The Old Compuerta Reckoning: a free Western logic-grid puzzle

Nobody in the county will say plainly what took place at Old Compuerta, so the deputy wrote down what could be proved and left the rest. Work it through, and mind the ledger.

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

The tarnished wedding ring was Dell Sowerby's, and nobody disputes it.
Everyone agreed: Perla Bustos had the cut hobble strap.
Dell Sowerby was never once placed at Tule Bottom.
Sallie Doerr kept well clear of Ojo Frío.
Sallie Doerr was never at Tule Bottom.
You can rule out Old Compuerta for Dell Sowerby.
You can rule out the cracked plow point for Sallie Doerr.
Whatever else is true, Sallie Doerr wasn't at Old Compuerta.
The deputy struck Old Compuerta off Emmett Voss's account.

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.