Clues & Culprits › Archive › Oct 19, 2026 Hard walkthrough
Oct 19, 2026 Full Proof Walkthrough
Every verdict in the Hard case “The Iceberg Nobody Else Saw”, 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. 16 of them carry a clue; the other 4 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: Ruby (B5) begins the case proven a criminal.
Dev and I share the same verdict: both criminal or both innocent.— Ruby, security officer (B5)
Step 1: Dev (D1, purser) is a criminal. This follows from Ruby’s statement and the verdicts already proven.
Step 2: Hana (D2, galley cook) is innocent. This follows from Dev’s statement and the verdicts already proven.
Everyone between me and Tariq is innocent.— Dev, purser (D1)
Step 3: Leo (D3, radio officer) is innocent. This follows from Dev’s statement and the verdicts already proven.
Step 4: Percy (D4, purser) is innocent. This follows from Dev’s statement and the verdicts already proven.
Step 5: Arlo (A1, radio officer) is innocent. This follows from Percy’s statement and the verdicts already proven.
Arlo and I share the same verdict: both criminal or both innocent.— Percy, purser (D4)
Step 6: Tariq (D5, purser) is a criminal. This follows from Leo’s statement and the verdicts already proven.
There is exactly one criminal below me.— Leo, radio officer (D3)
Step 7: Kira (C3, entertainer) is innocent. This follows from Tariq’s statement and the verdicts already proven.
Exactly one of Kira and me is a criminal.— Tariq, purser (D5)
Step 8: Ezra (A2, entertainer) is innocent. This needs 2 statements together — Arlo’s and Kira’s. Assume the opposite verdict and at least one of them breaks.
Exactly one of my three neighbors is a criminal.— Arlo, radio officer (A1)
An odd number of the security officers are innocent.— Kira, entertainer (C3)
Step 9: Iris (A3, entertainer) is innocent. This needs 2 statements together — Arlo’s and Ezra’s. Assume the opposite verdict and at least one of them breaks.
Exactly one of my five neighbors is a criminal.— Ezra, entertainer (A2)
Step 10: Juno (B3, radio officer) is innocent. This needs 2 statements together — Arlo’s and Ezra’s. Assume the opposite verdict and at least one of them breaks.
Step 11: Cora (C1, entertainer) is a criminal. This follows from Juno’s statement and the verdicts already proven.
If Cora is innocent, then I'm a criminal.— Juno, radio officer (B3)
Step 12: Greta (C2, captain) is innocent. This follows from Hana’s statement and the verdicts already proven.
Exactly two of my five neighbors are criminals.— Hana, galley cook (D2)
Step 13: Mabel (A4, galley cook) is innocent. This follows from Greta’s statement and the verdicts already proven.
Mabel and I share the same verdict: both criminal or both innocent.— Greta, captain (C2)
Step 14: Omar (C4, captain) is a criminal. This follows from Cora’s statement and the verdicts already proven.
There is exactly one criminal between me and Suki.— Cora, entertainer (C1)
Step 15: Suki (C5, captain) is innocent. This needs 4 statements together — Arlo’s, Iris’s, Mabel’s and Omar’s. Assume the opposite verdict and at least one of them breaks.
Exactly four of my five neighbors are innocent.— Iris, entertainer (A3)
Exactly two of my five neighbors are criminals.— Mabel, galley cook (A4)
Exactly nine of the fourteen people on the edges are innocent.— Omar, captain (C4)
Step 16: Queenie (A5, galley cook) is innocent. This follows from Suki’s statement and the verdicts already proven.
There is an even number of criminals in my row.— Suki, captain (C5)
Step 17: Bruno (B1, security officer) is a criminal. This follows from Omar’s statement and the verdicts already proven.
Step 18: Frank (B2, security officer) is innocent. This follows from Arlo’s statement and the verdicts already proven.
Step 19: Ned (B4, radio officer) is a criminal. This follows from Iris’s statement and the verdicts already proven.
The final lineup
| A | B | C | D | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Arlo innocent | Bruno criminal | Cora criminal | Dev criminal |
| 2 | Ezra innocent | Frank innocent | Greta innocent | Hana innocent |
| 3 | Iris innocent | Juno innocent | Kira innocent | Leo innocent |
| 4 | Mabel innocent | Ned criminal | Omar criminal | Percy innocent |
| 5 | Queenie innocent | Ruby criminal | Suki innocent | Tariq criminal |
What happened
There was no iceberg — only a radio message that Ned, the radio officer, typed himself and then fumbled into the captain's hands with suitably trembling fingers. Omar, the captain, changed course with a grave speech about the safety of everyone aboard. Dev and Tariq, the pursers, had spent two years buying up Skálavík's shops through their cousins; Cora, the ship's star entertainer, gave a lecture on 'bargains of the far north' the night before arrival. Bruno and Ruby, of ship's security, made sure no complaint about the detour ever reached head office. In Ned's message, the iceberg had a name. It was his dog's.