A case worth putting together

The clue says the lantern was in the archive. Another says Mara never entered the archive. Put those together: Mara did not carry the lantern. That little chain is the pleasure of Wax Key.

Thirty authored cases turn cozy crime stories into one-to-one matching puzzles. Read the case file, mark the category grids, and prove the complete arrangement. No account is required; progress is saved in your browser.

Three rules to keep beside the notebook

1. Every suspect gets exactly one item from each category, and each item has one owner.
2. A direct clue can confirm a match or rule a pairing out. A clue linking two items applies even before you know their owner.
3. Finish every category and check the whole mapping. Solving one suspect’s row is only part of the case.

Make the smallest justified mark

The lantern example above is a teaching scenario, separate from the published cases. It proves one exclusion: Mara cannot have the lantern. Mark that cell with Rule Out. You still do not know who has the lantern, so leave the other suspects undecided. A clue can be useful without completing a row.

What tends to go wrong

A Match automatically excludes other cells in its row and column. That is handy when the match is proved and messy when it is a guess. Use Rule Out for what you can eliminate; use Undo if an accidental match has propagated unwanted marks.

A checked-off clue may still matter later. Revisit object-to-object links whenever you discover an owner. For a full demonstration, follow The Marzipan Key case notebook; its solution is hidden until you open it.