Dagon Files

Tutorial

My Eyes!

Grid

Welcome, Seeker of Forbidden Knowledge, to Thursday's simpler puzzle, week 3 of the year 2026.

The Case Of The Deep-Ones Cultist.

You have stumbled upon The Dagon Files, a cryptic corner of the web where reality frays and reason falters. Here, beneath shifting sigils and whispering images, ancient puzzles lie in wait—twisting enigmas born from the depths of forgotten tomes and cosmic dread. Each riddle you solve draws you deeper into a truth not meant for mortal minds.

But beware: not all doors should be opened. And some answers… change you.

Begin, if you dare…

Suspects/Weapons/Locations/Motives

Medical Officer

grid [D]

Mina Greeley

height: 5' 9"

gray eyes

left handed

dagon cultist

Occult Linguist

grid [L]

Professor Emeric

height: 5' 8"

brown eyes

left handed

azatoth cultist

Icebreaker Pilot

grid [I]

Cpt. Elias Ward

height: 6' 1"

blue eyes

right handed

deep-ones cultist

Ice Axe

grid [A]

A common polar tool, but strange sigils have been carved into the handle.

Sometimes leaves a trace of a single deep, sharp indentation.

Climbing Crampons

grid [C]

For climbing slippery ice faces, or removing people's faces.

Sometimes leaves a trace of a series of claw marks.

Poisoned Rations

grid [R]

Tasty tinned meat, with a tiny hole drilled in the bottom.

Sometimes leaves a trace of a stomach cramp.

Generator Room

grid [G]

Massive machines groan and clank like beasts. The beating heart of the station.

It has been described as a locked fuse box.

Indoors

No warding found here.

Main Lab Dome

grid [D]

Filled with notes, diagrams and occult books hidden behind geology manuals.

It has been described as a room of diagram-filled walls.

Indoors

No warding found here.

Ice Tunnels

grid [T]

Narrow, freezing, twisting, passages; all alike.

It has been described as a maze of twisty passages.

Indoors

Area has been blessed or warded by some cult.

Suspects/Weapons/Locations/Motives

Medical Officer

grid [D]

Mina Greeley

height: 5' 9"

gray eyes

left handed

dagon cultist

Occult Linguist

grid [L]

Professor Emeric

height: 5' 8"

brown eyes

left handed

azatoth cultist

Icebreaker Pilot

grid [I]

Cpt. Elias Ward

height: 6' 1"

blue eyes

right handed

deep-ones cultist

Ice Axe

grid [A]

A common polar tool, but strange sigils have been carved into the handle.

Sometimes leaves a trace of a single deep, sharp indentation.

Climbing Crampons

grid [C]

For climbing slippery ice faces, or removing people's faces.

Sometimes leaves a trace of a series of claw marks.

Poisoned Rations

grid [R]

Tasty tinned meat, with a tiny hole drilled in the bottom.

Sometimes leaves a trace of a stomach cramp.

Generator Room

grid [G]

Massive machines groan and clank like beasts. The beating heart of the station.

It has been described as a locked fuse box.

Indoors

No warding found here.

Main Lab Dome

grid [D]

Filled with notes, diagrams and occult books hidden behind geology manuals.

It has been described as a room of diagram-filled walls.

Indoors

No warding found here.

Ice Tunnels

grid [T]

Narrow, freezing, twisting, passages; all alike.

It has been described as a maze of twisty passages.

Indoors

Area has been blessed or warded by some cult.

Rules

A restriction you will need to rely on is that every weapon, location and motive in the puzzle will be attributed to exactly one suspect.

So you can make a deduction like this, if the dagger was at the campanile, and the professor was at the campanile, then the professor had the dagger. This must be true since only one suspect can be at each location, possess each weapon, have each motive.

Similarly, negative deductions can be made, if the dagger was at the campanile, and the professor did not have the dagger, then the professor was not at the campanile. This is because only one weapon can be at a given location, and the professor's weapon is not the dagger.

