Clues & Culprits › Archive › October 2026 › Oct 11, 2026 Hard
Oct 11, 2026 — Hard case
Last week the Grand Meridian's reviews filled overnight with photographs of bedbugs, and the value of the hotel halved. On Friday it was bought at the new low price by two tycoons who had been trying to buy it for years. The bedbugs, it turns out, were all the same bedbug.
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
Freya the caretaker starts the case already proven innocent:
Everyone between Greta and Silas is innocent.— Freya, caretaker (B2)
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: bartenders, hotel managers, tycoons, caretakers, sommeliers, valets. Clues about a role (“exactly one of the caretakers”) count everyone in it.
| Seat | Suspect | Role in this case | Class |
|---|---|---|---|
| A1 | Amir | bartender | Rogue |
| B1 | Basil | hotel manager | Official |
| C1 | Celia | tycoon | Noble |
| D1 | Dexter | tycoon | Noble |
| A2 | Emil | hotel manager | Official |
| B2 | Freya | caretaker | Laborer |
| C2 | Greta | hotel manager | Official |
| D2 | Hugo | bartender | Rogue |
| A3 | Ivan | caretaker | Laborer |
| B3 | Jasper | caretaker | Laborer |
| C3 | Kurt | bartender | Rogue |
| D3 | Lena | sommelier | Scholar |
| A4 | Marco | tycoon | Noble |
| B4 | Ned | valet | Courier |
| C4 | Olive | tycoon | Noble |
| D4 | Petra | valet | Courier |
| A5 | Quinn | sommelier | Scholar |
| B5 | Rufus | caretaker | Laborer |
| C5 | Silas | valet | Courier |
| D5 | Theo | sommelier | 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 11, 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 10, 2026 — The Waterfall on Mars
- Next Hard: Oct 12, 2026 — The Hacksaw Filed Under H
- Clue types in this case: Row and column clues · Same-verdict and exactly-one clues · Profession clues · Between clues
- All October 2026 cases · More cases in grand hotels · Meet the cast