Daily puzzle

Garden Helpers

Edition #6 medium Publish date: 2026-01-21 Print
Scenario

Four volunteers worked different patches using different tools. Use the clues to match each volunteer with a patch and tool.

Clues
  1. The volunteer who had Shears had Veggies.
  2. The volunteer who had Hoe had Lilies.
  3. The volunteer who had Shears did not have Roses.
  4. The tool Rake did not go with the patch Veggies.
  5. Maya did not have Rake or Shears.
  6. Nate did not have either Roses or Lilies.
  7. Olive did not have either Herbs or Lilies.
  8. Rafael did not have either Shovel or Shears.
  9. Olive did not have Roses or Lilies.
  10. Nate did not have Shovel or Hoe.
Solved

Explanation

Reveal the reasoning
  1. Begin with the cross-category links that lock two items together. Here, Clue 1, Clue 2 connect Tool, Patch.
  2. Clue 1 links Shears (Tool) with Veggies (Patch), so those two items must belong to the same volunteer.
  3. Clue 2 links Hoe (Tool) with Lilies (Patch), so those two items must belong to the same volunteer.
  4. Next, apply the elimination clues to shrink rows and columns before committing to any checks.
  5. Clue 5 rules out Rake and Shears (Tool) for Maya, which forces the remaining options.
  6. Clue 6 rules out Roses and Lilies (Patch) for Nate, which forces the remaining options.
  7. Clue 7 rules out Herbs and Lilies (Patch) for Olive, which forces the remaining options.
  8. Whenever a volunteer has only one remaining option in a category, mark it as a check and cross out the rest (one-to-one). Keep propagating until every volunteer has exactly one match in each category.

Solution

Show solution mapping

Solve the puzzle to reveal the full mapping.

Order: Tool / Patch

  • Maya -> Shovel / Roses
  • Nate -> Rake / Herbs
  • Olive -> Shears / Veggies
  • Rafael -> Hoe / Lilies

About this puzzle

  • Published: 2026-01-21
  • Tags: culturelogic-grids
  • Validation: The puzzle JSON is validated at build time and a solver verifies there is a single intended solution.
  • Corrections: If you spot an issue, contact us with the puzzle date. See the editorial policy and the contact page.

FAQ

Do I need to guess?

No. Every GridCipher puzzle is designed to be solvable by deduction alone.

What is a good first step for Garden Helpers?

Start with clue 1. It locks in a concrete pairing between two categories, which you can immediately mark on the grid and use to eliminate other options. For example, it pairs Shears with Veggies.

How do I mark a cell?

Click or tap a cell to cycle blank -> X -> check. Use X for no and check for the confirmed match.

Yes marks 0
No marks 0
Time 00:00
Status In progress
✓ = yes ✕ = no Blank = unknown

Tip: Shift-click or right-click to clear a cell quickly.

Volunteer x Tool

Volunteer Shovel Rake Shears Hoe
Maya
Nate
Olive
Rafael

Volunteer x Patch

Volunteer Roses Herbs Veggies Lilies
Maya
Nate
Olive
Rafael

Keep solving

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Up next: Festival Tickets (2026-01-22)

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