Strategies by Tier: from Apprentice to Grand Inquisitor
Published: 18 July — Anno Domini 2026
The Chancellery does not measure a case by the size of its grid, but by the depth of reasoning it demands. A tier I file yields to patient elimination; a tier IV file will make you hold three thoughts in the air at once. Here is what changes from tier to tier — and how to keep your score whole.
Tier I — the Apprentice's craft
Everything you need sits in plain sight. The clues are direct — someone was somewhere, someone never touched something — and the two basic rules of the grid (a tick closes its line; the last cell standing gets the tick) carry you to the verdict.
Counsel: work clue by clue, and after every mark ask "what does this force?". If a tier I case resists you, you have missed a consequence, not a clue. Tier I is also the place to build the habit that saves higher tiers: never mark what you cannot prove.
Tier II — matches that travel
Tier II adds distance between cause and effect. Clues link different categories ("whoever held the lantern was at the wharf"), some come as either-or, and time clues order the moments of the day. The grid's third rule — matches travel across categories — stops being optional.
Counsel: re-read the clue list every time the grid gains a tick. A clue that said nothing ten moves ago may now be the key. And watch the order of moments: "before vespers" excludes more than it seems.
Tier III — the lie enters
From tier III, suspects speak — and one of them lies. The Supreme Law (the culprit always lies; everyone else tells the truth) turns the case into a trial of hypotheses: assume a suspect guilty, read their testimony reversed, and hunt the contradiction. We devoted a whole guide to the technique.
Counsel: exhaust the Chancellery's plain findings first, so each hypothesis faces the fullest possible grid. Then test hypotheses in order and let contradictions, not feelings, do the acquitting.
Tier IV — thoughts within thoughts
Tier IV files are checked by the same iron rule as all others — a single solution exists — but reaching it may require a supposition inside a hypothesis: "if the merchant held the seal, then… no, impossible; therefore the seal belonged to the scribe." You are no longer just eliminating; you are briefly living in possible worlds and watching which one collapses.
Counsel: before venturing a supposition, note (mentally or on the grid) what is proven and what is provisional; when a branch dies, retreat to proven ground and take the other branch with confidence — its rival's death is its proof. Slow is fast at tier IV.
The economy of a verdict
- A solved case earns its tier's base: 100 / 250 / 500 / 1000 points for tiers I–IV. One tier IV file is worth ten tier I files — difficulty is generously repaid.
- Each wrong verdict costs 15% of the base, and you have three attempts in all. At tier IV, a failed attempt burns 150 points — more than an entire tier I case.
- A free clue costs 10%. A clue paid from your stipend of scrolls (15/20/25/30 scrolls by tier) costs nothing.
- The daily stipend grows through the week up to 200 scrolls — claimed faithfully, it funds several penalty-free clues.
The arithmetic points somewhere definite: at high tiers, when you are honestly stuck, a paid clue is the thrifty choice — cheaper than a wrong verdict and cheaper than a free clue. Spend scrolls where the stakes are highest, and keep your streak alive on the daily case: the stipend rewards the faithful.
The long road of rank
Ranks are earned by solved files: Apprentice at the gate, then Scribe, Knight, Royal Counsellor, and at last Grand Inquisitor. The Mysteries & Intrigues archive keeps every published case open — the daily file feeds your streak, the archive feeds your rank, and both feed the leaderboard.