The case

Difficulty4 of 48×8 · 7 suspects

The Missing Key-Ring

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 on an 8×8 manor. Expert placement with no glyphs — the missing key-ring is the incident; the length of the chain is the difficulty.

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.

Full guide

Suspects

Tap a portrait for details. Tap below to select, then tap a square.

was a bookcase

was on the same diagonal as

was southwest of

was a wing chair

was on the same diagonal as

was in the Library

was a wing chair

was a bookcase

was on the same diagonal as

was in the Study

was in an armchair

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.

armchair· can stand here
wing chair· can stand here
club chair· blocked
window seat· blocked
oak table· blocked
bookcase· blocked
cabinet· blocked
longcase clock· blocked
billiard table· blocked
harpsichord· blocked
gun cabinet· blocked

Rooms are the areas of matching floor, with a black line with a gold stroke tracing where one ends and the next begins.

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.

  1. was southwest of
  2. was a wing chair
  3. was a wing chair
  4. was a bookcase
  5. was in the Study
  6. was a bookcase
  7. was on the same diagonal as
  8. was on the same diagonal as
  9. was in an armchair
  10. was on the same diagonal as
  11. was in the Library

Everyone stands in a different row and a different column. The victim was with the murderer, so whoever shares 's room did it.