Logic puzzle · Web

Pencilled In

By Partech Systems

One of them was alone with the victim. Which one?

Work out where everyone was through the day, and you'll know who did it.

Play now

Free
No account
No timer, no lives
Every case has one answer, reached by reasoning

The Lunch page for Thornbury Manor, with parts of the day from Morning to Night across the top, a pencil-sketched floor plan with names ringed in ink in the dining room and kitchen, the names still to place, and the two most useful clues in a drawer below

A case briefing in the notebook, a typed police report about Sir Giles Thorne found dead in the dining room at Thornbury Manor, five suspects' names ringed in ink with their roles, and the rule that only one person was ever alone with him

Why it’s different

Detective work, on paper

Where was everyone?

Each page of the notebook is one part of the day, from morning to night. Tap a name and tap a room to pencil them in, or drag the name there. The clues sit right under the plan.

The household's routine

The cook is in the kitchen in the morning, the family lunch in the dining room, and nobody goes out in the rain or after dark. Unless a clue says they didn't.

Clues you can trust

Every clue is true, and every case has exactly one answer you can reach by reasoning alone. No guessing, no trick wording.

The one rule

Exactly one person was ever alone with the victim. Find them and you've found the killer.

A case a day

Everyone gets the same daily case, easy on Monday and hard by the weekend. The casebook holds 120 more, from a cottage to a grand hotel.

See it

Inside the notebook

The clue sheet over the notebook, with the house rule boxed in red ink, the household's routine for each part of the day, and the numbered clues, the first ticked off — **Every clue to hand**Statements, cuttings and telegrams. Every one is true.

A hint on a slip of paper from Sgt Matlock explaining which room a suspect must have been in, with a Pencil it in stamp — **A note from the sergeant**Hints point to the clue, then explain it.

A case closed stamp across the floor plan in the evening, with the killer ringed in red beside the victim, and their statement taped below — **Case closed**The killer's statement, and the stamp.

How it plays

Pencilled In is a murder mystery in a detective's notebook. Somebody was found dead at the end of the day. A handful of people were in the house, and exactly one of them was ever alone with the victim.

Each page of the notebook is one part of the day, from morning to night. The household keeps a routine: the cook in the kitchen, lunch in the dining room, nobody out after dark. Pencil every suspect into a room for every part of the day, using the routine and the clues pasted in overleaf: newspaper cuttings, telegrams, calling cards and notes, every one of them true. As the pages fill up, the day appears, and with it the one person who was alone with the victim.

There's a new case every day, the same for everyone, and 120 more in the casebook across three levels, from a lock keeper's cottage to a grand hotel by the sea. Stuck? Ask Sgt Matlock for a hint.

Tips

How to play well

Start with the absolutes
"Never left the kitchen" and "never set foot in the study" settle or rule out a whole row at once. Tick them off when you have used them.
Cross rooms out
Turn on CROSS, tap a name and tap a room to rule it out. Crossed-out names stay on the page as a reminder.
Follow the doors
In Medium and Hard cases people only walk through one door from one part of the day to the next, so where someone was in the morning limits where they can be at lunch.
Start with the routine
The routine settles a lot before you read a single clue. Pencil in everyone it covers, then look for the clues that say who broke it.
Use the rule last
When only one person could possibly have been alone with the victim, the rule tells you when they were there.

Questions

Asked and answered

Is Pencilled In free? Are there ads?

Yes, it's free. There are no banner ads and never an ad during a case. From your tenth closed case an ad may appear when you leave a case, at most once every ten cases and never within five minutes of the last one. A hint always points you to the right clue for free; asking it to explain the step is free three times in each case, then plays an ad you choose to watch.

Is there a new case every day?

Yes. A new case arrives each day, going by your device's date, and it's the same for everyone. Monday and Tuesday are easy, Wednesday and Thursday medium, and the weekend cases are hard.

How do I open more of the casebook?

Close five easy cases to open the medium ones, and five medium cases to open the hard ones.

Where is my progress saved?

In your browser. Cases in progress are saved as you go, so you can leave one and come back later. There's no account, so progress doesn't carry between devices.

What do the time words in clues mean?

"In the morning" or "at lunch" means during that part of the day. "Until the evening" means every part of the day before the evening, and not in the evening. "Skipped lunch" means they weren't where the routine puts them at lunch. How to play in the game lists them all.