What is Clues by Sam?
Clues by Sam puts twenty suspects in front of you, laid out in a grid, and asks a single question: who is innocent and who is a criminal? You start with one revealed person and a clue. Every time you correctly identify someone, they reveal a new clue, usually about their neighbours in the grid, such as how many criminals are standing next to them or in their row. Step by step the picture fills in. There is no need to guess, because each puzzle is designed to be solved with logic alone. It was made by Finnish designer Johannes Ahvenniemi and released in 2025. With no marketing at all it grew to tens of thousands of daily players, mostly through word of mouth. It suits anyone who likes Minesweeper, logic puzzles or a cosy detective story.
How to play
- Read the revealed clues, which often talk about neighbours in the grid.
- Mark a suspect as innocent or criminal only when the clues prove it.
- Each correct call reveals a new clue. Keep going until all twenty are solved.
Quick facts
- Typical time
- 5–15 min
- Difficulty
- Medium · some days need long chains of reasoning
- Price
- Free.
- Account
- Not needed for today's puzzle. A free account keeps your results history.
- Past puzzles
- A free account opens this week's and last week's puzzles. Paid packs add extra ones.
- On a phone
- Works in your phone's browser. Nothing to install.
Tips to get better
- Never guess. The puzzle is built so there's always something you can prove. If you can't see it, read the clues again.
- Check who a clue is talking about. A neighbour, a row, a column and 'everyone to the left' are all different groups of people. Most mistakes come from misreading which group a clue covers.
- Count both ways. If a clue says two of someone's five neighbours are criminals and you've found both, the other three are innocent. If you've found three innocents, the other two are the criminals.
- Combine two clues. The best deductions come from clues about groups that overlap. If a row has one criminal and another clue narrows that criminal down to two people, everyone else in the row is innocent.
- Return to old clues. Every clue stays true for the whole game. One that was useless at step three may settle things at step twelve.
Who it's for
Clues by Sam is for people who love the moment a deduction locks into place. There's no trivia and little to read, just twenty people and a growing web of facts. It's harder than it looks and it punishes guessing, so impatient players may bounce off. If you ever enjoyed Minesweeper, you'll feel at home straight away.
