“Evil Under the Open Sky” is a Murdoku case from the Campground 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 Medium, with 5 rooms. Every person — 8 in all — takes a row and a column of their own.
C1
C2
C3
C4
C5
C6
C7
C8
R1
T
M
T
C
To
R2
Te
Te
Sh
C
R3
M
Te
Ca
C
Tr
R4
T
T
T
R5
B
B
C
S
Te
Te
T
R6
C
C
S
Te
Ca
R7
Ch
Ch
S
T
R8
Ta
Ta
Tv
T
T
T
Floor plan of “Evil Under the Open Sky”. Letters mark the objects; the key is below. A dashed edge marks a door.
Restroom — 10 tiles: Carpet, Toilet, Shower, Trash can
Picnic Area (outdoors) — 9 tiles: Campfire, Tree, Tent
Cabin — 21 tiles: Bed, Carpet, Shelf, Chair, Table, TV
Clearing (outdoors) — 8 tiles: Tent, Campfire, Tree
Objects on the board
T Tree (blocks the tile)
C Carpet (can be stood on)
Te Tent (can be stood on)
S Shelf (blocks the tile)
B Bed (can be stood on)
Ca Campfire (blocks the tile)
Ch Chair (can be stood on)
M Mud puddle (can be stood on)
Ta Table (blocks the tile)
Sh Shower (can be stood on)
To Toilet (can be stood on)
Tr Trash can (blocks the tile)
Tv TV (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.
Anna — a woman with brown hair
She was on a bed
Bernd — a man with red hair and a beard
He was alone in the room
Carol — a woman with white hair
She was on a toilet
Dalia — a woman with blond hair
She was in the Picnic Area
Elsa — a woman with black hair and glasses
She was in the same row as a chair, in a different room
Freya — a woman with brown hair
She was beside a table
Grant — a man with a bald head and glasses
He was north of every bed, in the same room and he was in the same column as a tent, in a different room
The victim, Vivek, 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
Before anything else, count where each suspect could be if you only read their own clues:
Anna: 2 possible tiles
Bernd: 45 possible tiles
Carol: a single tile — their own clue settles it
Dalia: 6 possible tiles
Elsa: 2 possible tiles
Freya: 3 possible tiles
Grant: a single tile — their own clue settles it
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.