{"format":"murdoku-puzzle/1","id":"icecream","version":1,"difficulty":"very-easy","level":1,"size":{"rows":5,"cols":5},"languages":["en","hu","de","fr","es","it","nl","pl","pt","ro","ca","cs","fi","vi","tr","el","ru","uk","ar","ko","ja","zh-Hans","zh-Hant"],"defaultLanguage":"en","title":"The Ice Cream Parlour","tagline":"A gelateria on the Rimini seafront · an August evening in 1962 · the pistachio had sold out","author":"mathace","concept":"Murdoku – Manuel Garand (murdoku.com); unofficial fan-made case","created":"2026-09-29","story":"Rimini, a scorching evening in August 1962. The little gelateria on the seafront had sold out of pistachio by six o'clock, the last sunburnt tourists were leaving the terrace, and the ice-cream maker was counting the day's takings. Vitale, a property developer who had spent the whole summer trying to buy the parlour and knock it down for a hotel, sat down on the terrace beside the striped parasol and ordered an espresso he never drank. At sunset he was found dead there. Only four people had been near him, and each gave a one-sentence statement – find out who was alone with him.","rules":{"standard":["Every row and every column holds exactly one person. As soon as you place someone, cross out their whole row and column.","“Beside” = directly left, right, above or below, and in the same area. Squares with objects (the sink, the ice-cream counter, the table, the parasol, the bicycle and the flower bed) cannot be occupied; the chairs and the bench can.","The murderer was alone with the victim: nobody else was in that area."],"special":[]},"roleNames":{"guest":"guest","staff":"staff","victim":"victim"},"personGroups":[{"id":"guests","name":"Guests","persons":["A","B","V"]},{"id":"staff","name":"The staff","persons":["C","D"]}],"map":{"groups":[],"gaps":[],"areas":[{"id":"Kitchen","cells":[[1,1],[1,2],[2,1]],"fill":"#e3e9ec","pattern":"tiles","labelAt":[1,2],"name":"Kitchen"},{"id":"Parlour","cells":[[1,3],[1,4],[2,2],[2,3],[3,1],[3,2],[4,1]],"fill":"#f6dde6","pattern":"marble","labelAt":[3,2],"name":"Parlour"},{"id":"Terrace","cells":[[1,5],[2,4],[2,5],[3,3],[3,4],[3,5],[4,2],[4,3],[5,1],[5,2]],"fill":"#f0e4cc","pattern":"tiles","labelAt":[4,3],"name":"Terrace"},{"id":"Garden","cells":[[4,4],[4,5],[5,3],[5,4],[5,5]],"fill":"#dcebcd","pattern":"marble","labelAt":[5,4],"name":"Garden"}],"objectTypes":{"bench":{"occupiable":true,"name":"bench","icon":""},"chair":{"occupiable":true,"name":"chair","icon":""},"bicycle":{"occupiable":false,"name":"bicycle","icon":""},"counter":{"occupiable":false,"name":"ice-cream counter","icon":""},"flowers":{"occupiable":false,"name":"flower bed","icon":""},"sink":{"occupiable":false,"name":"sink","icon":""},"table":{"occupiable":false,"name":"table","icon":""},"umbrella":{"occupiable":false,"name":"parasol","icon":""}},"wallTypes":{},"objects":[{"cell":[1,1],"type":"sink"},{"cell":[1,4],"type":"counter"},{"cell":[2,2],"type":"chair"},{"cell":[2,3],"type":"table"},{"cell":[2,4],"type":"chair"},{"cell":[3,3],"type":"chair"},{"cell":[3,4],"type":"umbrella"},{"cell":[3,5],"type":"chair"},{"cell":[4,1],"type":"chair"},{"cell":[4,5],"type":"bicycle"},{"cell":[5,2],"type":"chair"},{"cell":[5,3],"type":"bench"},{"cell":[5,5],"type":"flowers"}],"wallFeatures":[],"extras":[],"cellSize":46},"persons":[{"id":"A","name":"Arturo","gender":"M","role":"guest","color":"#c62828","avatar":{"bg":"#1565c0","skin":"#e4b998","hair":"#1c1a1a","style":"slick","shirt":"#f4efe6","mustache":true,"mustacheColor":"#1c1a1a"},"clue":"He