A Game of Life and Death II

“A Game of Life and Death II” is a Murdoku case from the House & Home 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
R1SCWS
R2CTCCaCaTr
R3CaTr
R4Ca
R5PCaL
R6CaCC
R7CTCCaLTTC
R8CaCaTTC
R9TaCaCC
Floor plan of “A Game of Life and Death II”. Letters mark the objects; the key is below. A thick blue edge marks a window. A dashed edge marks a door.

Rooms

  • Dining Room — 13 tiles: Shelf, Chair, Table, Plant
  • Kitchen — 14 tiles: Chair, Table, Trash can
  • Hallway — 18 tiles: Wooden crate, Shelf, Carpet, Lamp
  • Game Room — 20 tiles: Chair, Lamp, Table
  • Conservatory — 16 tiles: Tree

Objects on the board

  • C Chair (can be stood on)
  • Ca Carpet (can be stood on)
  • T Table (blocks the tile)
  • L Lamp (blocks the tile)
  • S Shelf (blocks the tile)
  • Tr Tree (blocks the tile)
  • W Wooden crate (blocks the tile)
  • P Plant (blocks the tile)
  • Ta Trash can (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 brown hair

  • He was not beside a wall

Bernd — a man with a bald head, a beard and glasses

  • He was in the same column as a plant and he was not beside a wall

Cyrus — a man with a bald head, a beard and glasses

  • He was alone with a suspect who had a beard and he was in the same row as a plant

Dalia — a woman with blond hair

  • She was beside a tree

Elsa — a woman with white hair and glasses

  • She was in the same row as a shelf

Floyd — a man with a bald head

  • He was beside a shelf and he was alone with a male suspect

Grant — a man with a bald head and glasses

  • He was on a carpet

Hana — a woman with brown hair

  • She was alone with a female suspect and she was in the same column as a tree and she was east of a tree (R3/C7)

The victim, Vasiliy, is a man. 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
31
Steps before anyone can be placed for certain
13
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: 7 possible tiles
  • Bernd: 3 possible tiles
  • Cyrus: 7 possible tiles
  • Dalia: 6 possible tiles
  • Elsa: 6 possible tiles
  • Floyd: 3 possible tiles
  • Grant: 10 possible tiles
  • Hana: 6 possible tiles

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

  1. Cyrus: only row 5 possible – blocked for others.
  2. Elsa: only row 1 possible – blocked for others.
  3. Floyd: only row 2 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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