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

There are three boxes of different sizes with three cupcakes inside each of the boxes in Christina's kitchen. At night her daughter wakes up and goes to the kitchen. She opens a box and eats all three cakes.

But in the morning Christina finds out that each box still had three cupcakes. How?

Asked by Neha on 06 Dec 2024


Can you decipher these quotes by Albert Einstein?
Blf xzm mvevi hloev z kilyovn lm gsv ovevo lm dsrxs rg dzh xivzgvw.

Asked by Neha on 12 Jun 2024

What is the fewest number of coins that would be required in order to make sure each and every coin touches exactly three other coins?

Asked by Neha on 09 Feb 2025


Write the next letter in this sequence.
O, T, T, F, F, S, S, E, __
**Hint: It is a Number Series Puzzle

Asked by Neha on 16 Dec 2025

You walk into a room and see a bed. On the bed, there are two dogs, five cats, a giraffe, six cows, and a goose. There are also three doves flying above the bed. How many legs are on the floor?

Asked by Neha on 23 May 2025

If you say my name, I will no longer exist. What am I?

Asked by Neha on 18 Dec 2023


A man is found dead with a knife in his back When the investigation is done. A chair lays beside him and the forensic team finds moisture around the body.

If he committed suicide, how did he do it?

Asked by Neha on 29 Nov 2025

Decode below three cipher riddles:

26 L of the A
7 D of the W
1000 Y in a M

Asked by Neha on 17 May 2021

John’s parents have three sons: Snap, Crackle, and what’s the name of the third son?

Asked by Neha on 14 Feb 2022


There are four 3-link chains. All you have to do is join them into a big 12-link chain. For joining two closed links, one of the links must be cut and placed onto the other link for closing.

How many minimum links will you have to cut to make the big chain?

Asked by Neha on 27 Sep 2023

Hot Articles

Amazing Facts

Out of the Box

The phrase “thinking outside the box” was popularised from the solution to a topographical puzzle involving 9 dots in a box shape.