was in the last row.","job":"the owner of the hotel next door","avatarSvg":"","solverRole":"guest","constraints":[{"type":"row","rows":[5]}]},{"id":"B","name":"Brigida","gender":"F","role":"guest","color":"#2e7d32","avatar":{"bg":"#e65100","skin":"#f6d8c0","hair":"#7a4a2a","style":"bob","shirt":"#7fc4d8","glasses":true},"clue":"She was beside the table.","job":"a schoolteacher on holiday from Bologna","avatarSvg":"","solverRole":"guest","constraints":[{"type":"beside","obj":"table"}]},{"id":"C","name":"Corrado","gender":"M","role":"staff","color":"#1565c0","avatar":{"bg":"#2e7d32","skin":"#e7b98f","hair":"#3a2a1c","style":"short","shirt":"#f4efe6","apron":true,"beard":true},"clue":"He was in the Parlour. He was sitting in a chair.","job":"the ice-cream maker","avatarSvg":"","solverRole":"staff","constraints":[{"type":"area","areas":["Parlour"]},{"type":"on","obj":"chair"}]},{"id":"D","name":"Dafne","gender":"F","role":"staff","color":"#6a1b9a","avatar":{"bg":"#ad1457","skin":"#f3d3b5","hair":"#b7482c","style":"ponytail","shirt":"#1b1b1b","apron":true},"clue":"She was beside the bicycle.","job":"the waitress","avatarSvg":"","solverRole":"staff","constraints":[{"type":"beside","obj":"bicycle"}]},{"id":"V","name":"Vitale","gender":"M","role":"victim","color":"#1b1b1b","avatar":{"bg":"#5a2a2a","skin":"#f1c8a5","hair":"#8a8278","style":"bald","shirt":"#2f3b4c","mustache":true,"mustacheColor":"#8a8278","glasses":true},"clue":"The victim. He was found on the Terrace, beside the parasol – alone with the murderer.","job":"a property developer who wanted the parlour","avatarSvg":"","solverRole":"guest","constraints":[{"type":"area","areas":["Terrace"]},{"type":"beside","obj":"umbrella"}]}],"victim":"V","murderer":"A","solution":{"B":[1,3],"C":[2,2],"V":[3,5],"D":[4,4],"A":[5,1]},"walkthrough":[{"place":["D"],"cand":{"A":[[5,1],[5,2],[5,3]],"B":[[1,3],[2,2]],"C":[[2,2]]},"text":"Start with the statement that leaves the fewest squares. Dafne was beside the bicycle (R4C5, in the Garden). “Beside” means a neighbouring square in the same area: R3C5 above it belongs to the Terrace and R5C5 below it is a flower bed, so only R4C4 is left. Dafne is at R4C4 – cross out row 4 and column 4."},{"place":["C","B"],"cand":{"A":[[5,1]]},"text":"Corrado was in the Parlour, sitting in a chair. The Parlour has two chairs, R2C2 and R4C1, and row 4 is Dafne's: Corrado is at R2C2. Brigida was beside the table (R2C3). Its neighbours in the Parlour are R1C3 and R2C2 (R2C4 and R3C3 belong to the Terrace), and R2C2 is Corrado's: Brigida is at R1C3."},{"place":["A"],"cand":{},"text":"Arturo was in the last row. R5C5 is a flower bed, and columns 2, 3 and 4 are taken: Arturo is at R5C1."},{"final":true,"text":"Case closed: the last free square, R3C5, is the victim's – on the Terrace, beside the parasol, just as his card says, although we never needed it. Vitale was alone there with the owner of the hotel next door. Arturo is the murderer!"}],"solver":{"rules":[],"occupiable":["bench","chair"]},"verification":{"tool":"tools/murdoku_solver.py","unique":true,"guessFree":true,"checked":"2026-09-29"}}