Row and column clues

What the clue says

The game names rows from the top and columns from the left. The first and last get their own words: the top row, the bottom row, the left column, the right column. The rest are counted: the second row, the third column from the left. The clue puts the person on any free cell of that line, in any room.

What it rules out

Every cell off the line. On a 6×6 board that leaves at most six cells, fewer once scenery and other clues are counted. Because each row and each column holds exactly one person, the clue also says something about everybody else: the named line belongs to this person, so cross it out for every other suspect.

That second effect is the important one. One row clue on a 5×5 removes five cells from each of the other four people.

Is there a negative form?

No. The game has no "not in the top row" clue. A line is ruled out by other means: when someone else claims it, or when none of the person's other clues has a cell on it. A room or object clue often does the same job as a line clue, when every cell it leaves sits in one row.

Common mistakes

• Counting columns from the right. The game always counts from the left.
• Mixing up rows and columns. Rows run across, columns run down.
• Keeping the line open for others. Once the line is claimed, nobody else can use it, the victim included.
• Ignoring blocked cells. Scenery on the line removes that cell, which can leave only one or two.

How it combines with other clues

A row clue and a column clue together give a single cell. A line clue and a room clue give the cells where the line runs through the room, usually one or two. When two people are limited to the same two rows, those rows are theirs and nobody else can be there; the technique pinned suspects walks through it. Line clues also make beside and corner clues sharper, since only a few cells of the line qualify.