{"format":"murdoku-puzzle/1","id":"souk","version":1,"difficulty":"easy","level":4,"size":{"rows":8,"cols":8},"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 Spice Souk","tagline":"The spice souk of Marrakech · a scorching afternoon · the fountain kept running","author":"mathace","concept":"Murdoku – Manuel Garand (murdoku.com); unofficial fan-made case","created":"2026-09-28","story":"Marrakech, a scorching afternoon in the medina. Between the heaps of paprika and turmeric, the carpets and the glowing brass lanterns, the narrow alleys of the souk were full of haggling voices and the smell of mint tea. Violette, a perfumer from Paris, had come to buy saffron and had arranged to meet someone in the quiet riad at the heart of the market. There, by the tiled fountain, she was found dead. Merchants and visitors describe where they were – 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 spice sacks, the scales, the chest, the orange trees, the lanterns, the barrel, the tea tray, the fountain and the handcart) cannot be occupied; the carpets, the poufs and the stool can.","The murderer was alone with the victim: nobody else was in that area."],"special":[]},"roleNames":{"merchant":"merchant","visitor":"visitor","victim":"victim"},"personGroups":[{"id":"merchants","name":"The merchants","persons":["A","B","C","D"]},{"id":"visitors","name":"Visitors","persons":["E","F","G","V"]}],"map":{"groups":[],"gaps":[],"areas":[{"id":"Spice Market","cells":[[1,1],[1,2],[2,1],[2,2],[2,3],[3,1],[3,2]],"fill":"#f2dbbf","pattern":"tiles","labelAt":[2,1],"name":"Spice Market"},{"id":"Alley","cells":[[1,3],[1,4],[2,4],[3,3],[3,4],[3,5],[4,2],[4,3],[4,5],[4,6],[5,3],[5,6],[6,2],[6,3],[6,6],[7,1],[7,2],[7,5],[7,6],[8,1],[8,5]],"fill":"#eee4d0","pattern":"marble","labelAt":[5,3],"name":"Alley"},{"id":"Carpet Bazaar","cells":[[1,5],[1,6],[1,7],[1,8],[2,5],[2,6],[2,7],[2,8],[3,6],[3,7]],"fill":"#efd5cf","pattern":"tiles","labelAt":[2,6],"name":"Carpet Bazaar"},{"id":"Riad","cells":[[3,8],[4,7],[4,8],[5,7],[5,8],[6,7],[6,8],[7,7],[7,8],[8,6],[8,7],[8,8]],"fill":"#d6eae2","pattern":"tiles","labelAt":[6,8],"name":"Riad"},{"id":"Lantern Workshop","cells":[[4,4],[5,4],[5,5],[6,4],[6,5],[7,3],[7,4],[8,2],[8,3],[8,4]],"fill":"#f0e5c2","pattern":"planks","labelAt":[6,4],"name":"Lantern Workshop"},{"id":"Tea Stall","cells":[[4,1],[5,1],[5,2],[6,1]],"fill":"#e5d9ea","pattern":"carpet","labelAt":[5,2],"name":"Tea Stall"}],"objectTypes":{"carpet":{"occupiable":true,"name":"carpet","icon":""},"pouf":{"occupiable":true,"name":"pouf","icon":""},"stool":{"occupiable":true,"name":"stool","icon":""},"barrel":{"occupiable":false,"name":"barrel","icon":""},"cart":{"occupiable":false,"name":"handcart","icon":""},"chest":{"occupiable":false,"name":"chest","icon":""},"fountain":{"occupiable":false,"name":"fountain","icon":""},"mlantern":{"occupiable":false,"name":"lantern","icon":""},"plant":{"occupiable":false,"name":"orange tree","icon":""},"scales":{"occupiable":false,"name":"scales","icon":""},"spices":{"occupiable":false,"name":"spice sack","icon":""},"teapot":{"occupiable":false,"name":"tea