Clues & Culprits › Archive › October 2026 › Oct 18, 2026 Hard
Oct 18, 2026 — Hard case
The 'Midnight Mirage' sequel spent £9 million on catering during a four-month shoot — enough, the auditors calculated, to give every member of the crew a lobster at every meal. The crew remembers mostly sandwiches.
This Hard case seats 20 suspects on a 4×5 grid. 15 of them carry a clue; the other 5 only have something to say about themselves. 4 of the steps can only be proven by reading two or more clues together. Every verdict you enter is checked against all the scenarios that still fit the statements on file, so a move only sticks when it is proven.
The opening statement
Mabel the caterer starts the case already proven a criminal:
None of the writers in my column is a criminal.— Mabel, caterer (A4)
The lineup
Suspects stand in alphabetical order, left to right and top to bottom. Each belongs to one of Clues & Culprits’ twelve character classes — the badge on their nameplate. This case uses 6 of them, each cast as a role in the setting: writers, makeup artists, studio bosses, grips, caterers, runners. Clues about a role (“exactly one of the caterers”) count everyone in it.
| Seat | Suspect | Role in this case | Class |
|---|---|---|---|
| A1 | Ada | writer | Scholar |
| B1 | Bea | makeup artist | Servant |
| C1 | Celia | studio boss | Noble |
| D1 | Dexter | studio boss | Noble |
| A2 | Esme | writer | Scholar |
| B2 | Freya | grip | Laborer |
| C2 | Gus | caterer | Cook |
| D2 | Hana | caterer | Cook |
| A3 | Ivan | grip | Laborer |
| B3 | Jasper | grip | Laborer |
| C3 | Kofi | makeup artist | Servant |
| D3 | Leo | runner | Courier |
| A4 | Mabel | caterer | Cook |
| B4 | Ned | runner | Courier |
| C4 | Olive | studio boss | Noble |
| D4 | Petra | runner | Courier |
| A5 | Quinn | writer | Scholar |
| B5 | Raj | writer | Scholar |
| C5 | Sadie | makeup artist | Servant |
| D5 | Tess | runner | Courier |
Stuck?
The in-game hint first points at the statement to re-read, then at the suspect you can prove, then shows the proof. For a gentler nudge, open the spoiler-free hints for Oct 18, 2026, or press Share to send a friend your exact board. New to the format? The deduction-puzzle guide covers the habits that unlock every step.
More cases
- Same day: Easy case · Medium case · Evil case
- Previous Hard: Oct 17, 2026 — The Itch on the Catwalk
- Next Hard: Oct 19, 2026 — The Iceberg Nobody Else Saw
- Clue types in this case: Between clues · Above, below, left and right · Neighbor clues · Common-neighbor clues
- All October 2026 cases · More cases in film sets · Meet the cast