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

No matter how little or how much you use me, you change me every month. What am I?

Asked by Neha on 27 Jul 2025


I purchased an awesome ice cream cone having 5 different flavour scoops.
Five flavours are pistachio, mint-chip, strawberry, marshmallow, and raspberry

I will give u some clues so that you can figure out the order of flavours from bottom to top.
1. The bottom flavour of the cone has 10 letters.
2. The marshmallow scoop is between the pistachio and the mint-chip scoop.
3. marshmallow is the raspberry scoop but below the mint-chip scoop.

So can you figure out the flavour of ice cream in order from bottom to top?

Asked by Neha on 21 Jul 2023

I am a ten letters word
The first four letters have the power to rule,
Next, four-letter can be eaten.
The next three-letter represents a lady.
I can fly as well

what am I looking for?

Asked by Neha on 05 Jul 2023


The teacher told the student that if he told a lie then he will be expelled from school and if he told the truth then he still is expelled from school.

What can a student say to prevent his being expelled from school?

Asked by Neha on 17 Nov 2023

Can you find the missing piece of the Porsche?

Find the missing part

Asked by Neha on 23 Jun 2023

What is more useful when it is broken?

Asked by Neha on 30 Mar 2022


Chhote se Chintu Miyan,
Lambi si Pooch.
Jahan Jaye Chintu Miyan,
Wahan Jaye Pooch.

छोटे से चींटू मियाँ,
लंबी सी पूंछ।
जहाँ जाये चींटू मियाँ,
वहाँ जाये पूंछ।

Bolo kya?

Asked by Neha on 14 May 2021

Intelligence Agency need to break the vault but the problem is that they are not able to break the vault.

On the vault, a text is written as:

31 11 33 33 43 45
21 25
31 24 11 31 51 41

To Break the code Intelligence Agency brings a mathematician named Joseph.
Minutes later he deciphers the code.

Whats the code?

Asked by Neha on 14 May 2021

A non-stop marathon is the shared favourite sport of three brothers.

*The oldest one is fat and short and trudges slowly on.
*The middle brother's tall and slim and keeps a steady pace.
*The youngest runs just like the wind, speeding through the race.

"He is young in years, we let him run!" the other two brothers explained, "'because though he is surely number one, he is second, in a way." Why is it?

Asked by Neha on 03 Apr 2024


Which tank will fill first?

Fill The Tank

Asked by Neha on 13 Jul 2021

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.