iris and Ada is a criminal.— Bea, usher (B1)
Step 12: Gemma (C2, usher) is a criminal. This follows from Ezra’s statement and the verdicts already proven.
Gemma and I are either both criminals or both innocent.— Ezra, leading actor (A2)
Step 13: Kofi (C3, usher) is a criminal. This follows from Nico’s statement and the verdicts already proven.
Exactly three of my five neighbors are criminals.— Nico, leading actor (B4)
Step 14: Lena (D3, playwright) is innocent. This follows from Ada’s statement and the verdicts already proven.
Exactly one of us three playwrights is a criminal.— Ada, playwright (A1)
Step 15: Pia (D4, understudy) is innocent. This follows from Dexter’s statement and the verdicts already proven.
The final lineup
| A | B | C | D | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ada innocent | Bea criminal | Celia criminal | Dexter innocent |
| 2 | Ezra criminal | Felix innocent | Gemma criminal | Hugo innocent |
| 3 | Iris criminal | Joan criminal | Kofi criminal | Lena innocent |
| 4 | Marco innocent | Nico innocent | Olive innocent | Pia innocent |
What happened
The ushers voted early and often. Bea, Gemma and Kofi collected the ballot cards at every interval and filled in a hundred blank ones a night before the box was sealed. Celia, the play's wealthiest patron, paid a printer for twenty thousand spare cards and posted 'vote now!' videos daily; Ezra and Iris, the two leads, gave curtain speeches that left the house in tears and reaching for pens. Joan, the playwright, knew everything and insisted she knew nothing. The judges finally looked closely when one ballot arrived signed 'Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'.