How to spot the liar
In Lie of Sight, everyone says what they saw, and exactly one of them is lying. To spot the liar, look for stories that can’t all be true at the same time. Then test each one: if believing it would mean two other people are lying, it can’t be true, because only one person lies. That story belongs to the liar.
The idea in three steps
- Turn each story into squares.“I saw the clock” means they stood somewhere the clock was in their view. “I didn’t see Dad” means they didn’t.
- Find the clash.Look for stories that can’t all be true together, wherever people stand.
- Count the liars.Only one person lies. If believing someone means two others must be lying, the one you believed is the liar.
A worked example
Here’s a tiny room made up for this page; it isn’t one of the game’s cases. There’s a clock in the top corner and a tall bookshelf near it. Grandma stands at the top right, Dad at the bottom right, and Rex the dog could be anywhere. Here’s what they say:
Dad “I saw Rex.”
Grandma “I saw Rex.”
Rex “I smelled the clock.”
Start with the tightest story. Rex can’t see; he smells the eight squares around him. So if he smelled the clock, he was in one of the three squares beside it.
Could Dad see him there? Dad sees his whole row and column, and none of those three squares is in either. Could Grandma? She sees only two squares, and the bookshelf blocks her along the top. So no.
That’s the clash. If Rex is telling the truth, Dad and Grandma are both lying. But only one person lies, so Rex is the liar.
The tinted squares are what Dad (blue) and Grandma (purple) can see from where they stand.
In a real case
Real cases have more people and bigger rooms, but the idea is the same. Start with the fussiest stories: Grandma’s two squares and Rex’s nose pin people down fastest. A “didn’t see” is evidence too. And a story that can’t be true anywhere in the room is your answer straight away.
For every rule and what blocks whom, see How to play.
Questions people ask
Is there always exactly one liar?
Yes. Every case has exactly one liar, and enough on the board to prove it. If you can make every story but one true at the same time, you’ve found them.
Does seeing work both ways?
Not always. Dad can see Grandma from across the room while she, seeing only two squares, can’t see him. Each person goes by their own rule.
What if I accuse the wrong person?
A wrong guess costs 250 points, and you can try again. You get up to 3 guesses, so it pays to be sure.
Ready for today’s case?
A new case every day. Free, with no sign-up to start.