Clues by Sam

About Clues by Sam

Clues by Sam is a free browser puzzle published by Ad Artis Oy, a small Finnish studio that also runs other ad-free puzzle games. It started as a daily puzzle in 2025 and spread by word of mouth, picking up write-ups from sites such as Aftermath, Boing Boing and kottke.org.

Each puzzle is a grid of 20 cards in four columns and five rows. Every card shows a person's name and job, and the names run in alphabetical order. One person starts revealed with a clue, such as how many criminal neighbours someone has, or that all the innocents in a row are connected. Everyone tells the truth, criminals included. When you mark a person correctly, their card may turn over a new clue, and the puzzle unfolds from there.

The key rule is that you cannot guess. The game blocks any choice that does not follow from what you already know, even if it would turn out right, so every step has to be proven. The how-to page sets out exactly what words like neighbour, between, connected and edge mean, which matters a lot in the later puzzles. You can colour-tag cards to track ideas, dim used clues, and ask for a two-step hint.

Monday puzzles are a gentle start, while weekend ones can take a long time. It suits players who like logic grid puzzles and Murdle-style deduction, and who enjoy careful reasoning more than speed. A free account keeps your history and opens the previous week's puzzles, and paid puzzle packs add more.

How to play Clues by Sam

1. Read the clue on the card that starts revealed.
2. Find a person whose status the clues prove, tap them and choose innocent or criminal.
3. Read any new clue their card reveals.
4. If the game refuses your choice, look again: it only accepts moves that can be proven.
5. Keep going until all 20 people are marked, then share your time and result.

Screenshots

Tips

• Neighbours include diagonals, so a middle card can have up to eight; count carefully.
• Use the corner colour tags to mark people you suspect, or to test a what-if before committing.
• Read the clarifying details on the help page; words like between, connected and edge have exact meanings.
• Remember that an if-then clue also works backwards: if the result is false, the condition is false too.
• Start the week on Monday; the puzzles build in difficulty and teach the clue types as you go.

Questions