Room for Murder Daily › All cases › Case #11
Lights Out at the Campsite
Vince was the life of the party — right up until the end.
🔎 Solved by 6 detectives · median time 2:26 · 67% with no help at all
Can stand / sit on: chairbenchbed
Solid — nobody there: tablestovetreegrill
What the witnesses say
Nicothe barista
“There was a tree in his row. There was the stove in his column.”
“There was a tree in his row. There was the stove in his column.”
Wandathe fortune teller
“She was somewhere west of Percy.”
“She was somewhere west of Percy.”
Basilthe vicar
“There was the grill in his column. He was exactly one row north of Cora.”
“There was the grill in his column. He was exactly one row north of Cora.”
Percythe butler
“There was the grill in his row. He was diagonally next to Wanda.”
“There was the grill in his row. He was diagonally next to Wanda.”
Corathe vet
“She was beside a table. There was the stove in her row.”
“She was beside a table. There was the stove in her row.”
Ediththe retired spy
“She was in a corner of a room. She was in the Cabin.”
“She was in a corner of a room. She was in the Cabin.”
Vincethe victim
Found dead — alone in a room with the killer.
Found dead — alone in a room with the killer.
The rules
- Exactly one person in every row and every column.
- Nobody stands on solid furniture; chairs, sofas, benches, beds and rugs are fine.
- Every statement is true. “Beside” means the square directly next to it; north is up.
- The victim was alone in a room with exactly one other person: the killer.
Show the answer and the solution to case #11
The killer was Basil (the vicar) — the only other person in the Campfire Circle with Vince. Nico: B5 · Wanda: D6 · Basil: F2 · Percy: C7 · Cora: G4 · Edith: A3 · Vince: E1.
How to solve it, step by step
- Nico: “There was a tree in his row. There was the stove in his column.” Only one square on the whole plan fits: B5.
- Cora: “She was beside a table. There was the stove in her row.” Only one square on the whole plan fits: G4.
- Basil: “There was the grill in his column. He was exactly one row north of Cora.” With Cora on G4, only F2 still fits — the others are in rows or columns already taken.
- Every square left for Percy is in row C, so row C is Percy's — nobody else can be in row C.
- Every square left for Edith is in row A, so row A is Edith's — nobody else can be in row A.
- Read Percy's statement — “He was diagonally next to Wanda.” — against where Wanda can still be: Percy can only be on C6 or C7; Wanda can only be on D6 or D7.
- Row E still needs someone, and only Vince can still stand in it — so Vince is somewhere in row E.
- Vince, the victim, has no statement — but only one square is left in a free row and column: E1, in the Campfire Circle.
- Column 3 still needs someone, and Edith is the only one who can still stand in it. In column 3, “She was in a corner of a room. She was in the Cabin.” fits only A3.
- Read Wanda's statement — “She was somewhere west of Percy.” — against where Percy can still be: Wanda can only be on D6; Percy can only be on C7.
- Wanda: “She was somewhere west of Percy.” Of the squares that fit, only D6 is still open — the rest are ruled out above.
- Percy: “There was the grill in his row. He was diagonally next to Wanda.” And Wanda said: “She was somewhere west of Percy.” With Wanda on D6 and Wanda on D6, only C7 still fits — the others are in rows or columns already taken.
- Everyone is placed. Vince lies in the Campfire Circle, and the only other person in there is Basil. Basil is the killer.
The book
80 more cases in Room for Murder
Five chapters of floor-plan mysteries, from cosy cottages to a lying-killer chapter, with answers in the back.
Book 2
Room for Murder: Thanksgiving
90 floor-plan mysteries in Cranberry Hollow, every case a two-page spread — a puzzle book for the long weekend.
Book 3
Room for Murder: Winter
90 cosy Christmas floor-plan mysteries in snowed-in Juniper Falls — a stocking stuffer for puzzle lovers.