Strategy guide

The first levels almost solve themselves, but from three stars upwards you need a method. These are the techniques that pay off the most, from the simplest to the most advanced.

1. Start with the strictest clues

Before placing anything, read every clue and rank them by how many cells they allow. Some practically give the answer away: She's in row 2 combined with a section, a small section of two or three cells, or He's not next to any wall on a map with few large rooms. Others, like He's not in the Reception, rule out very little at first. Place the sure things first and leave the vague ones for the end, when the board is fuller.

2. Every piece removes a row and a column

As soon as you confirm a piece, cross out its row and column for everyone else. It's the same logic as Sudoku, and it's what gives you the most information. After placing two or three certain characters, read the clues again: many that looked wide open now have a single cell left.

Ana (A) is confirmed in the second row and the second column. No other piece can share that row or column, so every one of those cells is ruled out.

3. Look for the last free cell of a section

When a clue says someone is in a section, count how many of its cells are still available: not blocked by an object and not sharing a row or column with any piece already placed. If only one is left, you've got it. This works especially well with long, narrow sections, because they span few rows or few columns and run out of options quickly.

The orange section has five cells, but the first two rows are already taken by M and T. If a clue says someone is in that section, the framed cell is the only place left.

4. One character per section

The section rule also works the other way round. If there are seven characters and seven sections, every room holds exactly one character. Once every section but one has an owner, the missing character goes in the one that's left, even if their clue doesn't mention it. Also watch out for general clues like No one is in the Café: that section will have no character at all, only, perhaps, the item.

5. Use possible locations as notes

When a clue leaves two or three candidates, mark them as possible locations (right-click on desktop or “possible” mode on a phone). That way you can see at a glance which characters compete for the same row or column. If two characters can only go in the same two rows, those rows are reserved for them, and you can rule them out for everyone else even before you know which one goes where.

6. Master distance clues

Clues like He's 2 rows from… are always measured in a straight line, within the piece's own column, to the nearest cell of the section in that column. Go through the columns that cross the section one by one and mark the cell at the stated distance. You'll get a handful of candidates, often fewer than it seems. Columns that don't cross the section are ruled out straight away.

“It's 2 rows from the teal section” (framed). Count vertically, and only in columns that actually cross that section: the dots are the only cells that satisfy the clue.

7. Find the thief through the item

The thief is the only character who shares a section with the item. That gives you two routes. If you know which section the item is in, the thief must be in that same room, and nobody else is. If you know who the thief might be, the item must be in their section, in a row and a column no one else uses. The item also follows the row and column rule, so it is often the last piece to fall into place, in the only gap left.

You don't have to place every character to validate. But on hard levels, placing them is almost always the shortest path to the thief: every well-placed character removes cells for the item.

8. When stuck, try a contradiction

When no clue moves forward on its own, pick a character with only two candidates and assume they're in the first one. Follow the consequences with possible locations: if at some point another character is left with no valid cell, or two pieces are forced into the same row, the assumption was wrong and the character goes in the second cell. Since every level has a single solution, one of the two options always leads to a contradiction.

9. Blocking objects are information too

Cells with tables or other blocking objects can't hold characters. In a small section, a couple of those can leave a single usable cell. Remember too that some objects, like plants, block characters but not the stolen item: It's on a plant can only be said about the item.

Practice

The best way to make these techniques second nature is to play. Start with one- and two-star levels to get comfortable with the row and column rule, and try the daily challenge for a different case every day.