The Forged Map Clue by Clue

How to Play: Clue by Clue is a game that tests your thinking skills. It can be played alone or in a group. Solve the mystery below by going through the clues one at a time. Each time you reveal a new clue, stop and think about what it could mean, what you know from all the clues so far, and what you still need to know. After the last clue is revealed, you can read some hints or go straight to the solution!

The Situation

A man buys a high-quality reproduction of an old map. An artist friend sees the map and is impressed with the quality. He suggests the man get it tested to see if it is the original. The man agrees just for fun and discovers that it is in fact the original.

How did he get the original map?

Can you figure it out in 9 clues?

Clue 1

The man immediately called the university where the original should have been. The university had their copy tested and found that it was a copy.

Clue 2

The man bought the map from a publishing company that is famous for their copies of historical documents. They use the same materials as the original creators and they do not mark their copies in any way.

Clue 3

The university told police that their copy had been stolen about two months ago. It was returned a week later with a note saying “Sorry.”

Clue 4

They never reported it to police and never thought to test the map that was returned.

Clue 5

The owner of the publishing company told police that the artist who worked on copying that particular map was their top artist. He was so good people often had trouble identifying his copies from the original.