{"format":"murdoku-puzzle/1","id":"musicschool","version":1,"difficulty":"very-easy","level":2,"size":{"rows":6,"cols":6},"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 Music School","tagline":"A music school by the lake · a May evening in 1978 · the spring concert","author":"mathace","concept":"Murdoku – Manuel Garand (murdoku.com); unofficial fan-made case","created":"2026-09-29","story":"A music school in a small lakeside town, the evening of the spring concert in May 1978. Upstairs the choir was warming up, the string room smelled of rosin, and a nervous piano pupil was waiting for her turn. Vadim, the director, had told the teachers that afternoon that next year the school could afford only one of them – and that he had already made his choice. During the interval he was found dead in the drum room, beside the kettledrum. Five people were near him, and each gave one short statement – find the one 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 piano, the harp, the potted plant, the music stand, the double bass, the drum kit and the kettledrum) cannot be occupied; the stools, the bench and the chairs can.","The murderer was alone with the victim: nobody else was in that area."],"special":[]},"roleNames":{"teacher":"teacher","student":"student","victim":"victim"},"personGroups":[{"id":"teachers","name":"The teachers","persons":["A","B","V"]},{"id":"students","name":"The students","persons":["C","D","E"]}],"map":{"groups":[],"gaps":[],"areas":[{"id":"Piano Room","cells":[[1,1],[1,2],[1,3],[2,1],[2,2]],"fill":"#efdcc8","pattern":"carpet","labelAt":[2,2],"name":"Piano Room"},{"id":"Hallway","cells":[[1,4],[2,3],[2,4],[2,5],[3,4],[3,5],[4,5]],"fill":"#e6dccd","pattern":"planks","labelAt":[3,4],"name":"Hallway"},{"id":"String Room","cells":[[1,5],[1,6],[2,6],[3,6]],"fill":"#eadfcb","pattern":"boards","labelAt":[2,6],"name":"String Room"},{"id":"Choir Hall","cells":[[3,1],[3,2],[3,3],[4,1],[4,2],[4,3],[4,4],[5,1],[5,2],[5,3],[6,1],[6,2]],"fill":"#e9e4da","pattern":"boards","labelAt":[4,2],"name":"Choir Hall"},{"id":"Drum Room","cells":[[4,6],[5,4],[5,5],[5,6],[6,3],[6,4],[6,5],[6,6]],"fill":"#e3e9ec","pattern":"tiles","labelAt":[6,5],"name":"Drum Room"}],"objectTypes":{"bench":{"occupiable":true,"name":"bench","icon":""},"chair":{"occupiable":true,"name":"chair","icon":""},"stool":{"occupiable":true,"name":"stool","icon":""},"doublebass":{"occupiable":false,"name":"double bass","icon":""},"drumkit":{"occupiable":false,"name":"drum kit","icon":""},"harp":{"occupiable":false,"name":"harp","icon":""},"piano":{"occupiable":false,"name":"piano","icon":""},"plant":{"occupiable":false,"name":"potted plant","icon":""},"stand":{"occupiable":false,"name":"music stand","icon":""},"timpani":{"occupiable":false,"name":"kettledrum","icon":""}},"wallTypes":{},"objects":[{"cell":[1,1],"type":"piano"},{"cell":[1,2],"type":"stool"},{"cell":[1,5],"type":"harp"},{"cell":[2,4],"type":"plant"},{"cell":[3,2],"type":"stand"},{"cell":[3,5],"type":"bench"},{"cell":[3,6],"type":"doublebass"},{"cell":[4,1],"type":"chair"},{"cell":[4,3],"type":"chair"},{"cell":[5,5],"type":"drumkit"},{"cell":[6,3],"type":"stool"},{"cell":[6,6],"type":"timpani"}],"wallFeatures":[],"extras":[],"cellSize":46},"persons":[{"id":"A","name":"Amadeo","gender":"M","role":"teacher","color":"#c62828","avatar":{"bg":"#35607a","skin":"#e7b98f","hair":"#1c1a1a","style":"slick","shirt":"#1b1b1b","beard":true},"clue":"He was beside the piano.","job":"the piano