A logic puzzle with a body in it

Somebody in this house is lying.

Four suspects. Four rooms. Three true statements and exactly one arrangement that fits them all. Whoever ends up standing over the body did it — and the logic, not luck, gets you there.

No account · plays offline · Android on the way

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Tap a circle to mark it ruled out or certain.

Library Cellar Parlour Attic Ashcombe Dr. Pell Wexley Larkin

Miss Larkin was seen through the library window all evening.

Only the cellar floods — and only Mrs. Ashcombe came up with wet shoes.

Wexley spent the whole night in the attic, mending the roof.

So who did it?

The cast

Everyone has a reason. One has an opportunity.

A

Mrs. Ashcombe

Runs the house, keeps the keys, and came up from the cellar with wet shoes.

P

Dr. Pell

Called in for the nerves. Nobody can say quite where he spent the evening.

W

Wexley

The gardener. On the roof all night, mending it, or so he says.

L

Miss Larkin

Seen through the library window, reading the same page for an hour.

How to play

Three rules, one guilty party

1

One each, nowhere twice

Every suspect occupies exactly one room, and no room holds two people. That's the sudoku half — the grid does half your thinking if you let it.

2

Clues never lie

Witnesses are unhelpful, not dishonest. Cross out what a statement makes impossible and the board narrows itself, one certainty at a time.

3

Name the one left standing

When one arrangement survives, whoever shares the victim's room is the murderer. There is always exactly one answer, and you can always prove it.

In the app

The parts a web page can't give you

Cases are generated on your phone instead of fetched from ours.

Plays with no signal

Cases are computed on your device. Planes, tunnels, dead zones — no connection needed.

A whole casebook

A run from Rookie to Mastermind, for the evenings a single puzzle isn't enough.

Streaks worth keeping

A gentle nudge when you want one, a streak that survives time zones, and leaderboards if you're competitive about it.

Notebook margins

Pencil marks, undo, and a hint that nudges rather than solves — for when you'd rather not be told.

A look inside

9:41
Case #418 04:12

The Ashcombe House

Miss Vane was found in the parlour.

Libr Cell Parl Attic Ashcombe Pell Wexley Larkin

Miss Larkin was seen through the library window.

Only the cellar floods, and only Ashcombe had wet shoes.

Undo Mark Note Accuse
The board
9:41
Case #418

The clues

Statement one

Miss Larkin was seen through the library window all evening.

Statement two

Only the cellar floods — and only Mrs. Ashcombe came up with wet shoes.

Statement three

Wexley spent the whole night in the attic, mending the roof.

The body

Miss Vane was found in the parlour, a little after eleven.

Back to the board
The clue sheet
9:41

Case closed

It was Dr. Pell, in the parlour, while the roof was being mended.

04:12

Time

27

Streak

Share your result
Case closed
9:41

Casebook

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The casebook

On Android? Get in line.

iPhone first, Android next. Leave an address and you'll hear once — the day it's out.

Questions

Do I need an account?

No. Open it and start solving — nothing to sign up for, nothing to sync unless you want your streak on more than one device.

Does it work offline?

Completely. Cases are generated on your phone, so planes, tunnels and cabins are all fair game.

Do I need to be good at sudoku?

No numbers involved. If you can follow "she was not in the cellar", you can close a case. Difficulty runs from Rookie to Mastermind.

Is an Android version coming?

Yes — iPhone first, Android next. Join the list and we will write the day it lands.

Can I ever get stuck and have to guess?

No. Every case is verified to have exactly one solution reachable by deduction alone.