Clues & Culprits › Hints › Oct 6, 2026 Hard
Spoiler-Free Hints for Oct 6, 2026
Stuck on the Hard case, “Blind Tasting at Château Morel”? Open one nudge at a time. Nothing below reveals a verdict unless you click a box marked spoiler.
Back to the case Rules refresher
About this case
Château Morel's modest rosé won the Grand Concours in a blind tasting, beating wines ten times its price. Two judges have since admitted they could have sworn they were drinking a 2015 Clos Saint-Aurèle — which, as it turns out, is exactly what was in their glasses.
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. 4 of the steps can only be proven by reading two or more clues together.
Nudge 1 — where to start
The case opens with Bea the housekeeper (B1) already proven. Their statement is enough on its own to prove one more suspect straight away — read it word by word, especially the counting words (exactly, neighbors, between).
The person below Pia is innocent.— Bea, housekeeper (B1)
Spoiler: who can I prove first?
Tess (D5) is innocent, proven by Bea’s statement.
Nudge 2 — the opening
Five suspects get proven in this stretch, across rows 3, 4 and 5, most of them in row 4. The statements doing the work are direction clues, neighbor counts and “between” clues. Every step in this stretch needs just one statement. Tip: with direction clues, “above”, “below”, “left” and “right” cover the whole line in that direction, not just the next card.
Spoiler: whose statement to read
Bea’s statement.
Spoiler: which suspect does that settle?
Tess (D5) — innocent.
Nudge 3 — after about 5 proven suspects
Five suspects get proven in this stretch, across rows 1, 2, 4 and 5, most of them in row 4. The statements doing the work are “between” clues, neighbor counts and paired verdicts. 2 steps here need 2 statements read together. Tip: with “between” clues, two suspects side by side have nobody between them, so watch for empty stretches.
Spoiler: whose statements to read
Leo’s and Silas’s statements, read together.
Spoiler: which suspect does that settle?
Hugo (D2) — innocent.
Nudge 4 — after about 10 proven suspects
Four suspects get proven in this stretch, in columns A and C. The statements doing the work are neighbor counts, role counts and “between” clues. 2 steps here need 3 statements read together. Tip: with neighbor counts, treat the number as a budget — once enough of the ring is proven, the rest is forced.
Spoiler: whose statements to read
Leo’s, Nico’s and Iris’s statements, read together.
Spoiler: which suspect does that settle?
Gemma (C2) — a criminal.
Nudge 5 — the endgame
Five suspects get proven in this stretch, across rows 1, 2 and 3, most of them in row 2. The statements doing the work are neighbor counts, shared-neighbor counts and corner and edge counts. Every step in this stretch needs just one statement. Tip: with shared-neighbor counts, shared neighbors never include the two speakers themselves.
Spoiler: whose statement to read
Leo’s statement.
Spoiler: which suspect does that settle?
Kofi (C3) — innocent.
The hardest step
The toughest moment needs 3 statements at once. If you’re stuck in the middle of the case, this is probably it.
Spoiler: the statements for the hardest step
Read Leo’s, Nico’s and Iris’s statements together. They settle Gemma.
Clue types in this case
shared-neighbor counts ×1, direction clues ×1, role counts ×1, paired verdicts ×3, row and column counts ×1, if–then clues ×1, corner and edge counts ×1, neighbor counts ×4 and “between” clues ×4.
Questions
How many clues does this case have?
17 of the 20 suspects carry a clue. The rest only talk about themselves — you can hide those asides in Settings.
Where is the full solution?
The step-by-step walkthrough proves every verdict in order.