{"format":"murdoku-puzzle/1","id":"railway","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 Railway Station","tagline":"A junction station in the Tyrol · a snowy November night in 1937 · the express was late","author":"mathace","concept":"Murdoku – Manuel Garand (murdoku.com); unofficial fan-made case","created":"2026-09-29","story":"A small junction station in the Tyrol, a snowy night in November 1937. The Vienna express was two hours late, the waiting room was warm, and the new espresso machine of the station café hissed away. Verena, a rich heiress on her way to Vienna, had spent the whole evening complaining – about the draughts, about the coffee and, loudest of all, about the staff. When the express finally pulled in, she was found dead in the waiting room, beside the potted palm. Five people had been in the station, and each gave one short statement – find the one who was alone with her.","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 ticket counter, the station sign, the potted palm, the shelf, the table, the espresso machine, the luggage trolley and the pile of suitcases) cannot be occupied; the benches and the chairs can.","The murderer was alone with the victim: nobody else was in that area."],"special":[]},"roleNames":{"passenger":"passenger","staff":"station staff","victim":"victim"},"personGroups":[{"id":"passengers","name":"Passengers","persons":["A","B","C","V"]},{"id":"staff","name":"The station staff","persons":["D","E"]}],"map":{"groups":[],"gaps":[],"areas":[{"id":"Ticket Hall","cells":[[1,1],[1,2],[2,1]],"fill":"#e6dccd","pattern":"tiles","labelAt":[1,2],"name":"Ticket Hall"},{"id":"Waiting Room","cells":[[1,3],[1,4],[1,5],[2,2],[2,3],[3,2],[3,3]],"fill":"#efe4d4","pattern":"planks","labelAt":[2,3],"name":"Waiting Room"},{"id":"Station Café","cells":[[2,4],[2,5],[3,4],[3,5],[4,3],[4,4]],"fill":"#f0e6d4","pattern":"tiles","labelAt":[2,5],"name":"Station Café"},{"id":"Left Luggage","cells":[[3,1],[4,1],[4,2],[5,1]],"fill":"#dccbb0","pattern":"boards","labelAt":[4,1],"name":"Left Luggage"},{"id":"Platform","cells":[[1,6],[2,6],[3,6],[4,5],[4,6],[5,2],[5,3],[5,4],[5,5],[5,6],[6,1],[6,2],[6,3],[6,4],[6,5],[6,6]],"fill":"#e0dcd3","pattern":"marble","labelAt":[5,4],"name":"Platform"}],"objectTypes":{"bench":{"occupiable":true,"name":"bench","icon":""},"chair":{"occupiable":true,"name":"chair","icon":""},"counter":{"occupiable":false,"name":"ticket counter","icon":""},"espresso":{"occupiable":false,"name":"espresso machine","icon":""},"luggage":{"occupiable":false,"name":"pile of suitcases","icon":""},"plant":{"occupiable":false,"name":"potted palm","icon":""},"shelf":{"occupiable":false,"name":"shelf","icon":""},"sign":{"occupiable":false,"name":"station sign","icon":""},"table":{"occupiable":false,"name":"table","icon":""},"trolley":{"occupiable":false,"name":"luggage trolley","icon":""}},"wallTypes":{},"objects":[{"cell":[1,1],"type":"counter"},{"cell":[1,4],"type":"bench"},{"cell":[1,6],"type":"sign"},{"cell":[2,2],"type":"plant"},{"cell":[2,4],"type":"chair"},{"cell":[3,1],"type":"shelf"},{"cell":[3,4],"type":"table"},{"cell":[3,5],"type":"chair"},{"cell":[4,3],"type":"espresso"},{"cell":[5,3],"type":"bench"},{"cell":[5,5],"type":"trolley"},{"cell":[6,2],"type":"luggage"},{"cell":[6,6],"type":"bench"}],"wallFeatures":[],"extras":[],"cellSize":46},"persons":[{"id":"A","name":"Algernon","gender":"M","role":"passenger","color":"#c62828","avatar":{"bg":"#35607a","skin":"#f6d8c0","hair":"#d9b464","style":"short","shirt":"#6b8e23","mustache":true,"mustacheColor":"#d9b464","glasses":true},"clue":"He was in the last row.","job":"an English travel