tray","icon":""}},"wallTypes":{},"objects":[{"cell":[1,1],"type":"spices"},{"cell":[1,2],"type":"spices"},{"cell":[1,6],"type":"carpet"},{"cell":[1,8],"type":"carpet"},{"cell":[2,5],"type":"carpet"},{"cell":[2,7],"type":"carpet"},{"cell":[3,1],"type":"scales"},{"cell":[3,7],"type":"chest"},{"cell":[3,8],"type":"plant"},{"cell":[4,1],"type":"pouf"},{"cell":[4,4],"type":"mlantern"},{"cell":[4,6],"type":"barrel"},{"cell":[5,1],"type":"teapot"},{"cell":[5,7],"type":"fountain"},{"cell":[6,1],"type":"pouf"},{"cell":[6,5],"type":"mlantern"},{"cell":[7,3],"type":"mlantern"},{"cell":[7,4],"type":"stool"},{"cell":[8,1],"type":"cart"},{"cell":[8,8],"type":"plant"}],"wallFeatures":[],"extras":[],"cellSize":46},"persons":[{"id":"A","name":"Amina","gender":"F","role":"merchant","color":"#c62828","avatar":{"bg":"#e65100","skin":"#d9a57a","hair":"#1c1a1a","style":"long","shirt":"#c0392b","scarf":"#e0b050","earrings":true},"clue":"She was not beside the scales.","job":"the spice seller","avatarSvg":"","solverRole":"merchant","constraints":[{"type":"not_beside","obj":"scales"}]},{"id":"B","name":"Brahim","gender":"M","role":"merchant","color":"#2e7d32","avatar":{"bg":"#1565c0","skin":"#c68a5e","hair":"#1c1a1a","style":"short","shirt":"#f4efe6","beard":true,"turban":"#f4efe6"},"clue":"He was the only man on a carpet.","job":"the carpet merchant","avatarSvg":"","solverRole":"merchant","constraints":[{"type":"only_on","obj":"carpet","gender":"M"}]},{"id":"C","name":"Chafik","gender":"M","role":"merchant","color":"#1565c0","avatar":{"bg":"#5d4037","skin":"#c68a5e","hair":"#3a2a1c","style":"short","shirt":"#264653","mustache":true,"mustacheColor":"#1c1a1a"},"clue":"He was beside a lantern. He was the easternmost person in his area.","job":"the lantern maker","avatarSvg":"","solverRole":"merchant","constraints":[{"type":"beside","obj":"mlantern"},{"type":"extreme_in_area","dir":"E"}]},{"id":"D","name":"Dounia","gender":"F","role":"merchant","color":"#6a1b9a","avatar":{"bg":"#6a1b9a","skin":"#d9a57a","hair":"#1c1a1a","style":"bun","shirt":"#2e7d32","necklace":true},"clue":"The barrel was somewhere in her row. She was not in the Alley.","job":"who runs the tea stall","avatarSvg":"","solverRole":"merchant","constraints":[{"type":"row_has","obj":"barrel"},{"type":"not_area","areas":["Alley"]}]},{"id":"E","name":"Emrys","gender":"M","role":"visitor","color":"#e65100","avatar":{"bg":"#2f4858","skin":"#f1c8a5","hair":"#b7482c","style":"short","shirt":"#d9c7a0","beard":true,"glasses":true},"clue":"He was in the last row.","job":"a Welsh travel writer","avatarSvg":"","solverRole":"visitor","constraints":[{"type":"row","rows":[8]}]},{"id":"F","name":"Fiammetta","gender":"F","role":"visitor","color":"#00838f","avatar":{"bg":"#ad1457","skin":"#f3d3b5","hair":"#5a3a22","style":"curly","shirt":"#f2a53a","headband":"#2a8a6a"},"clue":"She was the only woman beside a lantern.","job":"an Italian painter","avatarSvg":"","solverRole":"visitor","constraints":[{"type":"only_beside","obj":"mlantern","gender":"F"}]},{"id":"G","name":"Griffin","gender":"M","role":"visitor","color":"#ad1457","avatar":{"bg":"#35607a","skin":"#e7b98f","hair":"#8a8278","style":"slick","shirt":"#5d4037","mustache":true,"mustacheColor":"#8a8278","cap":true},"clue":"He was in the Alley.","job":"an antiques collector","avatarSvg":"","solverRole":"visitor","constraints":[{"type":"area","areas":["Alley"]}]},{"id":"V","name":"Violette","gender":"F","role":"victim","color":"#1b1b1b","avatar":{"bg":"#5a2a2a","skin":"#f6d8c0","hair":"#d9b464","style":"bob","shirt":"#b83a5a","necklace":true},"clue":"The