Clues & Culprits › Archive › Oct 23, 2026 Hard walkthrough
Oct 23, 2026 Full Proof Walkthrough
Every verdict in the Hard case “Sold Out in Four Minutes”, 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. 19 of them carry a clue; the other 1 only have something to say about themselves. 5 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: Marco (A4) begins the case proven innocent.
Everyone to the left of Petra is innocent.— Marco, patron (A4)
Step 1: Ned (B4, messenger) is innocent. This follows from Marco’s statement and the verdicts already proven.
Step 2: Kurt (C3, understudy) is a criminal. This follows from Ned’s statement and the verdicts already proven.
The person between Otto and Gemma is a criminal.— Ned, messenger (B4)
Step 3: Otto (C4, stagehand) is innocent. This follows from Marco’s statement and the verdicts already proven.
Step 4: Jasper (B3, stagehand) is a criminal. This follows from Otto’s statement and the verdicts already proven.
Exactly one of Jasper and me is innocent.— Otto, stagehand (C4)
Step 5: Felix (B2, understudy) is innocent. This needs 2 statements together — Kurt’s and Jasper’s. Assume the opposite verdict and at least one of them breaks.
Exactly six of my eight neighbors are innocent.— Kurt, understudy (C3)
An even number of Leo's neighbors are criminals.— Jasper, stagehand (B3)
Step 6: Leo (D3, messenger) is innocent. This needs 2 statements together — Kurt’s and Jasper’s. Assume the opposite verdict and at least one of them breaks.
Step 7: Petra (D4, messenger) is innocent. This needs 2 statements together — Kurt’s and Leo’s. Assume the opposite verdict and at least one of them breaks.
Celia and I have exactly one criminal neighbor in common.— Leo, messenger (D3)
Step 8: Esme (A2, playwright) is a criminal. This needs 2 statements together — Kurt’s and Petra’s. Assume the opposite verdict and at least one of them breaks.
Row 2 has exactly two criminals.— Petra, messenger (D4)
Step 9: Sadie (C5, usher) is innocent. This follows from Esme’s statement and the verdicts already proven.
If I'm a criminal, then Sadie is innocent.— Esme, playwright (A2)
Step 10: Raj (B5, playwright) is innocent. This follows from Sadie’s statement and the verdicts already proven.
Ned and I have no criminal neighbors in common.— Sadie, usher (C5)
Step 11: Gemma (C2, usher) is a criminal. This needs 3 statements together — Kurt’s, Felix’s and Raj’s. Assume the opposite verdict and at least one of them breaks.
I have more criminal neighbors than anyone else.— Felix, understudy (B2)
There are more innocent understudies than innocent patrons.— Raj, playwright (B5)
Step 12: Bea (B1, usher) is a criminal. This follows from Gemma’s statement and the verdicts already proven.
Esme and I have exactly two criminal neighbors in common.— Gemma, usher (C2)
Step 13: Celia (C1, patron) is a criminal. This follows from Bea’s statement and the verdicts already proven.
Dexter and I have no innocent neighbors in common.— Bea, usher (B1)
Step 14: Dexter (D1, patron) is a criminal. This follows from Celia’s statement and the verdicts already proven.
Hugo and I have exactly two criminal neighbors in common.— Celia, patron (C1)
Step 15: Hugo (D2, understudy) is innocent. This follows from Kurt’s statement and the verdicts already proven.
Step 16: Tess (D5, messenger) is innocent. This follows from Hugo’s statement and the verdicts already proven.
There is an even number of criminals below me.— Hugo, understudy (D2)
Step 17: Ivan (A3, stagehand) is innocent. This follows from Tess’s statement and the verdicts already proven.
Ivan and I are either both criminals or both innocent.— Tess, messenger (D5)
Step 18: Amir (A1, understudy) is innocent. This follows from Ivan’s statement and the verdicts already proven.
Amir and I share the same verdict: both criminal or both innocent.— Ivan, stagehand (A3)
Step 19: Quinn (A5, playwright) is a criminal. This follows from Amir’s statement and the verdicts already proven.
There are exactly two innocents below me.— Amir, understudy (A1)
The final lineup
| A | B | C | D | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Amir innocent | Bea criminal | Celia criminal | Dexter criminal |
| 2 | Esme criminal | Felix innocent | Gemma criminal | Hugo innocent |
| 3 | Ivan innocent | Jasper criminal | Kurt criminal | Leo innocent |
| 4 | Marco innocent | Ned innocent | Otto innocent | Petra innocent |
| 5 | Quinn criminal | Raj innocent | Sadie innocent | Tess innocent |
What happened
The tickets never reached a real fan. Quinn, a playwright who wrote far better software than plays, built the bots that bought every seat in the first four minutes; Celia and Dexter, the theatre's patrons and two of its directors, gave her the release time a day early in return for a cut. Esme, a fellow playwright who read tarot in the green room, ran the resale website. Bea and Gemma, the ushers, sold the empty seats on the night to anyone queuing at the stage door; Jasper, a stagehand, slipped those buyers in through the scene dock, and Kurt, the understudy, took the cash. The two hundred empty seats were plain greed: they had priced the last batch too high even for themselves.