writer","avatarSvg":"","solverRole":"passenger","constraints":[{"type":"row","rows":[6]}]},{"id":"B","name":"Blodwen","gender":"F","role":"passenger","color":"#2e7d32","avatar":{"bg":"#ad1457","skin":"#f3d3b5","hair":"#b7482c","style":"curly","shirt":"#7a1b3a","scarf":"#e0b050"},"clue":"She was sitting on a bench.","job":"a Welsh singer on tour","avatarSvg":"","solverRole":"passenger","constraints":[{"type":"on","obj":"bench"}]},{"id":"C","name":"Clovis","gender":"M","role":"passenger","color":"#1565c0","avatar":{"bg":"#6a1b9a","skin":"#e4b998","hair":"#1c1a1a","style":"slick","shirt":"#7a1b3a","beard":true},"clue":"He was in the Ticket Hall.","job":"a French wine merchant","avatarSvg":"","solverRole":"passenger","constraints":[{"type":"area","areas":["Ticket Hall"]}]},{"id":"D","name":"Delphina","gender":"F","role":"staff","color":"#6a1b9a","avatar":{"bg":"#3f6a3a","skin":"#f6d8c0","hair":"#3a2a1c","style":"bun","shirt":"#264653","apron":true},"clue":"She was beside a bench.","job":"the waiting-room attendant","avatarSvg":"","solverRole":"staff","constraints":[{"type":"beside","obj":"bench"}]},{"id":"E","name":"Ernst","gender":"M","role":"staff","color":"#e65100","avatar":{"bg":"#1565c0","skin":"#f1c8a5","hair":"#7a4a2a","style":"short","shirt":"#f4efe6","mustache":true,"mustacheColor":"#7a4a2a"},"clue":"He was beside the espresso machine.","job":"the waiter of the station café","avatarSvg":"","solverRole":"staff","constraints":[{"type":"beside","obj":"espresso"}]},{"id":"V","name":"Verena","gender":"F","role":"victim","color":"#1b1b1b","avatar":{"bg":"#5a2a2a","skin":"#f6d8c0","hair":"#1c1a1a","style":"long","shirt":"#1b1b1b","necklace":true,"earrings":true},"clue":"The victim. She was found in the Waiting Room, beside the potted palm – alone with the murderer.","job":"a rich heiress on her way to Vienna","avatarSvg":"","solverRole":"passenger","constraints":[{"type":"area","areas":["Waiting Room"]},{"type":"beside","obj":"plant"}]}],"victim":"V","murderer":"D","solution":{"D":[1,5],"C":[2,1],"V":[3,2],"E":[4,4],"B":[5,3],"A":[6,6]},"walkthrough":[{"place":["E"],"cand":{"A":[[6,1],[6,3],[6,5],[6,6]],"B":[[5,3],[6,6]],"C":[[1,2],[2,1]],"D":[[1,3],[1,5],[5,2],[5,6],[6,3],[6,5]]},"text":"Ernst was beside the espresso machine (R4C3, in the Station Café). R3C3 above it belongs to the Waiting Room, R5C3 below it to the Platform and R4C2 to the Left Luggage – only R4C4 is in the café. Ernst is at R4C4: cross out row 4 and column 4."},{"place":["B"],"cand":{"C":[[1,2],[2,1]],"D":[[1,5],[6,5]]},"text":"Algernon was in the last row, so row 6 is his – nobody else can be there. Blodwen was sitting on a bench. The benches are at R1C4, R5C3 and R6C6: R1C4 is in Ernst's column and R6C6 in Algernon's row, so Blodwen is at R5C3."},{"place":["D","C"],"cand":{"A":[[6,6]]},"text":"Delphina was beside a bench. Beside R1C4 in the Waiting Room are R1C3 and R1C5 (R2C4 is a chair of the café); beside R5C3 are R5C2, R5C4 and R6C3; beside R6C6 are R5C6 and R6C5. Rows 5 and 6 and columns 3 and 4 are taken, which leaves only R1C5: Delphina is at R1C5. Clovis was in the Ticket Hall: R1C2 or R2C1 (R1C1 is the ticket counter). Row 1 is Delphina's: Clovis is at R2C1."},{"place":["A"],"cand":{},"text":"Algernon's last row: R6C1 is in Clovis's column, R6C2 is the pile of suitcases, and columns 3, 4 and 5 are taken. Algernon is at R6C6, on the bench."},{"final":true,"text":"Case closed: the last free square, R3C2, is the victim's – in the Waiting Room, beside the potted palm, just as her card says, although we never needed it. Verena was alone there with the waiting-room attendant. Delphina is the murderer!"}],"solver":{"rules":[],"occupiable":["bench","chair"]},"verification":{"tool":"tools/murdoku_solver.py","unique":true,"guessFree":true,"checked":"2026-09-29"}}