Shopping for Death

“Shopping for Death” is a Murdoku case from the Supermarket category: a board of 9×9, 8 suspects and one victim. Read the clues, work out where everybody was standing, and name the suspect who was left alone with the body.

The Board

The floor plan as the case hands it to you: 9×9, rated Hard, with 5 rooms. Every person — 9 in all — takes a row and a column of their own.

C1C2C3C4C5C6C7C8C9
R1TvSSTW
R2W
R3TCaTSS
R4CC
R5SCSSS
R6SSCTvCSS
R7TTCCCS
R8TCCTTS
R9W
Floor plan of “Shopping for Death”. Letters mark the objects; the key is below. A thick blue edge marks a window. A dashed edge marks a door.

Rooms

  • Checkout — 15 tiles: TV, Shelf, Table, Cash register
  • Snacks — 30 tiles: Carpet, Shelf, TV, Table
  • Drinks — 16 tiles: Shelf, Carpet, Table, Wooden crate
  • Chilled Aisle — 10 tiles: Shelf
  • Stockroom — 10 tiles: Wooden crate

Objects on the board

  • S Shelf (blocks the tile)
  • C Carpet (can be stood on)
  • T Table (blocks the tile)
  • W Wooden crate (blocks the tile)
  • Tv TV (blocks the tile)
  • Ca Cash register (blocks the tile)

The Suspects and Their Clues

Each suspect comes with what the witnesses remember. Read them all before placing anyone — a clue about one person is very often what pins down another.

Alex — a man with white hair

  • He was beside a TV

Bernd — a man with white hair

  • He was north of Alex

Carol — a woman with black hair

  • No one else in her room was a man

Dalia — a woman with blond hair and glasses

  • She was in a corner

Edison — a man with white hair and glasses

  • He was beside a window and he was not beside a wooden crate

Freya — a woman with brown hair and glasses

  • She was beside a carpet

Grant — a man with black hair

  • He was beside a window and he was beside a shelf

Hugh — a man with brown hair

  • In his room there was another suspect who had blond hair beside a carpet

The victim, Verena, is a woman. Nothing else about them is known, and no clue depends on it.

How Hard It Really Is

Deduction steps from the first clue to the verdict
37
Steps before anyone can be placed for certain
10
Reasoning the solve needs

How to Start — Without Spoilers

Before anything else, count where each suspect could be if you only read their own clues:

  • Alex: 4 possible tiles
  • Bernd: 53 possible tiles
  • Carol: 53 possible tiles
  • Dalia: 14 possible tiles
  • Edison: 6 possible tiles
  • Freya: 9 possible tiles
  • Grant: 2 possible tiles
  • Hugh: 32 possible tiles

The first deductions after that, in the order the solver finds them:

  1. Bernd is north of Alex – impossible cells removed.
  2. Grant: only column 1 possible – blocked for others.

That is as far as this page goes. From here on it is yours — the in-game hint giver explains each next step if you get stuck, without giving the answer away.

This case has exactly one solution, and it can be reached by forward deduction alone — no guessing.

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