Clues & Culprits › Archive › October 2026 › Oct 20, 2026 Medium
Oct 20, 2026 — Medium case
On the opening night of 'The Lighthouse Keeper's' rival, the Wren Playhouse chandelier dropped six feet onto an empty stage during the overture, and the show was cancelled. The theatre's insurers paid nothing — the policy had been changed the week before, and the new beneficiary is a playwright.
This Medium case seats 20 suspects on a 4×5 grid. 17 of them carry a clue; the other 3 only have something to say about themselves. 2 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
Ivan the stagehand starts the case already proven a criminal:
The person between me and Quentin is innocent.— Ivan, stagehand (A3)
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: understudies, ushers, leading actors, company nurses, playwrights, stagehands. Clues about a role (“exactly one of the stagehands”) count everyone in it.
| Seat | Suspect | Role in this case | Class |
|---|---|---|---|
| A1 | Amir | understudy | Rogue |
| B1 | Bea | usher | Servant |
| C1 | Cora | leading actor | Artist |
| D1 | Dina | company nurse | Healer |
| A2 | Esme | playwright | Scholar |
| B2 | Freya | stagehand | Laborer |
| C2 | Gemma | usher | Servant |
| D2 | Hattie | company nurse | Healer |
| A3 | Ivan | stagehand | Laborer |
| B3 | Joan | playwright | Scholar |
| C3 | Kurt | understudy | Rogue |
| D3 | Lena | playwright | Scholar |
| A4 | Mila | leading actor | Artist |
| B4 | Nico | leading actor | Artist |
| C4 | Otto | stagehand | Laborer |
| D4 | Pia | understudy | Rogue |
| A5 | Quentin | usher | Servant |
| B5 | Rufus | stagehand | Laborer |
| C5 | Sadie | usher | Servant |
| D5 | Theo | playwright | Scholar |
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 20, 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 · Hard case
- Previous Medium: Oct 19, 2026 — Who Sold the Village Green?
- Next Medium: Oct 21, 2026 — Three Centimetres at the Post
- Clue types in this case: Above, below, left and right · Same-verdict and exactly-one clues · Common-neighbor clues · Neighbor clues
- All October 2026 cases · More cases in theatres · Meet the cast