Clues & Culprits › Hints › Oct 23, 2026 Hard
Spoiler-Free Hints for Oct 23, 2026
Stuck on the Hard case, “Sold Out in Four Minutes”? 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
Tickets for the Wren Playhouse revival of 'The Duchess Returns' sold out in four minutes and reappeared online at ten times the price. On opening night two hundred seats sat empty — their tickets unsold even at the new price.
This Hard case seats 20 suspects on a 4×5 grid. 19 of them carry a clue; the other 1 only have something to say about themselves. 5 of the steps can only be proven by reading two or more clues together.
Nudge 1 — where to start
The case opens with Marco the patron (A4) 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).
Everyone to the left of Petra is innocent.— Marco, patron (A4)
Spoiler: who can I prove first?
Ned (B4) is innocent, proven by Marco’s statement.
Nudge 2 — the opening
Five suspects get proven in this stretch, in columns B and C. The statements doing the work are direction clues, “between” clues and paired verdicts. One step here needs 2 statements read together. Tip: with direction clues, the speaker is never included, and nor is anyone in a different row or column.
Spoiler: whose statements to read
Kurt’s and Jasper’s statements, read together.
Spoiler: which suspect does that settle?
Felix (B2) — innocent.
Nudge 3 — after about 5 proven suspects
Five suspects get proven in this stretch, across rows 2, 3, 4 and 5, most of them in row 5. The statements doing the work are shared-neighbor counts, neighbor counts and odd/even clues. 3 steps here need 2 statements read together. Tip: with shared-neighbor counts, only the two to four cards touching both suspects count.
Spoiler: whose statements to read
Kurt’s and Jasper’s statements, read together.
Spoiler: which suspect does that settle?
Leo (D3) — innocent.
Nudge 4 — after about 10 proven suspects
Four suspects get proven in this stretch, in rows 1 and 2. The statements doing the work are shared-neighbor counts, neighbor counts and “most” clues. One step here needs 3 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
Kurt’s, Felix’s and Raj’s statements, read together.
Spoiler: which suspect does that settle?
Gemma (C2) — a criminal.
Nudge 5 — the endgame
Five suspects get proven in this stretch, in columns A and D. The statements doing the work are paired verdicts, neighbor counts and odd/even clues. Every step in this stretch needs just one statement. Tip: with paired verdicts, two suspects tied together share their fate — prove one and the other follows.
Spoiler: whose statement to read
Kurt’s statement.
Spoiler: which suspect does that settle?
Hugo (D2) — innocent.
The hardest step
The toughest moment needs 3 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 Kurt’s, Felix’s and Raj’s statements together. They settle Gemma.
Clue types in this case
direction clues ×2, shared-neighbor counts ×5, comparisons ×2, if–then clues ×1, “most” clues ×1, odd/even clues ×2, paired verdicts ×3, neighbor counts ×1, “between” clues ×1 and row and column counts ×1.
Questions
How many clues does this case have?
19 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 proves every verdict in order.