The Mesquite Rise Ledger: a free Western logic-grid puzzle

The deputy rode out to Mesquite Rise on a Tuesday and came back with four statements, no two of which agreed on the weather. See what the facts will carry.

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

Garrett Pyle was at Bitterroot Wash — that much is settled.
It wasn't Vicente Ochoa who turned up with the soaked land patent.
Nobody saw Vicente Ochoa anywhere near Thirsty Flat.
Padre Anselmo Lugo wasn't carrying the soaked land patent.
Faustino Ibarra swore off any connection to the soaked land patent, and the ledger agrees.
No one puts Vicente Ochoa at Mesquite Rise.
Faustino Ibarra was nowhere near Mesquite Rise.
The stopped ditch watch never belonged to Vicente Ochoa.
The deputy struck the horsehair snare off Padre Anselmo Lugo's account.
The stopped ditch watch never belonged to Padre Anselmo Lugo.

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.