Deduction

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The Case

A forged check for $50,000 was cashed from Mr. Harmon's business account. The signature was expertly forged. Five people had knowledge of Mr. Harmon's signature: Ingrid (secretary), Wei (business partner), Paul (accountant), Sandra (lawyer), and Carl (nephew). Case file HARD-001.

Who forged the check?

Evidence (7)

#1Handwriting analysis shows the forged signature was written by a left-handed person.

#2Ingrid and Wei are left-handed. Paul, Sandra, and Carl are right-handed.

#3Wei was in Singapore for a business trip the entire week. Passport stamps and hotel receipts confirm this.

#4The check was printed on Mr. Harmon's personal check printer, which is kept in his locked office.

#5Ingrid has a spare key to Mr. Harmon's office.

#6Carl has significant personal debt, but he's right-handed and doesn't have office access.

#7Ingrid's fingerprints were found on the check printer, though she says she 'cleans it occasionally.'

Suspects

Clues

About hard deduction cases

Here is where deduction puzzles start to feel like actual detective work. Four to five suspects, and the evidence no longer lines up neatly. Some clues only become useful after you combine them with other clues. Alibis have gaps. Timelines need careful checking.

At this level, you need to build small logical arguments. "Suspect B says they were at location X, but clue 3 shows the event at location X happened at 6 PM, and clue 5 puts suspect B somewhere else at 6 PM." That kind of multi-clue reasoning is the core skill. The answer isn't obvious from any single clue.

This is a good point to start playing in Challenge mode. With no hints, you need to rely on your own chain of reasoning and spot contradictions cleanly.

Ready for more? The expert level adds genuine complexity with five suspects and reasoning chains that go three or four steps deep.

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