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

A fresh card pile is taken out of a box (the pile has 54 cards including 2 jokers). One joker is taken out and then the cards are shuffled for a good amount of times. After shuffling, two piles are made by dividing that one pile.



What is the possibility that one of the piles will have a card sequence from A to K in order?

Card Mixing Riddle

Asked by Neha on 04 Apr 2021


I have two coins.
* One of the coins is a faulty coin having a tail on both sides of it.
* The other coin is a perfect coin (heads on side and tail on other).

I blindfold myself and pick a coin and put the coin on the table. The face of the coin towards the sky is the tail.

What is the probability that another side is also tail?

Asked by Neha on 07 Jun 2023

A man has to get a fox, a chicken, and a sack of corn across a river.

He has a rowboat, and it can only carry him and one other thing.
If the fox and the chicken are left together, the fox will eat the chicken.
If the chicken and the corn are left together, the chicken will eat the corn.

How does the man do it?

Asked by Neha on 04 May 2021


A man is walking down a road with a basket of eggs. As he
is walking he meets someone who buys one-half of his eggs
plus one-half of an egg.
He walks a little further and meets another person who buys
one-half of his eggs plus one-half of an egg.
After proceeding further he meets another person who buys
one-half of his eggs plus one half an egg. At this point, he
has sold all of his eggs, and he never broke an egg.
How many eggs did the man have to start with?

Asked by Neha on 06 Dec 2023

Which Travels Faster? Solve below famous picture riddle:

Which Travels Faster

Asked by Neha on 11 Dec 2024

In The 1st month of this year(the year 2013), I noticed that the date 13-1-13 (13 January 2013) is special.

This date is special as:

Date * Month = Year.

Can you figure out which year of this century has a maximum number of such dates?

Asked by Neha on 14 Aug 2024


What is the centre of gravity?

Asked by Neha on 10 Nov 2023

We are a group of eight brothers. We consider the weak, yet we protect the king in every battle. If we move ahead, we never turn back. Who are we?

Asked by Neha on 15 Feb 2026

Which city is three-fifths chick two third cat and 50% goat?

Asked by Neha on 25 Jan 2024


Two in a corner, one in a room, zero in a house, but one in a shelter. What is it?

Asked by Neha on 22 Mar 2025

Hot Articles

Amazing Facts

Crossword puzzles

In the 1920s, people feared that crossword puzzles would contribute to illiteracy.