How to Play Clueprint

Someone has been murdered in a country house, and the body lies on one square of the floorplan. A handful of suspects were each standing somewhere in the house at the time. Your job is to work out exactly which square every suspect stood in - and so, who was alone with the victim.

The house rules

• One per row, one per column. Every row and every column of the floorplan holds exactly one suspect.
• One per room at most. No room holds two suspects.
• The murder room holds the killer. The room with the body in it (shaded) has exactly one suspect in it: the murderer. Nobody stands on the body's own square.
• Adjoining rooms share a wall, with or without a door in it. Rooms that meet only at a corner do not adjoin.
• Doors are the gaps in the thick walls. The front and back doors count as doors of the rooms they open into. A dead end is a room with only one door.
• Steps are moves to a neighbouring square (up, down, left or right), passing through a doorway whenever you change rooms.

Marking the board

Each square shows a small tile for every suspect. Click a tile to cross that suspect out of that square; double-click to place them there. Click a suspect's name to focus on them: the board then shows just that person's remaining squares, and you can tap or drag across squares to cross out many at once, or use the ✕ handles to clear a whole row or column. Turn on Rule assist and the board crosses out the row, column and room of every placed suspect for you.

Hints, checks and penalties

Every puzzle has exactly one solution and can be solved by deduction alone - you never have to guess. If you get stuck, Hint explains the next easiest deduction from your current board, and Check for Errors removes any mistakes. Both cost time: 120 penalty seconds for each hint, for each error removed, and for each incorrect submission. Penalties are added to your solving time before your score is calculated.

Scoring

Each difficulty has a maximum score (Easy 100, Easy-Medium 200, Medium 350, Medium-Hard 600, Hard 900, with up to 20% more for the toughest cases in a band). You earn the maximum by matching the record time for that puzzle, about half of it by matching the average time, and a small minimum no matter how long it takes. Registered players collect points towards the monthly competition and the all-time Hall of Fame.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I add an avatar to my account?

All players are welcome to add an avatar to their account, simply by clicking the default blue-and-white image at the top-right of every page (when you're logged in), or you can click here. This will take you to a library of available avatar images which you can use and swap-out anytime you like. If you prefer to upload your own personal avatar, you may do so by clicking "Settings" at the top right, then "My Profile" in the top menu.

Your avatar image will appear whenever you're logged in, and other players will be able to see it in the chat room, on your profile page, on the forum, and whenever you break a new record time.

Can I print these puzzles?

If you find you actually prefer to print your puzzles and solve with pencil and paper, you may want to visit our sister site, Printable-Puzzles.com. We make new puzzles available each morning, complete with online hints and solutions for each puzzle.

I work for a newspaper or magazine. Can we syndicate your puzzles?

We offer an affordable subscription service for publishers who want a steady supply of puzzles for their print publications. Each puzzle is guaranteed to be unique, and can be provided on a regular schedule via email, CD-Rom, or through paper post depending on preference. Please contact us for more information.