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Advanced clue

These linked values are a set number apart

Also known in the clue library as Ordinal Offset.

ordinal-offset
Clue pattern
Two linked entities sit a fixed offset apart on an ordered category.
What to mark first
Track both linked entities against the ordered scale together.
Common mistake
Solving only one side of the pair instead of the linked offset.
Mini-example
The baker finished one place before the turtle owner.
Print-book tip
Think in paired tracks rather than two independent values.

When and where this clue pays off

Two questions matter more than the pattern itself: does this clue give you everything now, or only later — and does it become a mark on the board, or a note you have to keep separately?

Builds as the board fills in

The impossible values go first; the pair keeps narrowing as the ordered category fills in.

Marks the board directly

Every stage of the deduction lands as a mark.

Reading the clue is half the job. These are the methods that turn it into board progress.

Put it to work

See this clue type on a live board, or go back and browse the rest of the library.