Clues & Culprits › Hints › Oct 19, 2026 Hard
Spoiler-Free Hints for Oct 19, 2026
Stuck on the Hard case, “The Iceberg Nobody Else Saw”? 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 days out of Reykjavík, the MS Borealis swerved to avoid an iceberg no other ship on the North Atlantic had reported, and spent an unplanned day in the tiny duty-free port of Skálavík. The passengers spent £2 million there. The ship's officers, it emerges, own most of the shops.
This Hard case seats 20 suspects on a 4×5 grid. 16 of them carry a clue; the other 4 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 Ruby the security officer (B5) 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).
Dev and I share the same verdict: both criminal or both innocent.— Ruby, security officer (B5)
Spoiler: who can I prove first?
Dev (D1) is a criminal, proven by Ruby’s statement.
Nudge 2 — the opening
Five suspects get proven in this stretch, in columns A and D. The statements doing the work are paired verdicts and “between” clues. Every step in this stretch needs just one statement. Tip: with paired verdicts, chain the pairs: a link of “same” and “different” statements often runs across the board.
Spoiler: whose statement to read
Ruby’s statement.
Spoiler: which suspect does that settle?
Dev (D1) — a criminal.
Nudge 3 — after about 5 proven suspects
Five suspects get proven in this stretch, across rows 2, 3 and 5, most of them in row 3. The statements doing the work are neighbor counts, direction clues and paired verdicts. 3 steps here need 2 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
Arlo’s and Kira’s statements, read together.
Spoiler: which suspect does that settle?
Ezra (A2) — 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 if–then clues, neighbor counts and paired verdicts. Every step in this stretch needs just one statement. Tip: with if–then clues, an if–then says nothing when its “if” part is false — don’t read it backwards.
Spoiler: whose statement to read
Juno’s statement.
Spoiler: which suspect does that settle?
Cora (C1) — a criminal.
Nudge 5 — the endgame
Five suspects get proven in this stretch, across rows 1, 2, 4 and 5, most of them in row 5. The statements doing the work are neighbor counts, corner and edge counts and odd/even clues. One step here needs 4 statements read together. Tip: with corner and edge counts, there are only four corners and one edge ring, so count what is left of them.
Spoiler: whose statements to read
Arlo’s, Iris’s, Mabel’s and Omar’s statements, read together.
Spoiler: which suspect does that settle?
Suki (C5) — innocent.
The hardest step
The toughest moment needs 4 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 Arlo’s, Iris’s, Mabel’s and Omar’s statements together. They settle Suki.
Clue types in this case
neighbor counts ×5, “between” clues ×2, paired verdicts ×4, if–then clues ×1, odd/even clues ×2, direction clues ×1 and corner and edge counts ×1.
Questions
How many clues does this case have?
16 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.