Behind the Screen

“Behind the Screen” is a Murdoku case from the Hospital 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 6 rooms. Every person — 8 in all — takes a row and a column of their own.

C1C2C3C4C5C6C7C8
R1WBLCTSkT
R2IBPCBI
R3BCCB
R4BIBWCFF
R5WBLCSTCh
R6ChChChCChP
R7CCCCCCC
R8ChChChPCT
Floor plan of “Behind the Screen”. Letters mark the objects; the key is below. A thick blue edge marks a window. A dashed edge marks a door.

Rooms

  • Reception — 6 tiles: Carpet, Table
  • Waiting Room — 9 tiles: Chair, Carpet
  • Operating Room — 12 tiles: Table, Skeleton, Bed, IV stand, Folding screen
  • Intensive Care — 15 tiles: Wheelchair, Bed, IV stand
  • Common Room — 6 tiles: Shelf, Table, Chair, Plant
  • Hallway — 16 tiles: Lamp, Carpet, Plant, Wheelchair

Objects on the board

  • C Carpet (can be stood on)
  • B Bed (can be stood on)
  • Ch Chair (can be stood on)
  • T Table (blocks the tile)
  • I IV stand (blocks the tile)
  • P Plant (blocks the tile)
  • W Wheelchair (can be stood on)
  • L Lamp (blocks the tile)
  • F Folding screen (can be stood on)
  • S Shelf (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 black hair

  • In his room there was another suspect by a window

Bella — a woman with blond hair

  • She was beside a carpet. Another suspect was further south than Bella, beside the same carpet.

Carol — a woman with red hair

  • She was in a wheelchair

Dylan — a man with blond hair

  • He was south-west of a skeleton, in the same room

Elsa — a woman with brown hair

  • She was east of every lamp, in the same room and she was beside a door

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

  • He was north of Bella

Greta — a woman with grey hair

  • No one else in her room was a man

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

Clues About the Whole Scene

  • No room was empty.

How Hard It Really Is

Deduction steps from the first clue to the verdict
38
Steps before anyone can be placed for certain
22
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: 50 possible tiles
  • Bella: 11 possible tiles
  • Carol: 3 possible tiles
  • Dylan: 3 possible tiles
  • Elsa: 3 possible tiles
  • Floyd: 50 possible tiles
  • Greta: 50 possible tiles

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

  1. Floyd is north of Bella – impossible cells removed.
  2. Bella must stand beside the same object (a carpet) as another person – impossible cells removed.
  3. Floyd is north of Bella – impossible cells removed.

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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