The case
Difficulty3 of 48×8 · 7 suspectsThe Broken Decanter
Case file
The storm took the bridge out at nine, so nobody left Ashcombe Manor that night. was found before the fire had gone grey. Everyone else was somewhere in the house — and exactly one of them was in the same room.
Why this one is tricky
Seven guests and a keyholder to name on an 8×8 house. The hidden role is the extra deduction; the decanter is only the incident.
Two rules close every case. One person per row, and one per column. The victim takes the last remaining legal square, and whoever shares that room did it.
A square with furniture drawn on it is taken. Bare floor is somewhere a suspect can stand. Rooms are patches of matching floor.
Start from the strongest clues. Stack two clues about the same person before you place anyone. Switch on Pencil when two or three seats remain — that is not a guess.
Underlined words in the clue list — alone, beside, north of — explain themselves if you tap them.
Suspects
Tap a portrait for details. Tap below to select, then tap a square.
was the Study
was southwest of
was a longcase clock
was on the same diagonal as
was a harpsichord
was in the Gun Room
was not an armchair
was not an oak table
was in an armchair
was in the Morning Room
was with
No clue names them.
Found in the room with the murderer.
Deduction board
0 of 8 placed.
Tools
What you are looking at
A square with furniture on it is taken. A square showing bare floor is somewhere a suspect can stand.
Rooms are the areas of matching floor, with a black line with a gold stroke tracing where one ends and the next begins.
★ — a square marked for the keyholder, and only they may stand on one.
Small letters along the bottom of a square are your own pencil marks — a note, never a placement.
Clues
Every clue is load-bearing — drop one and the case stops being solvable.
- was southwest of
- was the Study
- was on the same diagonal as
- was in the Gun Room
- was in the Morning Room
- was a harpsichord
- was not an oak table
- was not an armchair
- was a longcase clock
- was in an armchair
- was with
Everyone stands in a different row and a different column. The victim was with the murderer, so whoever shares 's room did it.