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 Difficult Riddles

It can't be seen, can't be felt, can't be heard, and can't be smelt.
It lies behind stars and under hills, And empty holes it fills.
It comes first and follows after, Ends life, and kills laughter.
What is it?

Asked by Neha on 17 May 2021


It spends most of its day eating white, but when it’s quick enough, it gets to eat fruit and sometimes some blue things. It’s in a dark room, where the walls are blue, it runs from a ghost that roams the halls and haunts it all the time. What is it?

Asked by Neha on 30 May 2025

A clock loses 10 minutes each hour. If the clock is set correctly at noon, what time is it when it reads 3 PM?

Asked by Neha on 26 Apr 2025


What goes through cities and fields, but never moves?

Asked by Neha on 10 Mar 2025

Keyboard words are not in alphabetical order, Why?

Asked by Neha on 26 Jul 2023

What work can one never finish?

Asked by Neha on 12 Jan 2024


There is something which you can be arrested for attempting but not for successfully completing.

Asked by Neha on 30 Apr 2024

If you're 8 feet away from a door and with each move you advance half the distance to the door. How many moves will it take to reach the door?

Asked by Neha on 13 Aug 2023

A word I know has six letters it contains, remove one letter and 12 remain. What is it?

Asked by Neha on 23 Mar 2025


Today is a very icy and cold morning in Newcastle. Mr Shearer, an office bus driver arrived to pick up the employees from the last stop. Shearer suddenly remembers that he needs to pick a newly joined 4miles to the north. Mr Shearer lost his direction compass, a few minutes later Shearer is able to figure that he is moving in the correct direction i.e. north. How did Shearer know that he is moving in the correct direction?

Asked by Neha on 01 Aug 2024

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.