Mystery Islands Tips (Solution)
Mystery Islands: Tips (Solution)
Do not jump to the solved board yet. Try a few more deductions first; if you are stuck, click View hint.
Coordinate note: R1 means row 1, C1 means column 1, and R1C1 is the upper-left cell.
1-8
Hint 1: lock the first island chain
- Olivia's clue says O is in row R14.
- G is six rows south of J, and J is beside a tree. The only island with trees and seven rows is FOREST Island, so G and J are on FOREST.
- L is on a four-person island with three women and is beside a tree. Among tree islands with no more than two men, only TOWN and LONELY still fit.
- LONELY Island has four rows. If L were there, her only spot would be C1R15, using the shark column and house row. The other three rows would need people. O already takes R14, leaving two rows for one woman and one man. For the male slot, B, C, F, G, J, K, and M are excluded by their own clues, leaving only V; but V's space contains only the murderer. That contradiction means L must be on TOWN Island.
- L is beside a tree, so only three spots remain: C8R9, C8R11, and C10R11.
- J is already fixed to FOREST. J's clue says he is east of L, so L cannot be at C10R11. L must be in column C8: C8R9 or C8R11.
- With L in column C8, J must be east of L and beside a tree. The only FOREST column east of L is C9, so the first exact placement is J at C9R5.
- Now find the second exact placement. G is six rows south of J, so G has only two possible cells: C1R11 or C2R11. Since R11 is occupied by G, L is also fixed: L must be C8R9.
9-13
Hint 2: collapse Desert and the shark columns
- On TOWN Island, R9 is occupied by L, R11 is occupied by FOREST's G, and R14 is occupied by O. The remaining three people must use the remaining three rows.
- If A were on the shark row of EMPTY Island, R10 or R12, TOWN would not have enough usable positions. That assumption fails, so A must be on DESERT Island: C10R2, C12R2, C15R2, or C14R7.
- Combine A, D, and H's clues. The DESERT cells that satisfy the not-next-to-cactus condition are C10R1, C15R1, and C14R7. D also must be northeast of A, which eliminates C10R1; therefore D is C15R1 and H is C14R7.
- Among the remaining DESERT cells, B's clue forces B into C12R2, C12R3, or C12R6. All three are in column C12, so A must be C10R2.
- Since B is in column C12, M's clue leaves only shark column C1 for M. That also fixes G as C2R11.
14-22
Hint 3: finish the board
- K is the only person in a house, and K is male, so K must be C3R3 or C5R6. Rows R3 and R6 are occupied by K and B, so every other cell in those rows can be crossed out except possible K and B cells.
- Now count island populations. There are 16 people total. B's clue says two people are in the sea, so 14 people are on islands. Confirmed so far: DESERT has 4 people (A, B, D, H), TOWN has 4 people (L, F, plus two women), and FOREST has 3 people (G, J, K). Because DESERT and TOWN cannot have the same size, one more person must join DESERT. The only remaining DESERT row that can take someone is R4, so the other remaining R4 cells can be crossed out.
- Step 15 also gives another result: FOREST cannot gain another person, because that would break the different-island-size rule. The remaining two island people must be on another island, so every remaining FOREST cell can be crossed out.
- From B's clue, DESERT can only add a woman. I and N are excluded because their clues put them together on one island. The remaining women are E and O, and O is excluded by row R14. Therefore it must be E, at either C11R4 or C13R4.
- Now I, N, and L are on the same island: TOWN. I is north of N, and F is the southmost person on TOWN, so I cannot be in column C6. I must be C11R10, which also fixes E at C13R4.
- M becomes clear quickly too: in the shark column, M can only be C1R15.
- Two people are in the sea, and C is east of O. Among the remaining cells that satisfy C's clue, C ends up surrounded by sharks: C is fixed at C16R8.
- Only one sea position remains, and it is in row R14. That must be O, at C5R14.
- Now only the final answer remains: K is C3R3, B is C12R6, and V is C4R16.
All hint layers are open. Use the solved board only to check your final placement.
