A Skeleton in the Classroom

“A Skeleton in the Classroom” is a Murdoku case from the School category: a board of 8×8, 7 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: 8×8, rated Hard, with 5 rooms. Every person — 8 in all — takes a row and a column of their own.

C1C2C3C4C5C6C7C8
R1CSCPlCGL
R2TTTG
R3CSkG
R4TBPL
R5BPC
R6SMCTC
R7MTTCTTC
R8SCC
Floor plan of “A Skeleton in the Classroom”. Letters mark the objects; the key is below.

Rooms

  • Classroom — 19 tiles: Chair, Shelf, Plant, Table, Skeleton, Blackboard
  • Gymnasium — 12 tiles: Gym mat, Locker
  • Teachers' Room — 12 tiles: Shelf, Monkey, Table
  • Canteen — 15 tiles: Chair, Table
  • Computer Room — 6 tiles: Blackboard, PC

Objects on the board

  • C Chair (can be stood on)
  • T Table (blocks the tile)
  • G Gym mat (can be stood on)
  • S Shelf (blocks the tile)
  • B Blackboard (blocks the tile)
  • L Locker (blocks the tile)
  • M Monkey (blocks the tile)
  • P PC (blocks the tile)
  • Pl Plant (blocks the tile)
  • Sk Skeleton (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 and glasses

  • He was alone with a male suspect

Bernd — a man with blond hair and a beard

  • He was in column 4

Carol — a woman with white hair

  • She was north of Floyd

Dylan — a man with black hair

  • He was in the same column as a locker, in a different room and he was alone with a male suspect

Edison — a man with a bald head and glasses

  • He was beside a table. Another suspect was further north than Edison, beside the same table.

Floyd — a man with white hair, a beard and glasses

  • He was north of a skeleton, in a different room

Greta — a woman with blond hair

  • She was on a gym mat

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

Clues About the Whole Scene

  • Exactly 1 person was on a chair.
  • Exactly 1 room is empty.

How Hard It Really Is

Deduction steps from the first clue to the verdict
30
Steps before anyone can be placed for certain
11
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: 42 possible tiles
  • Bernd: 5 possible tiles
  • Carol: 42 possible tiles
  • Dylan: 4 possible tiles
  • Edison: 20 possible tiles
  • Floyd: 5 possible tiles
  • Greta: 3 possible tiles

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

  1. Carol is north of Floyd – impossible cells removed.
  2. Edison must stand beside the same object (a table) as another person – impossible cells removed.
  3. Carol: only row 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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