The Bitter Spring Inquiry: a free Western logic-grid puzzle

The sheriff has four riders, one afternoon at Bitter Spring, and a stack of statements that cannot all be true. The ledger will hold up if you will.

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 the scorched powder apron in Judge Amos Pell's hands.
Winnie Corbett wasn't carrying the bent assay ladle.
Nobody saw Winnie Corbett anywhere near Deadfall Notch.
The deputy struck Bitter Spring off Winnie Corbett's account.
Cornish Tom Trewin was never linked to the bent assay ladle.
Winnie Corbett swore off any connection to the guttered miner's candle, and the ledger agrees.
Cornish Tom Trewin was never at Deadfall Notch.
You can rule out Bitter Spring for Nan Ferrell.
Nan Ferrell swore never to have set foot in Deadfall Notch, and the ledger agrees.
Nan Ferrell stayed well away from Sinkhole Draw.

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.