Roboku
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Case 23: who took the Carved Totem?
During last night's private gala at the museum, a guest must have gotten a little too close to the Carved Totem, on display in the Exhibition Hall, because it was gone by morning. The guest list is short; so is the room for error. Help the police unmask the thief.
The board
- 1Inner Courtyard
- 2Cloakroom
- 3Security Room
- 4Archive
- 5Restoration Room
- 6Storage Room
- 7Reception Area
- 8Exhibition Hall
- 9Office
- 10Lobby
- 11Restrooms
- 12Main Hall
- Seat: anyone can be on it.
- Shelf: no character can stand on its cell, but the stolen item can be there.
- Table: nothing can be on its cell.
- Screen: nothing can be on its cell.
- Window: the blue line on a wall.
Suspects and clues
- PPeter
He's next to a screen. - LLucy
She's in row 3. - HHana
She's next to a window. - MMatthew
He's in column H and right next to the Restrooms. - NNoah
He's in the Storage Room. - YYusuf
He's 3 columns away from the Inner Courtyard. - CCarved Totem (stolen item)
It's 4 rows away from the Storage Room.
Remember the rules: no two suspects (nor the item) ever share a row or a column, each character is in a different room, and the thief is the only one sharing a room with the stolen item. Unsure? Read how to play and the clue types.
Solution
Try it yourself first: pen and paper are enough. When you want to check, open the reasoned solution.
Show the step-by-step solution
- Peter's clue: He's next to a screen. It leaves a single cell: B5.
- Lucy's clue: She's in row 3. 7 cells remain possible.
- Hana's clue: She's next to a window. 5 cells remain possible: G3, G5, A6, H7 and A8.
- Matthew's clue: He's in column H and right next to the Restrooms. 2 cells remain possible: H7 and H8.
- Noah's clue: He's in the Storage Room. 4 cells remain possible: E5, F5, G5 and F6.
- Yusuf's clue: He's 3 columns away from the Inner Courtyard. It leaves a single cell: D2.
- The stolen item's clue: It's 4 rows away from the Storage Room. It leaves a single cell: G1.
- Peter can only be on B5. No one else can be in row 5 or column B, and no other character can be in the Main Hall.
- E5, F5 and G5 have already been ruled out, so Noah can only be on F6. No one else can be in row 6 or column F, and no other character can be in the Storage Room.
- Yusuf can only be on D2. No one else can be in row 2 or column D, and no other character can be in the Lobby.
- The Carved Totem can only be on G1. No one else can be in row 1 or column G.
- Every cell still open to Matthew is in column H, so no one else can be in that column.
- G3, G5, A6 and H7 have already been ruled out, so Hana can only be on A8. No one else can be in row 8 or column A, and no other character can be in the Office.
- H8 has already been ruled out, so Matthew can only be on H7.
- The Carved Totem can only be in the Cloakroom, and Lucy is the only character who can still get in there. Since the thief shares a room with the item, Lucy must be in the Cloakroom.
- A3, B3, C3, D3, F3 and G3 have already been ruled out, so Lucy can only be on E3.
Conclusion: Lucy is the only person sharing the Cloakroom with the Carved Totem, which is on G1. She is the thief.