Clues & Culprits › Hints › Oct 25, 2026 Evil
Spoiler-Free Hints for Oct 25, 2026
Stuck on the Evil case, “Duck 1,417 Wins by Thirty Yards”? 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
Two thousand numbered plastic ducks were tipped off the bridge for the Thornbury fête's charity duck race. Duck 1,417 won by thirty yards, crossing the line before most of the others had cleared the bridge. Its owner collected the £5,000 prize, and the pub took a remarkable amount in side bets.
This Evil case seats 25 suspects on a 5×5 grid. 19 of them carry a clue; the other 6 only have something to say about themselves. 7 of the steps can only be proven by reading two or more clues together.
Nudge 1 — where to start
The case opens with Vik the steward (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).
Exactly two of us three stewards are innocent.— Vik, steward (B5)
Spoiler: who can I prove first?
Kofi (A3) is innocent, proven by Vik’s statement.
Nudge 2 — the opening
6 suspects get proven in this stretch, in columns A and B. The statements doing the work are “between” clues, role counts and paired verdicts. Every step in this stretch needs just one statement. Tip: with “between” clues, two suspects side by side have nobody between them, so watch for empty stretches.
Spoiler: whose statement to read
Vik’s statement.
Spoiler: which suspect does that settle?
Kofi (A3) — innocent.
Nudge 3 — after about 6 proven suspects
6 suspects get proven in this stretch, across rows 3, 4 and 5, most of them in row 5. The statements doing the work are role counts, neighbor counts and “between” clues. One step here needs 3 statements read together. Tip: with role counts, find every suspect with that role (the nameplate badge helps) and count the proven ones.
Spoiler: whose statements to read
Mabel’s, Sadie’s and Queenie’s statements, read together.
Spoiler: which suspect does that settle?
Willa (C5) — innocent.
Nudge 4 — after about 12 proven suspects
6 suspects get proven in this stretch, all over the board. The statements doing the work are neighbor counts, “between” clues and comparisons. 6 steps here need 5 statements read together. Tip: with neighbor counts, a corner has three neighbors, an edge five, the middle eight — compare the count with what is left.
Spoiler: whose statements to read
Mabel’s, Sadie’s, Idris’s, Ned’s and Omar’s statements, read together.
Spoiler: which suspect does that settle?
Ursula (A5) — innocent.
Nudge 5 — the endgame
6 suspects get proven in this stretch, across rows 1, 2 and 4, most of them in row 1. The statements doing the work are neighbor counts, comparisons and paired verdicts. Every step in this stretch needs just one statement. Tip: with comparisons, a comparison can’t end in a tie, so once one side is known the other is forced.
Spoiler: whose statement to read
Ned’s statement.
Spoiler: which suspect does that settle?
Dev (D1) — a criminal.
The hardest step
The toughest moment needs 5 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 Mabel’s, Sadie’s, Idris’s, Ned’s and Omar’s statements together. They settle Ursula.
Clue types in this case
role counts ×2, “between” clues ×3, paired verdicts ×3, neighbor counts ×5, direction clues ×1, comparisons ×1, row and column counts ×1, if–then clues ×1, corner and edge counts ×1 and shared-neighbor counts ×1.
Questions
How many clues does this case have?
19 of the 25 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 is published two days after the case, so today’s solvers aren’t spoiled.