Clues & Culprits › Archive › Oct 10, 2026 Medium walkthrough
Oct 10, 2026 Full Proof Walkthrough
Every verdict in the Medium case “The Trophy at Half-Time”, in an order where each step is proven by the statements already on file.
Play it first Just a hint, please
This Medium case seats 20 suspects on a 4×5 grid. 16 of them carry a clue; the other 4 only have something to say about themselves. 1 of the steps can only be proven by reading two or more clues together. 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: Idris (A3) begins the case proven innocent.
Silas and I share the same verdict: both criminal or both innocent.— Idris, agent (A3)
Step 1: Silas (C5, ball kid) is innocent. This follows from Idris’s statement and the verdicts already proven.
Step 2: Tariq (D5, agent) is a criminal. This follows from Silas’s statement and the verdicts already proven.
Exactly one of Tariq and me is a criminal.— Silas, ball kid (C5)
Step 3: Rufus (B5, groundskeeper) is a criminal. This follows from Tariq’s statement and the verdicts already proven.
Rufus and I are either both criminals or both innocent.— Tariq, agent (D5)
Step 4: Quentin (A5, kit manager) is a criminal. This follows from Rufus’s statement and the verdicts already proven.
The person to my left is a criminal.— Rufus, groundskeeper (B5)
Step 5: Jasper (B3, groundskeeper) is a criminal. This follows from Quentin’s statement and the verdicts already proven.
If I'm a criminal, then so is Jasper.— Quentin, kit manager (A5)
Step 6: Ned (B4, ball kid) is innocent. This follows from Jasper’s statement and the verdicts already proven.
Mila and I have no criminal neighbors in common.— Jasper, groundskeeper (B3)
Step 7: Mila (A4, mascot) is a criminal. This follows from Ned’s statement and the verdicts already proven.
The person to my left is a criminal.— Ned, ball kid (B4)
Step 8: Gemma (C2, kit manager) is innocent. This follows from Mila’s statement and the verdicts already proven.
Exactly one of Gemma and me is innocent.— Mila, mascot (A4)
Step 9: Dina (D1, physio) is a criminal. This follows from Gemma’s statement and the verdicts already proven.
Exactly one of Dina and me is innocent.— Gemma, kit manager (C2)
Step 10: Cal (C1, agent) is innocent. This follows from Dina’s statement and the verdicts already proven.
None of my neighbors is a criminal.— Dina, physio (D1)
Step 11: Bea (B1, kit manager) is innocent. This follows from Cal’s statement and the verdicts already proven.
Only one of my five neighbors is a criminal.— Cal, agent (C1)
Step 12: Freya (B2, groundskeeper) is innocent. This follows from Cal’s statement and the verdicts already proven.
Step 13: Hattie (D2, physio) is innocent. This follows from Dina’s statement and the verdicts already proven.
Step 14: Kira (C3, mascot) is a criminal. This needs 2 statements together — Bea’s and Freya’s. Assume the opposite verdict and at least one of them breaks.
Only one of my five neighbors is a criminal.— Bea, kit manager (B1)
Exactly five of my eight neighbors are innocent.— Freya, groundskeeper (B2)
Step 15: Leo (D3, ball kid) is innocent. This follows from Hattie’s statement and the verdicts already proven.
Exactly two of my five neighbors are criminals.— Hattie, physio (D2)
Step 16: Arlo (A1, ball kid) is a criminal. This follows from Leo’s statement and the verdicts already proven.
Exactly three of us four ball kids are innocent.— Leo, ball kid (D3)
Step 17: Ezra (A2, mascot) is innocent. This follows from Bea’s statement and the verdicts already proven.
Step 18: Otto (C4, groundskeeper) is innocent. This follows from Kira’s statement and the verdicts already proven.
Exactly one of my eight neighbors is a criminal.— Kira, mascot (C3)
Step 19: Percy (D4, agent) is innocent. This follows from Kira’s statement and the verdicts already proven.
The final lineup
| A | B | C | D | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Arlo criminal | Bea innocent | Cal innocent | Dina criminal |
| 2 | Ezra innocent | Freya innocent | Gemma innocent | Hattie innocent |
| 3 | Idris innocent | Jasper criminal | Kira criminal | Leo innocent |
| 4 | Mila criminal | Ned innocent | Otto innocent | Percy innocent |
| 5 | Quentin criminal | Rufus criminal | Silas innocent | Tariq criminal |
What happened
Forty thousand people were looking straight at it. Kira and Mila, inside the club's two badger costumes, carried a gleaming replica out for the half-time parade while Quentin, the kit manager, slid the real trophy into a hamper of muddy shirts. Jasper and Rufus wheeled the hamper to the groundskeepers' shed on the line-marking cart; Arlo, a ball kid, kept the tunnel camera pointed at the celebrations; and Dina, the physio, drove the hamper out in her treatment van. Tariq, an agent with a collector in Dubai, had paid them all in advance. The replica was so good the club still displays it.