victim. She was found in the Riad, beside the fountain – alone with the murderer.","job":"a perfumer from Paris","avatarSvg":"","solverRole":"visitor","constraints":[{"type":"area","areas":["Riad"]},{"type":"beside","obj":"fountain"}]}],"victim":"V","murderer":"E","solution":{"B":[1,8],"A":[2,2],"G":[3,3],"D":[4,1],"C":[5,5],"V":[6,7],"F":[7,4],"E":[8,6]},"walkthrough":[{"place":["C","V","F"],"cand":{"A":[[1,3],[1,6],[1,8],[2,2],[2,3],[2,6],[2,8],[3,3],[3,6]],"B":[[1,6],[1,8]],"D":[[4,1],[4,8]],"E":[[8,2],[8,3],[8,6]],"G":[[1,3],[3,3]]},"text":"Violette was found beside the fountain in the Riad: at R4C7, R5C8 or R6C7 – and the murderer was alone with her there, so the Riad holds exactly two people. The barrel (R4C6) was in Dounia’s row, so row 4 is hers and Violette is not at R4C7; Emrys was in the last row, so row 8 is his. Chafik and Fiammetta were both beside a lantern. The squares beside a lantern are R5C4, R5C5, R6C4, R7C4 and R8C3, all in the Lantern Workshop, and R8C3 is in Emrys’s row. Chafik was the easternmost person in his area, so Fiammetta must be west of him – and of the remaining squares only R5C5 is not in column 4: Chafik is at R5C5. Row 5 is his, so Violette is at R6C7. Fiammetta is in column 4, where R5C4 and R6C4 are in the rows of Chafik and Violette: Fiammetta is at R7C4, sitting on the stool."},{"place":["D"],"cand":{"A":[[1,3],[1,6],[1,8],[2,2],[2,3],[2,6],[2,8],[3,3],[3,6]],"B":[[1,6],[1,8]],"E":[[8,2],[8,3],[8,6]],"G":[[1,3],[3,3]]},"text":"Dounia was not in the Alley, so in row 4 she is at R4C1 in the Tea Stall or at R4C8 in the Riad (R4C7 is in Violette’s column). Who can be in column 1? Its free squares are R2C1, R4C1, R6C1 and R7C1, and R6C1 and R7C1 are in the rows of Violette and Fiammetta. R2C1 is in the Spice Market, beside the scales: Amina was not beside the scales, and nobody else can get there – Brahim was on a carpet, Griffin in the Alley, and Dounia and Emrys are in rows 4 and 8. So column 1 is Dounia’s: Dounia is at R4C1, sitting on a pouf in the Tea Stall."},{"place":["E","B"],"cand":{"A":[[2,2],[2,3],[3,3]],"G":[[3,3]]},"text":"Rows 4 to 7 are taken and R3C8 is an orange tree, so the Riad’s only free squares are in row 8: R8C6 and R8C7 – and R8C7 is in Violette’s column. Row 8 is Emrys’s, so the only person who can be alone with Violette in the Riad is Emrys: Emrys is at R8C6 – he is the murderer. Brahim was the only man on a carpet, so he was on a carpet himself: R1C6 is in Emrys’s column, R2C5 in Chafik’s and R2C7 in Violette’s. Brahim is at R1C8."},{"place":["G","A"],"text":"Griffin was in the Alley. Rows 1 and 4 to 8 are taken, so he is in row 2 or 3; the Alley squares there are R2C4, R3C3, R3C4 and R3C5, and R2C4 and R3C4 are in Fiammetta’s column, R3C5 in Chafik’s. Griffin is at R3C3. Amina takes the last free row and column: Amina is at R2C2, in the Spice Market – not beside the scales. Everyone is placed."},{"final":true,"text":"Case closed: Violette was alone in the Riad with the Welsh travel writer. Emrys is the murderer!"}],"solver":{"rules":[],"occupiable":["carpet","pouf","stool"]},"verification":{"tool":"tools/murdoku_solver.py","unique":true,"guessFree":true,"checked":"2026-09-28"}}