VerdictCASE FILES Nº 2026-07-20

Today's three cases

Three deduction cases — Easy, Medium, Hard. Each has exactly one solution, reachable by logic alone. No guessing, ever. Solve any one to keep your streak.

Pick your level — free →

The Blackwood Manor Affair — the Cole file

EASY · 14 clues

A storm, a sealed manor, and a missing heirloom. Each guest spent the evening in a different room along the great hall. Work out who was where — and with what.

  1. 1. The guest drinking the earl grey was right next to the one carrying the fountain pen.
  2. 2. Juniper Shaw and the one carrying the pocket watch are the same person.
  3. 3. Ivo Blackwood was in the room right before the guest drinking the madeira.
  4. 4. Esme Hart was somewhere before the one carrying the fountain pen in the line.
  5. 5. Juniper Shaw and the one carrying the candlestick were exactly 3 rooms apart.
  6. 6. The guest drinking the madeira and the one carrying the riding crop are the same person.
  7. 7. Bennett Cole and the guest drinking the madeira are the same person.
  8. 8. Esme Hart was right next to the one carrying the fountain pen.
  9. 9. Juniper Shaw and the guest drinking the espresso were exactly 2 rooms apart.
  10. 10. Bennett Cole was right next to the one carrying the pocket watch.
  11. 11. The one carrying the fountain pen was in the room right before the one carrying the riding crop.
  12. 12. Bennett Cole was in the room right before the guest drinking the chamomile.
  13. 13. Ivo Blackwood was right next to the guest drinking the madeira.
  14. 14. Esme Hart was in the room right before Ivo Blackwood.

Checkout at the Hotel Meridian — the Holt file

MEDIUM · 14 clues

The night manager of the Hotel Meridian was found slumped over the register, and the guest book had been altered. Each suspect took a different suite along the tower's top corridor, front to back. Sort out who stayed where.

  1. 1. Seraphina Holt was somewhere before the one carrying the silver key tag in the line.
  2. 2. Lillian Royce was somewhere before the guest pretending to be the diplomat in the line.
  3. 3. The guest pretending to be the horse breeder was right next to the one carrying the jade key tag.
  4. 4. Constance Vail and the one carrying the brass key tag are the same person.
  5. 5. Constance Vail was right next to the guest pretending to be the film producer.
  6. 6. Seraphina Holt was somewhere before the one carrying the ivory key tag in the line.
  7. 7. The guest pretending to be the retired colonel was in the suite right before the one carrying the copper key tag.
  8. 8. Oscar Dunne and the one carrying the copper key tag were exactly 2 suites apart.
  9. 9. Constance Vail was right next to the one carrying the copper key tag.
  10. 10. Philippa Drake was right next to the one carrying the jade key tag.
  11. 11. The guest pretending to be the horse breeder was right next to the one carrying the copper key tag.
  12. 12. The guest pretending to be the antique dealer was somewhere after the guest pretending to be the film producer but before the guest pretending to be the diplomat.
  13. 13. The guest pretending to be the horse breeder was in the suite right before the guest pretending to be the antique dealer.
  14. 14. The one carrying the jade key tag was in the suite right before the one carrying the ivory key tag.

The Spoiled Vintage at Château Mirabel — the Faure file

HARD · 17 clues

A cask of the estate's finest vintage was drained and switched the night before the auction. Each vintner worked alone in a different cellar vault along the chalk tunnel. Work the tunnel, vault by vault, and name who swapped the wine.

  1. 1. Whoever jotted down vanilla and spice was somewhere before whoever jotted down ripe pear in the line.
  2. 2. Pilar Navarro and whoever jotted down cedar and tobacco were exactly 3 vaults apart.
  3. 3. The one using the crystal decanter was somewhere before whoever jotted down green apple in the line.
  4. 4. Henri Faure was right next to the one using the tasting pipette.
  5. 5. Henri Faure and whoever jotted down ripe pear were exactly 3 vaults apart.
  6. 6. Whoever jotted down vanilla and spice was in the vault right before whoever jotted down ripe pear.
  7. 7. Rafe Sterling was right next to the one blending the sauvignon blanc.
  8. 8. The one blending the sangiovese and the one using the crystal decanter were exactly 2 vaults apart.
  9. 9. Marco Bellini was in the vault right before whoever jotted down cedar and tobacco.
  10. 10. The one blending the grenache was right next to the one using the crystal decanter.
  11. 11. Marco Bellini was in the vault right before the one using the tasting pipette.
  12. 12. Marco Bellini was right next to the one using the tasting pipette.
  13. 13. Henri Faure and whoever jotted down green apple are the same person.
  14. 14. The one blending the grenache was in the vault right before the one using the glass demijohn.
  15. 15. The one using the cork press was somewhere before whoever jotted down citrus peel in the line.
  16. 16. Pilar Navarro and the one blending the sauvignon blanc are the same person.
  17. 17. Pilar Navarro and the one blending the riesling were exactly 4 vaults apart.

Every Verdict case has exactly one solution, provably reachable by deduction alone — no guessing required. Can you close all three?