Hearsay is a free daily logic puzzle about who to believe. Everyone on a small grid is either honest or a liar, and each person makes one statement about the others. Your job is to mark every person as Honest or Liar.
How do you play Hearsay?
- Everyone is either honest or a liar. An honest person's clue is true. A liar's clue is false.
- Every clue is available from the start. One person is already revealed, so you know their side.
- Tap a person to read their clue in the panel below the board.
- When you can prove it, tap Honest or Liar to mark them.
- The rule at the top of the screen is always true, for everyone.
- Mark everyone to close the case.
Nothing is hidden and there's no guessing needed. Every case can be solved by reasoning alone.
What happens when you mark someone a liar?
A liar's clue is false, so its opposite is true, and the game shows you that. A "Truth" line appears under the crossed-out clue. If a liar says "I have exactly 2 honest neighbors", the Truth line says they don't have exactly 2.
That line is as useful as any honest clue. A lie often tells you more than the truth would have.
What is the daily rule?
The rule is a fact that holds for everyone on the board. Some examples:
- Every row has exactly one liar.
- Every job has exactly one liar.
- Every liar has another liar next to them, even diagonally.
- There are more honest people than liars.
- There are exactly 5 liars.
A rule on its own rarely solves a case. Combined with the clues, it narrows things fast. Once you've found the liar in a row, for example, "exactly one liar per row" tells you everyone else in that row is honest.
How do the clues work?
Clues are plain statements about the board. They come in a few kinds:
- Neighbor counts. "I have exactly 2 liars as neighbors." Neighbors include diagonals.
- Row and column counts. "There is exactly 1 liar in column B." Rows are numbered and columns are lettered.
- Job counts. "Exactly 1 of the 3 coders is a liar." Every person has a job, shown on their card.
- Direction. "There are no liars to the left of Dex." Also above, below and to the right.
- Links between people. "Ada and Gwen are the same: both honest or both liars."
- Comparisons. "Row 1 has more liars than row 3."
- "One of N." "Finn is one of 2 liars in row 2."
- Connected groups. "All liars in column A are connected." That means at least two, with no gaps between them.
- "Every… is a neighbor." "Every liar in row 3 is my neighbor." That means at least one.
- Between two people. "There is exactly 1 liar between Ada and Cleo."
- Odd or even. "Row 2 has an even number of liars."
- Corners. "None of the four corners are liars."
When you tap someone, everyone their clue mentions gets a soft backdrop on the board. It shows you where to look.
What is the "me and someone else" trick?
Some people talk about themselves and one other person. For example, "Cleo and I are opposite: one honest, one a liar."
Whether the speaker is honest or lying, this always settles Cleo.
- If the speaker is honest, the statement is true. The two are opposite, so exactly one of them is a liar, and it isn't the speaker, so it's Cleo.
- If the speaker is lying, the statement is false. So the two of them are the same, and the speaker is a liar, which makes Cleo a liar too.
Either way, Cleo is a liar. The other version, "Cleo and I are the same: both honest or both liars", always means Cleo is honest. You can mark the other person right away, without knowing anything about the speaker.
How does Hearsay change through the week?
The board grows and the deductions get longer.
| Days | Board | People |
|---|---|---|
| Monday and Tuesday | 3 by 3 | 9 |
| Wednesday and Thursday | 3 by 4 | 12 |
| Friday to Sunday | 3 by 5 | 15 |
The rule changes with the day too. Monday's rules are simple ones, like one liar per row. By the weekend you may get rules about counts or clumps of liars, which take more work to use.
The gentle days are made so a single clue, or the rule alone, is almost always enough for your next mark. Later in the week you'll need to hold two clues in your head at once. Sunday has the most of these.
How do the hints work?
The lightbulb in the top bar shows you a mark you can prove. It looks for the shortest proof, in this order: the rule alone, then one clue, then two clues together. It tells you whose mark the proof is about and whose clue it comes from. It doesn't mark anyone for you.
Hints are unlimited, but your results count them.
What counts as a mistake?
Marking someone wrongly is a mistake. The game tells you who you got wrong and counts it. There's no limit and you can't lose. A case is only closed when everyone is marked correctly.
Your results show your time and your mistakes.
Tips for solving Hearsay
- Start with the revealed person. Read the clues of their neighbors. Anything that mentions them is now much easier.
- Look for "me and someone else" clues first. They are free marks.
- Use the rule early. Many days, one liar found in a row or column pins down the rest.
- Trust the Truth line. After a liar, read what's really true. It's often the key to the next step.
- Clues about marked people shrink. A count clue gets easier as the people it mentions get marked. Keep returning to ones you couldn't use earlier.
- Compare two clues. If two people mention the same cells, tap both and look at where their backdrops overlap. Later in the week you'll need this.
- Check the fade. A card fades with a tick once its speaker and everyone they mention are marked, so you know what you've finished.
How is Hearsay scored?
There are no points. Your results show your time, your mistakes, your streak and your best time. A faster time with fewer mistakes is a better result.
Hearsay has a daily leaderboard, for signed-in players. It ranks your time with 30 seconds added for every mistake and every hint, so a clean solve beats a fast, sloppy one. Only today's puzzle ranks, not past days. Your stats stay in the browser you play in.
How do you share your result?
The Share button copies your puzzle number, your time and your mistakes:
Hearsay #3 / 2:41 / 0 mistakes perdiem.games/hearsay
On a phone, Share opens your share sheet.
Is Hearsay like Clues by Sam or knights and knaves puzzles?
Hearsay is in the same family as Clues by Sam: a grid of people, one revealed, and every move provable. See games like Clues by Sam and games like Murdle for how they compare. It's also built on the classic knights and knaves idea. Read more in liar puzzles, or follow a whole case in how to solve Hearsay.
Knights always tell the truth and knaves always lie in the classic version. Hearsay adds a grid, jobs, a daily rule and a whole board of statements to untangle. It isn't affiliated with Clues by Sam or any other puzzle book or game that uses these ideas.
Common questions
Is it the same puzzle for everyone?
Yes. The case is generated from the date, so everyone gets the same one each day.
Can I play past puzzles?
Yes. Past days open from the week strip on your results screen.
Is there always a way to prove each mark?
Yes. At every point in a case there's a mark you can prove from the rule plus at most two clues. You never need to guess. Each case also has exactly one solution.
Do I need an account?
No. Hearsay is free and runs in your browser with nothing to install.