Clues & Culprits › Archive › Oct 11, 2026 Hard walkthrough
Oct 11, 2026 Full Proof Walkthrough
Every verdict in the Hard case “Gerald and the Four Hundred Rooms”, in an order where each step is proven by the statements already on file.
Play it first Just a hint, please
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. 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: Freya (B2) begins the case proven innocent.
Everyone between Greta and Silas is innocent.— Freya, caretaker (B2)
Step 1: Kurt (C3, bartender) is innocent. This follows from Freya’s statement and the verdicts already proven.
Step 2: Lena (D3, sommelier) is a criminal. This follows from Kurt’s statement and the verdicts already proven.
If Lena is innocent, then I'm a criminal.— Kurt, bartender (C3)
Step 3: Olive (C4, tycoon) is innocent. This follows from Freya’s statement and the verdicts already proven.
Step 4: Petra (D4, valet) is innocent. This follows from Lena’s statement and the verdicts already proven.
The person between me and Theo is innocent.— Lena, sommelier (D3)
Step 5: Jasper (B3, caretaker) is innocent. This needs 2 statements together — Olive’s and Petra’s. Assume the opposite verdict and at least one of them breaks.
Exactly six of my eight neighbors are innocent.— Olive, tycoon (C4)
Exactly two of my five neighbors are criminals.— Petra, valet (D4)
Step 6: Ned (B4, valet) is innocent. This needs 2 statements together — Olive’s and Petra’s. Assume the opposite verdict and at least one of them breaks.
Step 7: Rufus (B5, caretaker) is innocent. This needs 2 statements together — Olive’s and Petra’s. Assume the opposite verdict and at least one of them breaks.
Step 8: Greta (C2, hotel manager) is a criminal. This needs 3 statements together — Olive’s, Ned’s and Rufus’s. Assume the opposite verdict and at least one of them breaks.
I have more innocent neighbors than anyone else.— Ned, valet (B4)
Theo and Greta are either both criminals or both innocent.— Rufus, caretaker (B5)
Step 9: Ivan (A3, caretaker) is innocent. This follows from Greta’s statement and the verdicts already proven.
None of the caretakers is a criminal.— Greta, hotel manager (C2)
Step 10: Theo (D5, sommelier) is a criminal. This follows from Rufus’s statement and the verdicts already proven.
Step 11: Hugo (D2, bartender) is a criminal. This follows from Theo’s statement and the verdicts already proven.
Hugo and I share the same verdict: both criminal or both innocent.— Theo, sommelier (D5)
Step 12: Celia (C1, tycoon) is a criminal. This follows from Hugo’s statement and the verdicts already proven.
Exactly one of my five neighbors is innocent.— Hugo, bartender (D2)
Step 13: Amir (A1, bartender) is a criminal. This follows from Celia’s statement and the verdicts already proven.
Amir and I share the same verdict: both criminal or both innocent.— Celia, tycoon (C1)
Step 14: Dexter (D1, tycoon) is a criminal. This follows from Hugo’s statement and the verdicts already proven.
Step 15: Marco (A4, tycoon) is innocent. This follows from Dexter’s statement and the verdicts already proven.
Exactly two of us four tycoons are innocent.— Dexter, tycoon (D1)
Step 16: Emil (A2, hotel manager) is a criminal. This follows from Ivan’s statement and the verdicts already proven.
An odd number of my neighbors are criminals.— Ivan, caretaker (A3)
Step 17: Basil (B1, hotel manager) is innocent. This follows from Jasper’s statement and the verdicts already proven.
An odd number of Amir's neighbors are criminals.— Jasper, caretaker (B3)
Step 18: Quinn (A5, sommelier) is innocent. This follows from Amir’s statement and the verdicts already proven.
There are exactly two criminals in my column.— Amir, bartender (A1)
Step 19: Silas (C5, valet) is innocent. This follows from Olive’s statement and the verdicts already proven.
The final lineup
| A | B | C | D | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Amir criminal | Basil innocent | Celia criminal | Dexter criminal |
| 2 | Emil criminal | Freya innocent | Greta criminal | Hugo criminal |
| 3 | Ivan innocent | Jasper innocent | Kurt innocent | Lena criminal |
| 4 | Marco innocent | Ned innocent | Olive innocent | Petra innocent |
| 5 | Quinn innocent | Rufus innocent | Silas innocent | Theo criminal |
What happened
One bedbug, photographed in four hundred rooms. Celia and Dexter, the tycoons who wanted the hotel, paid for the campaign. Theo, a sommelier who kept insects as a hobby, supplied the star of the show — one very patient bedbug named Gerald. Lena and Hugo carried Gerald from room to room in a pill tin; Amir posted the photographs from four hundred fake accounts on the bar's computer; and Emil and Greta, the managers, made sure the pest inspectors found nothing until after the sale had gone through. Gerald has since retired to a jar in Theo's flat.