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

what does the below rebus means?

Funny Love

Asked by Neha on 31 Aug 2023


I am an odd number. Take away a letter and I become even. What number am I?

Asked by Neha on 25 Feb 2022

In a stable, there are men and horses. In all, there are 22 heads and 72 feet. How many men and how many horses are in the stable

Asked by Neha on 29 Jun 2023


What are the next two letters in the following series and why?
W A T N T L I T F S _ _

*Hint: Check Puzzle Title

Asked by Neha on 12 May 2023

Look at the below sequence of letters and tell us what the next letter should be:

O T T F F S S ?

Asked by Neha on 02 Jan 2024

Count the number of triangles in the given picture.

Find out triangles

Asked by Neha on 28 Mar 2025


A dead body is found outside a multi-story multinational company. The case is reported and a homicide detective is called on the crime scene.

He looks at the body and then towards the building. From the position of the body, it is evident that the victim committed suicide. He goes to the first floor of the building and then walks in the direction of the dead body, opens the window and toss a coin in the air.

He goes to second floor and again repeats the process. He keeps doing this till he is done on all the floors. Then he returns back to the floor and tells his team that it is a murder.

How in heaven did he deduce that?

Asked by Neha on 10 Sep 2021

Make a sentence consisting of three words that have the whole alphabet.

Asked by Neha on 11 Dec 2025

Outside a tattoo artist's shop, there was a signboard which read 'I make tattoos on only them who do not tattoo themselves'.

Reading it what do you think, does the tattoo artist tattoo himself?

Asked by Neha on 22 Nov 2025


I am under you when I am whole.
I shift above you if you remove the first letter.
I come all around you if you remove the second as well.

Can you tell me who I am?

Asked by Neha on 28 Jun 2023

Hot Articles

Amazing Facts

Challenging

There is a cryptic organization called Cicada 3301 that posts challenging puzzles online, possibly to recruit codebreakers and linguists.