Roboku
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Case 40: who took the Antique Violin?
At 3:10 this morning, the alarm went off at the theater. After the authorities and the venue's staff arrived, an inventory was carried out, and it turned out that the Antique Violin, which had been on display in the Dressing Room, was missing. Help the police unmask the thief.
The board
- 1Costume Room
- 2Props Room
- 3Office
- 4Box Office
- 5Makeup Room
- 6Stage
- 7Storage Room
- 8Lobby
- 9Dressing Room
- 10Private Box
- 11Café
- 12Restrooms
- 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.
- Window: the blue line on a wall.
Suspects and clues
- IInes
She's 5 columns away from the Lobby. - TTariq
He's in the Costume Room. - DDana
She's next to a screen. - CCarla
She's in column A. - LLucy
She's right next to the Storage Room. - PPriya
She's 2 columns away from the Props Room. - EElena
She's 7 rows away from the Storage Room. - AAntique Violin (stolen item)
It's in row 10.
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
- Ines's clue: She's 5 columns away from the Lobby. It leaves a single cell: J4.
- Tariq's clue: He's in the Costume Room. 3 cells remain possible: B1, C1 and B2.
- Dana's clue: She's next to a screen. 4 cells remain possible: H4, I5, G7 and H8.
- Carla's clue: She's in column A. 8 cells remain possible.
- Lucy's clue: She's right next to the Storage Room. 16 cells remain possible.
- Priya's clue: She's 2 columns away from the Props Room. 2 cells remain possible: G6 and D7.
- Elena's clue: She's 7 rows away from the Storage Room. It leaves a single cell: E1.
- The stolen item's clue: It's in row 10. 7 cells remain possible.
- Ines can only be on J4. No one else can be in row 4 or column J, and no other character can be in the Restrooms.
- Elena can only be on E1. No one else can be in row 1 or column E, and no other character can be in the Lobby.
- B1 and C1 have already been ruled out, so Tariq can only be on B2. No one else can be in row 2 or column B, and no other character can be in the Costume Room.
- Every cell still open to Dana is in the Storage Room, so no other character can be there.
- Every cell still open to Carla is in column A, so no one else can be in that column.
- Every cell still open to the Antique Violin is in row 10, so no one else can be in that row.
- The item must share its room with one character: the thief. No character can be in the Dressing Room any more, so the Antique Violin isn't there either.
- A10, B10, E10, H10, I10 and J10 have already been ruled out, so the Antique Violin can only be on D10. No one else can be in row 10 or column D.
- D7 has already been ruled out, so Priya can only be on G6. No one else can be in row 6 or column G, and no other character can be in the Private Box.
- H4, I5 and G7 have already been ruled out, so Dana can only be on H8. No one else can be in row 8 or column H, and no other character can be in the Storage Room.
- Every other cell the clue allowed has already been ruled out, so Lucy can only be on I7. No one else can be in row 7 or column I, and no other character can be in the Makeup Room.
- The Antique Violin can only be in the Box Office, and Carla is the only character who can still get in there. Since the thief shares a room with the item, Carla must be in the Box Office.
- A1, A2, A4, A5, A6, A7 and A10 have already been ruled out, so Carla can only be on A9.
Conclusion: Carla is the only person sharing the Box Office with the Antique Violin, which is on D10. She is the thief.