Clue types

Roboku's clues are short sentences, but each one has a precise meaning. Knowing exactly what each type allows and rules out is half the work of a good detective.

Section clues

She's in the Storage Room.

The piece is somewhere in that section. It's the most direct clue: it narrows the options down to the free cells of one room. Combined with the row and column rule, it often leaves a single cell.

He's not in the Reception.

Rules out every cell of that section. It looks weak, but late in a level, when only a few rooms are still free, a negative clue is often the one that breaks the tie.

He's right next to the Office.

The piece is outside that section, in a cell that shares a side with it. Touching it only at a corner, diagonally, doesn't count. Trace the outline of the room: the candidate cells form a ring around it.

Row and column clues

She's in row 2. · He's in column C.

Rows are counted from the top starting at 1, and columns are labeled with letters from left to right. Since two pieces never share a row or a column, a clue like this also rules that row or column out for everyone else.

Distance clues

He's 3 rows from the Props Room.

The distance is measured vertically, within the piece's own column, to the nearest cell of that section in the same column. It only works for columns that actually cross the section: if the piece's column never passes through the Props Room, the clue can't be true there. It's not a diagonal distance or a sum of rows and columns.

It's 2 columns from the Stage.

The same, horizontally: count within the piece's row, to the nearest cell of the Stage in that same row.

Map object clues

She's next to a plant.

The piece is in a cell that shares a side with a cell holding that object, within the same section: walls separate. There are usually several objects of the same kind on the map, so the clue doesn't point at one particular plant, but at any of them.

It's on a shelf.

The piece is in the same cell as the object. Careful: some objects stop a character from standing on them but not the stolen item. A plant can hide the loot, but nobody climbs on it.

Wall, corner and window clues

She's next to a wall. · He's not next to any wall.

A cell is next to a wall if at least one of its sides faces the edge of the map, an empty gap or another section. “Not next to any wall” means the opposite: all four sides face cells of its own section. Only the inner cells of large rooms satisfy that, so it tends to be very restrictive.

It's in a corner.

The cell is where a vertical and a horizontal wall of its own section meet. In rectangular rooms those are the usual four corners, but Roboku's sections can be L-shaped, T-shaped or even more irregular, and then there are more corners, including inner ones.

He's next to a window.

One of the sides of the cell has a window. Windows only appear on the outer walls of the map, so this clue puts the piece on the edge of the building.

Combined clues

Many clues join two facts, such as He's 3 rows from the Props Room. He's right next to the Office. Both parts are true at once, so look for the intersection: the cells that meet the first condition and the second.

General clues

Sometimes, besides the personal clues, there is one extra clue about the whole group:

• No one is in the Café.: no character is in that section (the item could be).
• No one is on a seat.: no character stands on a cell with that object.
• Someone is next to a window.: at least one character is next to a window.

These clues exist because, in that particular level, there would be more than one possible solution without them. If you see one, you'll almost certainly need it to break a tie at some point.

Want to put all this into practice? Read the strategy guide.