The Antelope Bench Inquiry: a free Western logic-grid puzzle

There was a dust-up near Antelope Bench before the week was out, and by sundown every story on the circuit contradicted the one before it. 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

Trader Nell Dabney and the bent bit shank go together — that much is settled.
Trader Nell Dabney never made it as far as Llano Seco.
Jubal Tanner was never once placed at Roundup Flats.
Windmill Sam Ordway kept well clear of Llano Seco.
Nobody could connect Adelia Thorne to the cold pipe ash.
Whatever else is true, Jubal Tanner wasn't at Llano Seco.
Adelia Thorne had no use for the stiffened bullhide quirt.
Nobody could place Jubal Tanner at Granite Knob.
No one puts Windmill Sam Ordway at Roundup Flats.
The deputy struck the cold pipe ash off Jubal Tanner'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.