The Llano Seco Case: a free Western logic-grid puzzle

It started at Llano Seco and it ended badly, and the space in between is what wants sorting out. There's an answer in here. Find it.

This free Rookie logic-grid puzzle has 4 suspects, 4 locations, and 4 pieces of evidence. New to logic grids? Start with the pencil-solving guide.

How to mark the grid

●: These two belong together.
✕: These two are ruled out.
blank: Still undecided.

How to play

Click, tap or press Enter on a cell to cycle it: blank, then ● for a confirmed pairing, then ✕ for one you have ruled out. Nothing fills itself in — the deductions are yours to make. Use the arrow keys to move around the grid.

Fill obvious Xs does the bookkeeping only: for each ● you have marked, it crosses off the rest of that pairing's own row and column. It never adds a ●, never reads a clue, and never changes a mark you made.

On a narrow screen the grid scrolls sideways.

Every case has exactly one solution, and it is always reachable by deduction alone. Nothing here guesses for you, and Check will not tell you which mark is wrong.

Clues and evidence

Two witnesses put Ozias Whitfield at Llano Seco.
Half the county saw Windmill Sam Ordway at Rincón Creek.
The torn tally book wasn't Ozias Whitfield's.
Ozias Whitfield had nothing to do with the sprung wire cutter.
You can rule out the sprung wire cutter for Windmill Sam Ordway.
The deputy struck the sprung wire cutter off Wire Pete Nash's account.
The dropped spur rowel never belonged to Ozias Whitfield.
It wasn't Windmill Sam Ordway who turned up with the dropped spur rowel.
Wagon Boss Cass Deverell was never once placed at Wire Gap.

The grid

On a narrow screen the grid scrolls sideways.

Your marks, completions and streak are saved in this browser only. There is no account, and clearing your browser data clears that local progress. If you accept analytics, the site sends anonymous puzzle-usage events; it never sends your grid marks, clues or solution.

If you want a hundred more

Five volumes, printed and portable

Each Frontier Logic volume collects 100 western mystery logic-grid puzzles, every one with exactly one solution and a complete answer key. Every volume stands alone, in standard and large print.