If Clues by Sam will not let you mark anyone, the puzzle is not broken: one of your clues means something slightly different from what you read, or a consequence you already have is still sitting unused. The game promises there is always a logical next move. Below are the words people misread most, five ways to find the move you are missing, and how the hint works. No daily puzzle is solved here.
In brief
- A refused mark is information: the game only accepts what the clues already prove.
- Most stalls come from five words: neighbours, between, edge, all and both.
- Testing an assumption with colour tags is not guessing, as long as you mark only after a contradiction.
The rule that makes it hard
Twenty people sit in a grid of five rows and four columns, each one either criminal or innocent, and everyone tells the truth, criminals included. You mark a person innocent or criminal, and if the mark is right, their card may reveal a new clue. What makes the game different is that it refuses marks the evidence does not yet prove. You cannot reach the end on a lucky run, and when it stops you, it is telling you that a proof exists and you have not found it yet. That is a better hint than it sounds.
The words people misread
The game has a panel of clarifying details under its how-to-play section, and nearly every "this puzzle is impossible" post on its help forum comes down to one of them. Here they are in short; the game's own panel is the final word.
| The clue says | It means |
|---|---|
| Neighbours | Up to eight cards around a person, diagonals included. |
| Directly above, below, left, right | Only the single adjacent card in that direction. |
| Above, below | Anywhere in the same column. |
| Left, right | Anywhere in the same row, as you look at the board. |
| Between | The cards between the two named people, not the two themselves. |
| Connected | An unbroken chain sideways or up and down. A single person counts as connected. |
| Edge | The fourteen outer cards, corners included. |
| All | At least one. It does not promise more than one. |
| Both | Exactly two. |
| The most | Uniquely the most: nobody else ties. |
| A number | Exact, unless the clue says otherwise. |
| If A, then B | Not the same as "only if". It does mean: if not B, then not A. |
Two more that catch people: a profession says nothing about guilt unless a clue ties them together, and "in total" adds the groups up, so two criminals among the cooks and cops in total could be one of each or two of either.
Five ways to find the next move
1. Re-read the newest clue against the table
When you stall, the culprit is usually the clue you read fastest, and usually the newest one. Read it again word by word with the meanings above. "All the criminals on the edge" promises at least one criminal there. "Between" leaves out the two people it names. That one word often unlocks the board.
2. Count
Numbers in Clues by Sam are exact, and odd and even are strict. When a clue says a row has exactly two criminals and you have already found two, everyone else in that row is innocent. When a group must hold an odd number and only one unknown is left, its count decides it. Counting clues look weak and are often the strongest on the board.
3. Test an assumption, then mark only the contradiction
The game lets you put a colour tag on the corner of any card, and it suggests using them for hypotheticals. Tag one person as if they were criminal and follow what the clues would force. If the chain ends in something impossible, a count that cannot be met or a clue that turns false, then that person is innocent, and now you have a proof. This is not guessing: you only place the real mark once the contradiction is on the board.
The difference
A guess marks first and hopes. A proof by contradiction marks only after the other answer has failed.
4. Turn every "if" around
"If this person is criminal, then that one is too" tells you nothing when the first person is innocent. But it always tells you the reverse: if the second person is innocent, the first must be innocent as well. Many players use only the forward half of these clues and leave the useful half on the table.
5. Dim what is spent, and look at what is left
You can tap a revealed clue to dim it once it has nothing more to give. Do it as you go. When you stall, the clues still lit are the only places the next move can come from, and two of them read side by side often give what neither gives alone.
How the hint works
The hint button under the grid has two steps. The first press points at the clues you should be looking at; the second names the people you can now identify. If you want to keep the solve your own, take only the first step and find the person yourself. Your shared result shows who you found with a hint and who with a double hint, so it stays honest either way.
If you would rather ask a person, the game sends players to r/CluesBySamHelp and Bluesky, and its Share scenario button copies a link to your exact position so a helper can pick up the puzzle where you left it.
Where the same habits pay off
Clues by Sam hands you every fact as a true sentence and asks only what follows. The habits above, read each word exactly, count, and test before you commit, are the same ones a detective needs when the facts are not handed over at all. In Daily Holmes, the game we make, the facts are in a photograph and nobody tells you which details count; the case formats page shows how each day asks for an answer.
If you are looking for another grid instead, see our guide to games like Clues by Sam, the daily grids side by side in daily deduction games compared, and, for Murdle's own grid, our Murdle tips for beginners.
Frequently asked questions
Why won't Clues by Sam let me mark someone?
Because the game only accepts marks that the revealed clues already prove. It does not tell you whether your guess was right; it tells you that you cannot know yet. The game says there is always a logical next choice, so a refused mark means a clue has been misread or a consequence has been missed.
Do neighbours include diagonals in Clues by Sam?
Yes. A neighbour is any of the up to eight cards around a person, diagonals included. Directly above, below, left or right means only the one adjacent card in that direction.
What does "edge" mean in Clues by Sam?
The fourteen cards around the outside of the five-by-four board, corners included. Corner means only the four corner cards.
How does the hint work in Clues by Sam?
The hint button under the grid works in two steps. The first press shows which clues to look at; the second shows which people you can now identify. Your shared result marks the people you found with a hint, so a solve without one still counts for more.
Where can I ask for help with Clues by Sam?
The game points players to r/CluesBySamHelp and Bluesky. Its Share scenario button copies a link to your exact position, so someone else can open the puzzle where you are stuck, even on another day. r/puzzles only takes archived or past puzzles, not the current daily.