Clues & Culprits › Archive › Oct 9, 2026 Easy walkthrough
Oct 9, 2026 Full Proof Walkthrough
Every verdict in the Easy case “The Clown Who Borrowed Your Watch”, in an order where each step is proven by the statements already on file.
Play it first Just a hint, please
This Easy case seats 16 suspects on a 4×4 grid. 13 of them carry a clue; the other 3 only have something to say about themselves. Every step can be proven from a single clue plus what you already know. The order below is one valid route; any order where each verdict is proven when you enter it reaches the same answer.
Spoiler: show the full walkthrough
Start: Dina (D1) begins the case proven innocent.
Petra and I are either both criminals or both innocent.— Dina, vet (D1)
Step 1: Petra (D4, acrobat) is innocent. This follows from Dina’s statement and the verdicts already proven.
Step 2: Ezra (A2, clown) is a criminal. This follows from Petra’s statement and the verdicts already proven.
Exactly one of Ezra and me is a criminal.— Petra, acrobat (D4)
Step 3: Gemma (C2, usher) is innocent. This follows from Ezra’s statement and the verdicts already proven.
Exactly one of Gemma and me is innocent.— Ezra, clown (A2)
Step 4: Ivan (A3, weightlifter) is innocent. This follows from Gemma’s statement and the verdicts already proven.
Ivan and I are either both criminals or both innocent.— Gemma, usher (C2)
Step 5: Arlo (A1, acrobat) is innocent. This follows from Ivan’s statement and the verdicts already proven.
None of the four people in the corners is a criminal.— Ivan, weightlifter (A3)
Step 6: Cora (C1, clown) is innocent. This follows from Arlo’s statement and the verdicts already proven.
There are no criminals above Kofi.— Arlo, acrobat (A1)
Step 7: Bea (B1, usher) is innocent. This follows from Cora’s statement and the verdicts already proven.
There are no criminals to my left.— Cora, clown (C1)
Step 8: Freya (B2, weightlifter) is a criminal. This follows from Bea’s statement and the verdicts already proven.
Exactly two of my five neighbors are criminals.— Bea, usher (B1)
Step 9: Hattie (D2, vet) is innocent. This follows from Freya’s statement and the verdicts already proven.
There are no criminals to my right.— Freya, weightlifter (B2)
Step 10: Leo (D3, acrobat) is a criminal. This follows from Hattie’s statement and the verdicts already proven.
There is exactly one innocent below me.— Hattie, vet (D2)
Step 11: Kofi (C3, usher) is a criminal. This follows from Leo’s statement and the verdicts already proven.
Exactly two of my five neighbors are criminals.— Leo, acrobat (D3)
Step 12: Jasper (B3, weightlifter) is a criminal. This follows from Kofi’s statement and the verdicts already proven.
Exactly three of the four weightlifters are criminals.— Kofi, usher (C3)
Step 13: Mila (A4, clown) is innocent. This follows from Ivan’s statement and the verdicts already proven.
Step 14: Otto (C4, weightlifter) is a criminal. This follows from Leo’s statement and the verdicts already proven.
Step 15: Nico (B4, clown) is innocent. This follows from Jasper’s statement and the verdicts already proven.
Exactly four of my eight neighbors are innocent.— Jasper, weightlifter (B3)
The final lineup
| A | B | C | D | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Arlo innocent | Bea innocent | Cora innocent | Dina innocent |
| 2 | Ezra criminal | Freya criminal | Gemma innocent | Hattie innocent |
| 3 | Ivan innocent | Jasper criminal | Kofi criminal | Leo criminal |
| 4 | Mila innocent | Nico innocent | Otto criminal | Petra innocent |
What happened
The laughter was the cover. Ezra's clown band played the galop at full volume so nobody heard a zip open, and Kofi, the usher with the comedy patter, seated every well-dressed family in the back rows where the lights were lowest. Leo dropped from the trapeze rigging to work those rows from above, and the three strongmen — Freya, Jasper and Otto — carried the takings out in the hollow dumbbells they 'lifted' in the finale. Otto had drilled the dumbbells himself. They weighed a great deal more on the last night than on the first.