These rules will help to fill in blanks which remain after all the clues have been accounted for.

Clues

The Occult Linguist had never possessed a climbing crampons.
You receive an anonymous telegram with the cryptic message 'A SOIONPDE ONITAR NIT WSA ONDFU TA HET OROM FO DAMGRIA FDIELL SWLLA.'. (decode)
The Occult Linguist had never gifted a stomach cramp.
This (fingerprint) was found at the maze of twisty passages.
The tallest suspect was the murderer.

Accusation

suspect
weapon
location

suspect	weapon	location
Medical Officer	Climbing Crampons	Ice Tunnels
Occult Linguist	Ice Axe	Generator Room
Icebreaker Pilot	Poisoned Rations	Main Lab Dome

suspect	weapon	location
Medical Officer	Climbing Crampons	Ice Tunnels
Occult Linguist	Ice Axe	Generator Room
Icebreaker Pilot	Poisoned Rations	Main Lab Dome

How to Play

Try to find the murderer, what weapon they used and where the murder took place (suspect, weapon, location).

Turn over the cards to find the names of the suspects, weapons and locations. Click on the cards to find more detailed information. This information may be used in the clues.

Each person can only be in one location and have one weapon. This constraint makes the problem tractable.

Draw a grid like the one in the popup window to help you to solve the crime (or you can use the grid on the page by clicking on cells). Place an X in cells where the combination of items is false and O if it is true.

Each cell in the grid represents the combination of the two items specified at the top of the column and the left of the row. For example, the center grid represents which suspect has which weapon.

The clues allow you to rule out possibilities and the grid allows you to track the state accurately. Finally the grid will be filled with X's where connections are false and O's where they are true.

There will only be a single O in a given row or column (otherwise you have made a mistake), and this explcitly links a person to a weapon, or a weapon to a location, or a person to a location.

For example, if a clue states (or indirectly implies) that Major Gladstone was not in The Park, then place an X in the cell intersecting those two symbols.

If a clue states that Major Gladstone had The Revolver, then place an O in the cell intersecting those two symbols. This will automatically place X's in all the remaining cells in the related row and column.

Why? If Major Gladstone has The Revolver, then no one else can have it (that accounts for the X's in The Revolver row). Similarly, Major Gladstone cannot have any other weapon (that accounts for the X's in the Major Gladstone column).

Similarly, if Major Gladstone was not in The Park, but the Revolver is in The Park, then Major Gladstone cannot have the Revolver, and you can place an X in that box.

After you have filled the grid with all the information from the clues, you can start making deductions using the grid itself. For example, if there is only one empty space (non-X) in a row or column of a given block, then that space must be true and you can place an O there. It must be true since all other cells are false and it is the only remaining possibility. Usually this will cause other rows or columns to get more X's. Check to see if there are other rows/columns now with only one empty cell and proceed to fill those with O.

There are also other deductions which can be made e.g. if The Revolver is in the Park and Major Gladstone is in The Park, then Major Gladstone must have The Revolver and you can put an O in that cell.

Finally you will have enough information (a full grid) to solve the crime. You will know who, where and with what weapon.

Then proceed to Make an Accusation and see if you got the correct answer.

Dagon Files

The Case Of The Deep-Ones Cultist.

Medical Officer

Occult Linguist

Icebreaker Pilot

Ice Axe

Climbing Crampons

Poisoned Rations

Generator Room

Main Lab Dome

Ice Tunnels

Medical Officer

Occult Linguist

Icebreaker Pilot

Ice Axe

Climbing Crampons

Poisoned Rations

Generator Room

Main Lab Dome

Ice Tunnels

This fingerprint was found at the maze of twisty passages:

and these are the fingerprints of each suspect:

Medical Officer

Occult Linguist

Icebreaker Pilot

You have Deduced Correctly!

Sadly you are mistaken... (at least in some details)

The Key for Grid Headers

suspect

weapon

location

How to Play