Clues & Culprits › Archive › Oct 18, 2026 Easy walkthrough
Oct 18, 2026 Full Proof Walkthrough
Every verdict in the Easy case “The Horse with Painted Socks”, in an order where each step is proven by the statements already on file.
Play it first Just a hint, please
This Easy case seats 16 suspects on a 4×4 grid. 12 of them carry a clue; the other 4 only have something to say about themselves. Every step can be proven from a single clue plus what you already know. 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: Kurt (C3) begins the case proven innocent.
The person between me and Iris is a criminal.— Kurt, tipster (C3)
Step 1: Joan (B3, trainer) is a criminal. This follows from Kurt’s statement and the verdicts already proven.
Step 2: Mila (A4, milliner) is innocent. This follows from Joan’s statement and the verdicts already proven.
Exactly one of Mila and me is a criminal.— Joan, trainer (B3)
Step 3: Nico (B4, milliner) is a criminal. This follows from Mila’s statement and the verdicts already proven.
Nobody between me and Pia is innocent.— Mila, milliner (A4)
Step 4: Omar (C4, clerk of the course) is a criminal. This follows from Mila’s statement and the verdicts already proven.
Step 5: Iris (A3, milliner) is innocent. This follows from Nico’s statement and the verdicts already proven.
Exactly three of my five neighbors are innocent.— Nico, milliner (B4)
Step 6: Cora (C1, milliner) is a criminal. This follows from Iris’s statement and the verdicts already proven.
Exactly one of Cora and me is innocent.— Iris, milliner (A3)
Step 7: Greta (C2, clerk of the course) is a criminal. This follows from Cora’s statement and the verdicts already proven.
There is exactly one innocent below me.— Cora, milliner (C1)
Step 8: Basil (B1, clerk of the course) is a criminal. This follows from Greta’s statement and the verdicts already proven.
None of us clerks of the course is innocent.— Greta, clerk of the course (C2)
Step 9: Emil (A2, clerk of the course) is a criminal. This follows from Greta’s statement and the verdicts already proven.
Step 10: Ada (A1, trainer) is innocent. This follows from Emil’s statement and the verdicts already proven.
Exactly three of my five neighbors are innocent.— Emil, clerk of the course (A2)
Step 11: Felix (B2, tipster) is innocent. This follows from Basil’s statement and the verdicts already proven.
There is exactly one innocent below me.— Basil, clerk of the course (B1)
Step 12: Hattie (D2, racecourse vet) is innocent. This follows from Ada’s statement and the verdicts already proven.
Hattie and I are either both criminals or both innocent.— Ada, trainer (A1)
Step 13: Lena (D3, trainer) is innocent. This follows from Omar’s statement and the verdicts already proven.
Exactly two of my five neighbors are criminals.— Omar, clerk of the course (C4)
Step 14: Pia (D4, tipster) is innocent. This follows from Omar’s statement and the verdicts already proven.
Step 15: Dina (D1, racecourse vet) is a criminal. This follows from Felix’s statement and the verdicts already proven.
Exactly six of the twelve people on the edges are criminals.— Felix, tipster (B2)
The final lineup
| A | B | C | D | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ada innocent | Basil criminal | Cora criminal | Dina criminal |
| 2 | Emil criminal | Felix innocent | Greta criminal | Hattie innocent |
| 3 | Iris innocent | Joan criminal | Kurt innocent | Lena innocent |
| 4 | Mila innocent | Nico criminal | Omar criminal | Pia innocent |
What happened
The winner wasn't Moonlit Hope but her stablemate, a champion sprinter with the same blaze and no white socks at all — until Cora and Nico, the milliners, painted four on with hat dye that morning. Joan, the trainer, entered the slow mare and saddled the fast one. Dina, the racecourse vet, signed the identity check without looking up from her clipboard, and Basil, Emil, Greta and Omar, the clerks of the course, kept the rain cover over the parade ring until the horse was safely past the stewards. The bets had been placed in nine cities. The rain was not in the forecast.