Christmas Eve

A snowed-in cottage in the Giant Mountains · Christmas Eve · the presents were still unopened · Difficulty: Officer 3 · 6×6

A wooden cottage high in the Giant Mountains, Christmas Eve, and the snow had been falling since noon. The children had been told to stay beside the Christmas tree in the living room – no peeking at the presents – while the grown-ups came and went between the kitchen, the hall and the woodshed. Grandfather Vaclav, who owned the cottage and had just announced who would inherit it, went out to finish the snowman he had begun with the children. He never came back: he was found in the snowy garden, beside the snowman. Everyone in the cottage made a short statement – find the one who was alone with him.

Rules

1. Every child was beside the Christmas tree.
2. Every row and every column holds exactly one person. As soon as you place someone, cross out their whole row and column.
3. “Beside” = directly left, right, above or below, and in the same area. Squares with objects (the fir trees, the snowman, the fireplace, the oven, the Christmas tree, the table, the boots and the woodpile) cannot be occupied; the sleds, the chairs, the armchair and the doormat can.
4. The murderer was alone with the victim: nobody else was in that area.

Statements

• Avril (the granddaughter, nine years old): She was not beside the fireplace.
• Byron (the grandson, seven years old): He was the easternmost person in his area.
• Colette (the children's mother): There was no other woman in her area.
• Dermot (the children's father): He was in a corner of his area. A fir tree was somewhere in his column.
• Edna (Vaclav's younger sister): A chair was somewhere in her column.
• Vaclav (the grandfather, owner of the cottage): The victim. He was found in the Snowy Garden, beside the snowman – alone with the murderer.

← Cases