Valentine’s Special 2017: Sweet Eighteen Answers

The hazelnut is mentioned in clue 1 and clue 6. Fix its place (it doesn’t matter which section you start with), with the lemon jelly two groups counterclockwise (clue 6). If the almond, flanked by hazelnut and orange jelly (clue 1), is placed counterclockwise from the hazelnut, the lemon and orange jellies will occupy the same group. Therefore, the almond is clockwise from the hazelnut—with the orange jelly and the maple cream two groups counterclockwise from the hazelnut (clues 1 and 6).

The peanut cannot go in the group with the hazelnut, the almond, the maple cream/orange jelly (for it must have the raspberry jelly two groups counterclockwise), or the group opposite the hazelnut (for it must be immediately clockwise of mocha cream (clue 4)). If the peanut joins the lemon jelly, it will have mocha cream immediately counterclockwise; and raspberry jelly will join the hazelnut (clue 4). Now there is only one spot for marshmallow cream: between hazelnut and lemon jelly/peanut, with mint jelly joining mocha cream/cashew, and pecan joining maple cream/orange jelly. Now there is only one way for the strawberry jelly to be opposite the vanilla cream (clue 5): by having the strawberry jelly join the almond; but if it does, it will have to share the only spot remaining for the strawberry cream (by the alignment in clue 2), and this violates clue 7. Therefore, the peanut does not join the lemon jelly.

The only spot for the peanut is between the hazelnut and the lemon jelly. This leaves just two possibilities for the marshmallow cream (from clue 2): joining the peanut or joining the almond/raspberry jelly. But in the latter case, there will be no way to align the apple jelly (clue 3). So the only place for marshmallow is with peanut; pecan joins maple cream/orange jelly, and mint jelly goes opposite hazelnut. Now the only way to have vanilla cream and strawberry jelly opposite (clue 5) is having vanilla cream join mint jelly. All jellies but one are now aligned, so by elimination, apple jelly joins peanut/marshmallow cream. By elimination, chocolate cream goes with hazelnut/strawberry jelly; and likewise, walnut goes with lemon jelly/mocha cream.

In summary: clockwise, starting at any section, the candies are grouped in the following order:

CREAMS JELLIES NUTS
Group 1 Chocolate Strawberry Hazelnut
Group 2 Strawberry Raspberry Almond
Group 3 Maple Orange Pecan
Group 4 Vanilla Mint Cashew
Group 5 Mocha Lemon Walnut
Group 6 Marshmallow Apple Peanut