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

In the figure that has been attached to this question, each digit represents a digit. The similar letters carry the same integer value. Can you expose the original digits?

Number The Puzzle

Asked by Neha on 06 Mar 2026


Replace the 'X' with any mathematical symbol to make the expression equal to 111.

18 X 12 X 2 X 3 = 111

Asked by Neha on 27 Jul 2024

In a family supper, a grandfather, a grandmother, two fathers, two mothers, four children, three grandchildren, one brother, two sisters, two sons, two daughters, one daughter-in-law, and one mother-in-law need to sit at a table.

There are only seven chairs available at the place. How many more chairs do they have to borrow so that everyone can sit down together for the suppers if everybody requires a separate chair?

Asked by Neha on 09 Nov 2024


Can you count the number of triangles inside a triangle?

Triangles in a Triangle Riddle

Asked by Neha on 26 Mar 2026

13 decks of cards have been mixed. What is the minimum number of cards that must be taken out from the above-mixed cards to guarantee at least one 'four of a kind?

Asked by Neha on 10 Jun 2024

You knock a Table over in the library, and suddenly 20 eyes are looking at you.

Asked by Neha on 21 Sep 2021


If you paint a brown house white it will become a white house. If the stoplight changes from red to green, then the light is green. So, if you throw a white shirt into the Red Sea, what will it become?

Asked by Neha on 07 Jun 2025

What does below science rebus mean?

Ag Ag Ag
Ag SPOON Ag
Ag Ag Ag

Asked by Neha on 11 Oct 2023

In the figure, you can see nine stars. What you have to do is connect all of them by using just four line and without lifting your hand i.e. in a continuous flow.

Connect the Stars

Asked by Neha on 17 May 2021


Three logicians went to bar for having a drink. The bar person asks the logicians "Do they all want to have the drink?". The first logician replied, " I don't know". The second logician replied, " I don't know". What is the reply of the last logician?

Asked by Neha on 12 Jul 2026

Hot Articles

Amazing Facts

Artificial Intelligence

Artificial Intelligence has crushed all human records in the puzzle game “2048,” achieving a high score of 839,732 and beating the game in only 973 moves without using any undo.