Clues & Culprits › Archive › Oct 18, 2026 Evil walkthrough
Oct 18, 2026 Full Proof Walkthrough
Every verdict in the Evil case “Two Million Votes from a Popcorn Trailer”, in an order where each step is proven by the statements already on file.
Play it first Just a hint, please
This Evil case seats 25 suspects on a 5×5 grid. 20 of them carry a clue; the other 5 only have something to say about themselves. 6 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: Hana (C2) begins the case proven innocent.
The person between me and Felix is a criminal.— Hana, popcorn cook (C2)
Step 1: Gus (B2, popcorn cook) is a criminal. This follows from Hana’s statement and the verdicts already proven.
Step 2: Queenie (B4, popcorn cook) is a criminal. This follows from Gus’s statement and the verdicts already proven.
If I'm a criminal, then so is Queenie.— Gus, popcorn cook (B2)
Step 3: Vik (B5, usher) is innocent. This follows from Queenie’s statement and the verdicts already proven.
Exactly one of Vik and me is innocent.— Queenie, popcorn cook (B4)
Step 4: Wren (C5, weightlifter) is innocent. This follows from Vik’s statement and the verdicts already proven.
Rufus and I have exactly one criminal neighbor in common.— Vik, usher (B5)
Step 5: Ugo (A5, acrobat) is a criminal. This follows from Wren’s statement and the verdicts already proven.
There is exactly one innocent to my left.— Wren, weightlifter (C5)
Step 6: Xander (D5, magician) is innocent. This follows from Ugo’s statement and the verdicts already proven.
Everyone to my right is innocent.— Ugo, acrobat (A5)
Step 7: Rufus (C4, weightlifter) is innocent. This follows from Xander’s statement and the verdicts already proven.
Wren and I have no criminal neighbors in common.— Xander, magician (D5)
Step 8: Sadie (D4, usher) is innocent. This follows from Xander’s statement and the verdicts already proven.
Step 9: Tess (E4, acrobat) is a criminal. This follows from Sadie’s statement and the verdicts already proven.
The person to my right is a criminal.— Sadie, usher (D4)
Step 10: Pia (A4, magician) is innocent. This follows from Tess’s statement and the verdicts already proven.
There is an odd number of criminals to my left.— Tess, acrobat (E4)
Step 11: Yusuf (E5, acrobat) is innocent. This follows from Ugo’s statement and the verdicts already proven.
Step 12: Marco (C3, ringmaster) is innocent. This needs 3 statements together — Rufus’s, Pia’s and Yusuf’s. Assume the opposite verdict and at least one of them breaks.
Exactly two of my eight neighbors are criminals.— Rufus, weightlifter (C4)
Exactly three of my five neighbors are criminals.— Pia, magician (A4)
Exactly five of Lionel's eight neighbors are innocent.— Yusuf, acrobat (E5)
Step 13: Iris (D2, clown) is innocent. This needs 2 statements together — Rufus’s and Marco’s. Assume the opposite verdict and at least one of them breaks.
Exactly three of my eight neighbors are criminals.— Marco, ringmaster (C3)
Step 14: Bea (B1, usher) is a criminal. This needs 3 statements together — Rufus’s, Pia’s and Iris’s. Assume the opposite verdict and at least one of them breaks.
There are more innocent clowns than innocent ushers.— Iris, clown (D2)
Step 15: Cora (C1, clown) is innocent. This needs 3 statements together — Rufus’s, Pia’s and Iris’s. Assume the opposite verdict and at least one of them breaks.
Step 16: Ezra (E1, clown) is innocent. This needs 3 statements together — Rufus’s, Pia’s and Iris’s. Assume the opposite verdict and at least one of them breaks.
Step 17: Dexter (D1, ringmaster) is innocent. This needs 2 statements together — Bea’s and Ezra’s. Assume the opposite verdict and at least one of them breaks.
An odd number of the ringmasters are innocent.— Bea, usher (B1)
Exactly two of the three ringmasters in Row 3 are innocent.— Ezra, clown (E1)
Step 18: Amir (A1, magician) is innocent. This follows from Dexter’s statement and the verdicts already proven.
There is exactly one criminal to my left.— Dexter, ringmaster (D1)
Step 19: Jasper (E2, weightlifter) is a criminal. This follows from Amir’s statement and the verdicts already proven.
There is an odd number of criminals above Olive.— Amir, magician (A1)
Step 20: Felix (A2, magician) is innocent. This follows from Jasper’s statement and the verdicts already proven.
There is exactly one criminal to my left.— Jasper, weightlifter (E2)
Step 21: Kofi (A3, usher) is a criminal. This follows from Yusuf’s statement and the verdicts already proven.
Step 22: Lionel (B3, ringmaster) is innocent. This follows from Pia’s statement and the verdicts already proven.
Step 23: Nico (D3, clown) is a criminal. This follows from Rufus’s statement and the verdicts already proven.
Step 24: Olive (E3, ringmaster) is a criminal. This follows from Bea’s statement and the verdicts already proven.
The final lineup
| A | B | C | D | E | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Amir innocent | Bea criminal | Cora innocent | Dexter innocent | Ezra innocent |
| 2 | Felix innocent | Gus criminal | Hana innocent | Iris innocent | Jasper criminal |
| 3 | Kofi criminal | Lionel innocent | Marco innocent | Nico criminal | Olive criminal |
| 4 | Pia innocent | Queenie criminal | Rufus innocent | Sadie innocent | Tess criminal |
| 5 | Ugo criminal | Vik innocent | Wren innocent | Xander innocent | Yusuf innocent |
What happened
The votes came from the popcorn trailer. Gus and Queenie, the popcorn cooks, ran nine hundred pay-as-you-go phones from racks behind the kettle, voting every minute the lines were open; Bea and Kofi, the ushers, gathered spare phones from lost property and topped them up at the box office; and Jasper carried the racks in and out under sacks of corn. Olive, the ringmaster, had sold the show to the television company in the first place and knew exactly when the lines would open. Tess, Ugo and Nico — the trio — really did perform beautifully, which made it all the more galling. It was Hana who noticed the trailer making popcorn with its power switched off.