“A Murderous Summer” is a Murdoku case from the Campground 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 Easy, with 6 rooms. Every person — 9 in all — takes a row and a column of their own.
C1
C2
C3
C4
C5
C6
C7
C8
C9
R1
C
T
S
T
Ta
R2
T
Ta
Ca
O+S
C
T
R3
C
T
Ca
S
T
C
R4
T
M
C
O
S
Ca
Ca
O
R5
Sh
S
S
S
S
R6
Tr
S
M
C
R7
M
Tr
Sh
Cs
Ca
S
Ta
C
R8
Tr
Ca
S
Ta
C
R9
Tr
M
Tr
S
G
C
Floor plan of “A Murderous Summer”. Letters mark the objects; the key is below. A thick blue edge marks a window. A dashed edge marks a door.
Parking Lot (outdoors) — 24 tiles: Street, Car, Oil slick
Kiosk — 6 tiles: Shelf, Cash register
Objects on the board
S Street (can be stood on)
C Chair (can be stood on)
T Tent (can be stood on)
Ca Car (can be stood on)
Tr Tree (blocks the tile)
M Mud puddle (can be stood on)
Ta Table (blocks the tile)
O Oil slick (can be stood on)
Sh Shelf (blocks the tile)
Cs Cash register (blocks the tile)
G Grill (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 white hair and glasses
She was on a mud puddle
Bella — a woman with blond hair
She was beside a tree and she was in the same column as a cash register
Cyrus — a man with brown hair and a beard
He was in a tent
Dalia — a woman with blond hair and glasses
She was beside a tree and she was in a corner
Edison — a man with a bald head and a beard
He was on an oil slick
Floyd — a man with white hair, a beard and glasses
He was on a chair and he was in a corner
Greta — a woman with blond hair
She was in a tent and she was beside a table
Hana — a woman with blond hair
She was beside a mud puddle
The victim, Vanessa, 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
18
Steps before anyone can be placed for certain
8
How to Start — Without Spoilers
Before anything else, count where each suspect could be if you only read their own clues:
Anna: 4 possible tiles
Bella: a single tile — their own clue settles it
Cyrus: 7 possible tiles
Dalia: 2 possible tiles
Edison: 3 possible tiles
Floyd: 2 possible tiles
Greta: 3 possible tiles
Hana: 7 possible tiles
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.