teacher","avatarSvg":"","solverRole":"teacher","constraints":[{"type":"beside","obj":"piano"}]},{"id":"B","name":"Birgitta","gender":"F","role":"teacher","color":"#2e7d32","avatar":{"bg":"#c62828","skin":"#f6d8c0","hair":"#d9b464","style":"ponytail","shirt":"#2f3b4c","earrings":true},"clue":"She was not beside the drum kit.","job":"the percussion teacher","avatarSvg":"","solverRole":"teacher","constraints":[{"type":"not_beside","obj":"drumkit"}]},{"id":"C","name":"Cornell","gender":"M","role":"student","color":"#1565c0","avatar":{"bg":"#2e7d32","skin":"#d9a57a","hair":"#3a2a1c","style":"short","shirt":"#f2a53a"},"clue":"He was in the Hallway.","job":"a cello student","avatarSvg":"","solverRole":"student","constraints":[{"type":"area","areas":["Hallway"]}]},{"id":"D","name":"Doreen","gender":"F","role":"student","color":"#6a1b9a","avatar":{"bg":"#ad1457","skin":"#f3d3b5","hair":"#7a4a2a","style":"long","shirt":"#e26d8a","headband":"#f4efe6"},"clue":"She was sitting in a chair.","job":"a young soprano of the choir","avatarSvg":"","solverRole":"student","constraints":[{"type":"on","obj":"chair"}]},{"id":"E","name":"Evadne","gender":"F","role":"student","color":"#e65100","avatar":{"bg":"#6a1b9a","skin":"#f0cdb0","hair":"#1c1a1a","style":"bob","shirt":"#7fc4d8","glasses":true},"clue":"She was the only one sitting on a stool.","job":"a piano pupil waiting for her turn","avatarSvg":"","solverRole":"student","constraints":[{"type":"only_on","obj":"stool"}]},{"id":"V","name":"Vadim","gender":"M","role":"victim","color":"#1b1b1b","avatar":{"bg":"#5a2a2a","skin":"#f1c8a5","hair":"#8a8278","style":"bald","shirt":"#264653","beard":true,"glasses":true},"clue":"The victim. He was found in the Drum Room, beside the kettledrum – alone with the murderer.","job":"the director of the music school","avatarSvg":"","solverRole":"teacher","constraints":[{"type":"area","areas":["Drum Room"]},{"type":"beside","obj":"timpani"}]}],"victim":"V","murderer":"B","solution":{"E":[1,2],"A":[2,1],"C":[3,5],"D":[4,3],"V":[5,6],"B":[6,4]},"walkthrough":[{"place":["A"],"cand":{"C":[[1,4],[3,4],[3,5],[4,5]],"D":[[4,3]],"E":[[1,2],[6,3]]},"text":"Amadeo was beside the piano (R1C1). Its neighbours are R2C1 and R1C2 – and R1C2 is a stool. Evadne was the only one sitting on a stool, so Amadeo cannot be there: Amadeo is at R2C1. Cross out row 2 and column 1."},{"place":["D","E"],"cand":{"C":[[3,4],[3,5]]},"text":"Doreen was sitting in a chair. The chairs are at R4C1 and R4C3, and column 1 is Amadeo's: Doreen is at R4C3. Evadne was the only one on a stool: the stools are at R1C2 and R6C3, and column 3 is Doreen's: Evadne is at R1C2."},{"place":["B","C"],"cand":{},"text":"Cornell was in the Hallway. Rows 1, 2 and 4 are taken, so only R3C4 and R3C5 are left – both in row 3, which is therefore his. Birgitta was not beside the drum kit. She is left with rows 5 and 6 and columns 4, 5 and 6. R5C5 is the drum kit and R6C6 the kettledrum; R5C4, R5C6 and R6C5 are right beside the drum kit in the Drum Room. Only R6C4 remains: Birgitta is at R6C4. Column 4 is hers now, so Cornell is at R3C5, on the bench in the Hallway."},{"final":true,"text":"Case closed: the last free square, R5C6, is the victim's – in the Drum Room, beside the kettledrum, just as his card says, although we never needed it. Vadim was alone there with the percussion teacher. Birgitta is the murderer!"}],"solver":{"rules":[],"occupiable":["bench","chair","stool"]},"verification":{"tool":"tools/murdoku_solver.py","unique":true,"guessFree":true,"checked":"2026-09-29"}}