🔦 Patrol

What is Patrol

Patrol is Deduza's original deduction game. The city is seen from above: suspects are hiding in the streets, and witnesses at building windows say how many street cells they can see. With those clues you find where every suspect is — no guessing, because every case has exactly one solution. A new case every day, in three levels: Easy (6×6), Medium (7×7) and Hard (8×8).

Rules

• Suspects are hiding in the streets — the total is shown above the map. The case only closes when all of them are in place.
• A building with a number has a witness at the window: the number is how many street cells it can see, adding up the 4 directions, until it hits a building, the edge or a suspect (who blocks the rest of the street).
• Two suspects never see each other: a single stretch of street (between two buildings) holds at most one.

Tips to get started

• Start with the 0 witnesses: they see nothing, so a suspect stands right next to the building on every street.
• If the number equals every cell on the witness's streets, nobody is there: mark it all clear.
• A witness that looks down a single street: count the cells. If it sees 2, the suspect is on the third.
• A stretch of street between two buildings holds only one suspect: once you find one, the rest of the stretch is clear.
• Use the case's suspect total: when every count matches but someone is still missing, some suspect is in the wrong place.

Frequently asked questions

Is it free?

Yes. Today's puzzle and the ones from the last few days are free, with no sign-up, on your phone or computer.

Do I need to guess?

Never. Every puzzle is computer-checked to have exactly one solution, reachable by deduction alone.

How does a witness count cells?

It looks down the 4 streets next to the building and adds up the street cells it can see, until it hits a building, the edge of the map or a suspect — a suspect blocks the rest of the street.

Why can't two suspects share a street?

Because they would see each other and run. A stretch of street between two buildings (or up to the edge) holds only one suspect, in a row and in a column.

When is a new case out?

Every day at midnight in your time zone. Everyone gets the same puzzle, so you can compare times with friends.

I'm stuck. Now what?

Zuza, the detective owl, gives up to 3 hints: first she points where to look, then she shows the cell and explains the deduction.

How to play, with examples and practice · Solutions from earlier days

More Deduza puzzles: Constellation · Lights · Skyline