Clues & Culprits › Hints › Oct 26, 2026 Medium
Spoiler-Free Hints for Oct 26, 2026
Stuck on the Medium case, “Three Hundred Thousand Too Many”? 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
At the monthly count, the Silver Ace found £300,000 more in chips in circulation than it had ever issued. Every chip had passed the scanner, and every one had been cashed at the cage like any other.
This Medium 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. 2 of the steps can only be proven by reading two or more clues together.
Nudge 1 — where to start
The case opens with Gemma the waiter (C2) 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 only high roller in Row 4 is innocent.— Gemma, waiter (C2)
Spoiler: who can I prove first?
Marco (A4) is innocent, proven by Gemma’s statement.
Nudge 2 — the opening
Five suspects get proven in this stretch, across rows 1, 2, 3 and 4, most of them in row 2. The statements doing the work are role counts, “between” clues and if–then clues. Every step in this stretch needs just one statement. Tip: with role counts, find every suspect with that role (the nameplate badge helps) and count the proven ones.
Spoiler: whose statement to read
Gemma’s statement.
Spoiler: which suspect does that settle?
Marco (A4) — innocent.
Nudge 3 — after about 5 proven suspects
Five suspects get proven in this stretch, in columns B and C. The statements doing the work are “between” clues, paired verdicts and neighbor counts. 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
Felix’s statement.
Spoiler: which suspect does that settle?
Joan (B3) — a criminal.
Nudge 4 — after about 10 proven suspects
Four suspects get proven in this stretch, in rows 1 and 5. The statements doing the work are if–then clues, neighbor counts and corner and edge counts. 2 steps here need 2 statements read together. Tip: with if–then clues, use the contrapositive: when the “then” part is false, the “if” part is false too.
Spoiler: whose statements to read
Omar’s and Quentin’s statements, read together.
Spoiler: which suspect does that settle?
Amir (A1) — a criminal.
Nudge 5 — the endgame
Five suspects get proven in this stretch, in columns C and D. The statements doing the work are “between” clues, role counts and neighbor counts. Every step in this stretch needs just one statement. 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
Raj’s statement.
Spoiler: which suspect does that settle?
Lionel (D3) — a criminal.
The hardest step
The toughest moment needs 2 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 Omar’s and Quentin’s statements together. They settle Amir.
Clue types in this case
row and column counts ×1, paired verdicts ×3, if–then clues ×2, shared-neighbor counts ×1, “between” clues ×3, role counts ×2, neighbor counts ×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 is published two days after the case, so today’s solvers aren’t spoiled.