“The Topsy-Turvy Villa” is a Murdoku case from the Manor & Museum category: a board of 10×10, 9 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: 10×10, rated Hard, with 6 rooms. Every person — 10 in all — takes a row and a column of their own.
C1
C2
C3
C4
C5
C6
C7
C8
C9
C10
R1
P
C
C
C
C
C
R2
T
T
C
C
T
T
T
C
R3
T
T
C
C
C
C
R4
P
C
C
L
R5
C
C
G
G
L
R6
T
T
L
R7
P
P
P
L
L
L
L
R8
P
P
P
S
R9
Ca
Ca
Ca
Ca
Ca
Ca
Ca
S
S
R10
P
P
P
P
S
S
S
Floor plan of “The Topsy-Turvy Villa”. Letters mark the objects; the key is below.
Rooms
Entrance Hall — 21 tiles: Plant, Carpet
Dining Hall — 15 tiles: Chair, Table
Music Room — 15 tiles: Chair, Table, Plant
Conservatory — 20 tiles: Plant, Chair, Table
Gallery — 20 tiles: Locker, Gift
Wine Cellar — 9 tiles: Shelf
Objects on the board
C Chair (can be stood on)
P Plant (blocks the tile)
T Table (blocks the tile)
Ca Carpet (can be stood on)
L Locker (blocks the tile)
S Shelf (blocks the tile)
G Gift (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
He was in the same column as a gift
Bernd — a man with black hair and a beard
He was south of a carpet (R9/C1) and he was alone in the room
Carol — a woman with brown hair and glasses
She was north of a chair (R2/C5) and she was in the same column as a gift
Dalia — a woman with black hair and glasses
She was in row 5
Edison — a man with a bald head, a beard and glasses
He was in a corner
Freya — a woman with brown hair and glasses
She was in column 2
Grant — a man with blond hair and glasses
He was north of Ivan
Hana — a woman with blond hair and glasses
She was east of a chair (R1/C9) and she was beside a chair
Ivan — a man with blond hair and glasses
He was in the Gallery and he was in the same row as a table
The victim, Viola, 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
Before anything else, count where each suspect could be if you only read their own clues:
Alex: 11 possible tiles
Bernd: 3 possible tiles
Carol: 2 possible tiles
Dalia: 7 possible tiles
Edison: 13 possible tiles
Freya: 8 possible tiles
Grant: 64 possible tiles
Hana: 2 possible tiles
Ivan: 4 possible tiles
The first deductions after that, in the order the solver finds them:
Grant is north of Ivan – impossible cells removed.
Bernd: only row 10 possible – blocked for others.
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.