Clues & Culprits › Hints › Oct 12, 2026 Easy
Spoiler-Free Hints for Oct 12, 2026
Stuck on the Easy case, “The Ending That Was Never Filmed”? 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
Three weeks before release, the secret ending of 'Midnight Mirage' leaked online with photographs from the set, and the film's opening weekend broke every record. The studio swore it would find the leaker. The leaker, it turns out, wrote the ending.
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.
Nudge 1 — where to start
The case opens with Iris the actor (A3) 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 to the right of Gemma is innocent.— Iris, actor (A3)
Spoiler: who can I prove first?
Hugo (D2) is innocent, proven by Iris’s statement.
Nudge 2 — the opening
Four suspects get proven in this stretch, across rows 2, 3 and 4, most of them in row 3. The statements doing the work are “between” clues, direction clues and paired verdicts. Tip: with “between” clues, only the cards strictly between the two named suspects count.
Spoiler: whose statement to read
Iris’s statement.
Spoiler: which suspect does that settle?
Hugo (D2) — innocent.
Nudge 3 — after about 4 proven suspects
Four suspects get proven in this stretch, across rows 1, 2 and 3, most of them in row 1. The statements doing the work are direction clues, neighbor counts and row and column counts. Tip: with direction clues, the speaker is never included, and nor is anyone in a different row or column.
Spoiler: whose statement to read
Joan’s statement.
Spoiler: which suspect does that settle?
Lena (D3) — a criminal.
Nudge 4 — after about 8 proven suspects
Three suspects get proven in this stretch, in rows 1 and 2. The statements doing the work are paired verdicts, direction clues and neighbor counts. Tip: with paired verdicts, two suspects tied together share their fate — prove one and the other follows.
Spoiler: whose statement to read
Bea’s statement.
Spoiler: which suspect does that settle?
Dexter (D1) — innocent.
Nudge 5 — the endgame
Four suspects get proven in this stretch, in rows 2 and 4. The statements doing the work are neighbor counts and corner and edge counts. Tip: with neighbor counts, a corner has three neighbors, an edge five, the middle eight — compare the count with what is left.
Spoiler: whose statement to read
Ada’s statement.
Spoiler: which suspect does that settle?
Felix (B2) — a criminal.
Clue types in this case
neighbor counts ×2, paired verdicts ×2, “between” clues ×3, direction clues ×3, corner and edge counts ×1 and row and column counts ×1.
Questions
How many clues does this case have?
12 of the 16 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.