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Case 35: who took the Ancient Treatise?
An urgent call has come in from the staff at the library: the Ancient Treatise, normally kept in the Café, has been stolen. The theft must have happened at some point during the day without anyone noticing. Help the police unmask the thief.
The board
- 1Storage Room
- 2Vault
- 3Conference Room
- 4Café
- 5Restoration Room
- 6Periodicals Room
- 7Restrooms
- 8Reception Area
- 9Children's Room
- 10Lobby
- 11Archive
- 12Reading Room
- Plant: no character can stand on its cell, but the stolen item can be there.
- 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.
Suspects and clues
- EEsteban
He's in column D. - DDana
She's in the Periodicals Room. - OOmar
He's in the Archive. - WWendy
She's in row 5. - LLiu
He's in the Vault. - PPeter
He's right next to the Reading Room and next to a screen. - FFatima
She's 6 rows away from the Conference Room. - YYusuf
He's 4 columns away from the Periodicals Room. - AAncient Treatise (stolen item)
It's in a corner.
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
- Esteban's clue: He's in column D. 8 cells remain possible.
- Dana's clue: She's in the Periodicals Room. 8 cells remain possible.
- Omar's clue: He's in the Archive. 9 cells remain possible.
- Wendy's clue: She's in row 5. 8 cells remain possible.
- Liu's clue: He's in the Vault. 2 cells remain possible: B9 and C9.
- Peter's clue: He's right next to the Reading Room and next to a screen. 3 cells remain possible: H2, H5 and I6.
- Fatima's clue: She's 6 rows away from the Conference Room. It leaves a single cell: H8.
- Yusuf's clue: He's 4 columns away from the Periodicals Room. 2 cells remain possible: I1 and G2.
- The stolen item's clue: It's in a corner. 45 cells remain possible.
- Fatima can only be on H8. No one else can be in row 8 or column H, and no other character can be in the Café.
- H2 and H5 have already been ruled out, so Peter can only be on I6. No one else can be in row 6 or column I, and no other character can be in the Lobby.
- I1 has already been ruled out, so Yusuf can only be on G2. No one else can be in row 2 or column G, and no other character can be in the Conference Room.
- There are as many suspects (counting the item) as columns, so each column holds exactly one. Only the Ancient Treatise can still reach column F, so that is where it must be.
- Every cell still open to Esteban is in column D, so no one else can be in that column.
- Every cell still open to Dana is in row 1, so no one else can be in that row.
- Every cell still open to Omar is in the Archive, so no other character can be there.
- D1, D2, D3, D4, D5, D6 and D8 have already been ruled out, so Esteban can only be on D7. No one else can be in row 7 or column D, and no other character can be in the Restoration Room.
- Every cell still open to Wendy is in row 5, so no one else can be in that row.
- Every cell still open to Omar is in column C, so no one else can be in that column.
- C9 has already been ruled out, so Liu can only be on B9. No one else can be in row 9 or column B, and no other character can be in the Vault.
- The item must share its room with one character: the thief. No character can be in the Reading Room any more, so the Ancient Treatise isn't there either.
- Every other cell the clue allowed has already been ruled out, so the Ancient Treatise can only be on F4. No one else can be in row 4 or column F.
- D2, D3, C4, D4, B5, C5, D5 and C6 have already been ruled out, so Omar can only be on C3.
- The Ancient Treatise can only be in the Reception Area, and Wendy is the only character who can still get in there. Since the thief shares a room with the item, Wendy must be in the Reception Area.
- A5, B5, C5, D5, G5, H5 and I5 have already been ruled out, so Wendy can only be on E5. No one else can be in row 5 or column E, and no other character can be in the Reception Area.
- B1, C1, D1, E1, A2, B2 and C2 have already been ruled out, so Dana can only be on A1.
Conclusion: Wendy is the only person sharing the Reception Area with the Ancient Treatise, which is on F4. She is the thief.