Murderer Sudoku
The rules
How to play
- 01
One suspect per row and column
Place every suspect on the floor plan so that each row and each column holds exactly one of them — never two, never none.
- 02
The victim was not alone
Rooms are the walled areas. Exactly one suspect shares the victim’s room in the finished plan, and that suspect is the murderer.
- 03
Read the evidence
Each witness statement pins a suspect to a room, an object, a direction or another suspect. They are all true; cross them off as you use them.
- 04
Close the case
When every suspect is placed and every statement holds, the murderer is ringed. Every case has exactly one verified solution.
The evidence
What every statement means
Witnesses use nine kinds of phrase, and each has one exact meaning on the plan. No statement ever lies, and none is redundant — every case is built so that each clue is needed.
- “never left the Library”
- The suspect’s square is inside that room.
- “was not in the Hall”
- The suspect’s square is anywhere except that room.
- “was standing at the stove”
- The suspect is on the very square that holds the object.
- “was beside the piano”
- The suspect is on a square touching the object’s square by an edge — walls do not matter.
- “was directly north of the fountain”
- Same column as the object, somewhere above it. South, east and west work the same way.
- “was somewhere east of the Colonel”
- In a column further right than the Colonel — any row. Suspects never share a row or column, so this compares position only.
- “were in the same room”
- Both suspects’ squares belong to one room.
- “was alone in the room”
- No other suspect’s square is in that room.
- “Nobody was in the Cellar”
- That room holds no suspect at all.
Play smarter
Six habits of a good detective
Start with the anchors
“At the stove” and “never left the Library” fix a suspect to one square or one room. Place or pencil those first — everything else hangs off them.
Cross off rows and columns
Every placed suspect empties their whole row and column for everyone else. A room that loses all its free squares can’t hold anyone.
Empty rooms are strong
“Nobody was in the Hall” removes every square of that room at once — often more than any single placement.
Pencil the candidates
Turn on Notes, choose a square, then add possible suspects by number. When a suspect has only one possible square left, place them there. Most squares stay empty.
Mind the body
The victim’s room must end with exactly one suspect. Two candidates there? One of them is elsewhere. None? Someone still has to come in.
Read directions literally
“Directly north of” an object means the same column. “Somewhere east of” a suspect only compares columns. The rules panel spells out every phrase.
From the Intel desk
Reading for the curious
How to Play Murderer Sudoku: A Beginner’s Guide
Learn Murderer Sudoku rules, read the room and object clues, and follow a worked deduction to solve your first detective logic puzzle.
Murderer Sudoku Strategies: From Clues to a Closed Case
Solve harder Murderer puzzles with candidate tracking, row and column elimination, room capacity, and precise directional deductions.
Keep going
Where to next
Fresh every day
The Daily Case
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Go deeper
Rules & strategy guide
From row-and-column elimination to reading “beside” correctly — the complete written guide.
Beyond the manor
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