Prisoner to be freed

The warden meets with 23 new prisoners when they arrive. He tells them, "You may meet today and plan a strategy. But after today, you will be in isolated cells and will have no communication with one another.

"In the prison is a switch room, which contains two light switches labeled 1 and 2, each of which can be in either up or the down position. I am not telling you their present positions. The switches are not connected to anything.

"After today, from time to time whenever I feel so inclined, I will select one prisoner at random and escort him to the switch room. This prisoner will select one of the two switches and reverse its position. He must flip one switch when he visits the switch room, and may only flip one of the switches. Then he'll be led back to his cell.

"No one else will be allowed to alter the switches until I lead the next prisoner into the switch room. I'm going to choose prisoners at random. I may choose the same guy three times in a row, or I may jump around and come back. I will not touch the switches, if I wanted you dead you would already be dead.

"Given enough time, everyone will eventually visit the switch room the same number of times as everyone else. At any time, anyone may declare to me, 'We have all visited the switch room.'

"If it is true, then you will all be set free. If it is false, and somebody has not yet visited the switch room, you will all die horribly. You will be carefully monitored, and any attempt to break any of these rules will result in instant death to all of you"

What is the strategy they come up with so that they can be free?




Similar Riddles

I have a big mouth and I am also quite loud! I am NOT a gossip but I do get involved with everyone's dirty business.

Asked by Neha on 24 Apr 2026


A solo dice game is played. In this game, upon each turn, a normal pair of dice is rolled and the score is calculated not by adding the numbers but multiplying them.

In a particular game, the score for the second roll is five more than what was achieved in the first roll. The score for the third roll is six less than what was completed in the second roll. The score for the fourth roll is eleven more than what was achieved in the third. The score for the fifth roll is eight less than what was completed in the fourth.

Can you calculate the score for each of the five throws?

Asked by Neha on 04 Jun 2024

John buys rice at Rs.60/kg from Britain and then sells them at Rs.5/kg in India. As a result of this, he becomes a millionaire. How come?

Asked by Neha on 22 Jun 2023


Identify the 10 differences between the two given pictures.

Pictures to Identify

Asked by Neha on 22 Dec 2023

Queen Elizabeth organised a royal party.

To Avoid uninvited guest royal family set a password.
Jack (an uninvited person) plan to enter the party. He stand nearby the door.

First guest comes, the security person said 'twelve' and guest replied with six.
Second guest comes , the security person said 'six' and guest replied with 'three'.

Jack thought is enough and he walked to the entry point. The security person said 'eight' , Jack replied smilingly 'four'.
He was immediately thrown out of the party. why ?

Asked by Neha on 09 Aug 2021

Can you count the number of squares in the given picture?

How Many Squares you Find

Asked by Neha on 13 Feb 2024


How many times do a clock's hands overlap in a day ?

Clock Hand Overlapping

Asked by Neha on 31 Mar 2021

There is a square piece of paper with a hole that is denoted by the circle on the top right side in the given picture. You have to cut the paper in a manner that it forms two and only two separate pieces of paper and then rearrange the pieces in a manner that the holes come in the centre of the paper.

Rearrange Paper

Asked by Neha on 18 Aug 2023

This is a classy optical illusion puzzle. What more you can find except bricks in the image below?

Brick Optical Illusion

Asked by Neha on 05 Jan 2025


It's been the first day of the school when a young girl was found raped and murdered.
Police suspect four male teachers as on the killers and ask them what they were doing in the morning in time 8:00 am.
1. Wayne: I was reading the newspaper.
2. Terry: I was checking chemistry papers
3. Bridge: I had locked myself in my room as my wife left me.
4. Cole: I dropped my wife to her office.

Who is the killer?

Asked by Neha on 15 Aug 2026

Hot Articles

Amazing Facts

Gamers

In 2011, people playing Foldit, an online puzzle game about protein folding, resolved the structure of an enzyme that causes an Aids-like disease in monkeys. Researchers had been working on the problem for 13 years. The gamers solved it in three weeks.