Clues & Culprits › Archive › October 2026 › Oct 6, 2026 Hard
Oct 6, 2026 — Hard case
Château Morel's modest rosé won the Grand Concours in a blind tasting, beating wines ten times its price. Two judges have since admitted they could have sworn they were drinking a 2015 Clos Saint-Aurèle — which, as it turns out, is exactly what was in their glasses.
This Hard 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. 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
Bea the housekeeper starts the case already proven a criminal:
The person below Pia is innocent.— Bea, housekeeper (B1)
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: delivery drivers, housekeepers, label painters, estate owners, winemakers, wine critics. Clues about a role (“exactly one of the housekeepers”) count everyone in it.
| Seat | Suspect | Role in this case | Class |
|---|---|---|---|
| A1 | Arlo | delivery driver | Courier |
| B1 | Bea | housekeeper | Servant |
| C1 | Cora | label painter | Artist |
| D1 | Dexter | estate owner | Noble |
| A2 | Esme | winemaker | Scholar |
| B2 | Felix | wine critic | Rogue |
| C2 | Gemma | housekeeper | Servant |
| D2 | Hugo | wine critic | Rogue |
| A3 | Iris | label painter | Artist |
| B3 | Joan | winemaker | Scholar |
| C3 | Kofi | housekeeper | Servant |
| D3 | Leo | delivery driver | Courier |
| A4 | Marco | estate owner | Noble |
| B4 | Nico | label painter | Artist |
| C4 | Olive | estate owner | Noble |
| D4 | Pia | wine critic | Rogue |
| A5 | Quentin | housekeeper | Servant |
| B5 | Raj | winemaker | Scholar |
| C5 | Silas | delivery driver | Courier |
| D5 | Tess | delivery driver | 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 6, 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
- Previous Hard: Oct 5, 2026 — The Million on the Velvet Table
- Next Hard: Oct 7, 2026 — The Séance at Morrow Hall
- Clue types in this case: Common-neighbor clues · Above, below, left and right · Profession clues · Same-verdict and exactly-one clues
- All October 2026 cases · More cases in vineyards · Meet the cast