Printable name elimination mysteries
One name is left. Can you find it?
A guest book of 2,000 names. A dozen or so clues, read one at a time. Each clue strikes out names, never in, until exactly one is left standing.
How a case works
- 2,000Open the guest book.Everyone who signed in at the supper, the fair or the party: name, table, street, trade.
- 12–13Read one clue at a time."The culprit sat at table 14 or lower." Strike every name the clue rules out.
- 1One name is left.Leave out any single clue and two or more names survive, so there is no guessing.
Proof, not luck
Checked by program twice.
Every case is solved by a program before it ships, and again on the finished PDF. Exactly one name survives all of its clues.
Each ledger page prints a check line, so a table can see it is on track: "Check: clue 1 leaves 31 of the 48 names on this page."
Made for
Book clubs, fellowship hours and family tables.
No violence: a missing recipe box, a pie with no name, a caroler who wasn't there.
The cases
Sets of cases
Questions, answered.
How many people can play?
One to six. Solve it alone with a pencil, or share the guest book around a table; a team sheet keeps everyone on the same clue.
How long does a case take?
About an hour at a table of four, two to three hours alone. The Quick Case edition fits one evening.
What do I need?
Pencils and a ruler. No scissors, no app and no host.
Is there a large print edition?
Yes. Every full case includes a Large Print edition with its own chain of clues.
What if we get stuck?
Every ledger page prints a check line, for example how many names on that page clue 1 leaves, and the solution pack gives the count after every clue before it gives the answer.