River Crossing

There is a river to cross using a river raft and there are eight people (father, mother, policeman, thief, 2 daughters and 2 sons). No one knows to operate the raft except the adults and also excluding the thief. Only two people can go in the raft at a time. The raft should keep coming back and forth in order to pick and drop the people.
Rules to be followed:
Father: the father cannot stay in the raft or outside the raft without the presence of the mother.
Mother: the mother cannot stay in the raft or outside the rat without the presence of the father.
Thief: the thief is not allowed to stay with any of the family members unless there is a policeman.
Policeman: the policeman can travel with anyone.
2 sons and 2 daughters: they are not allowed to travel in the raft without the presence of an adult. They cannot either travel in the presence of only thieves without the policeman. The sons cannot be with their mothers without their father's supervision. The daughters are not allowed to be there with their fathers without the supervision of their mothers. But the daughters and the sons can be left unsupervised (as long as the other rules are applied).
What is the sequence that the people should follow in order to cross the river through the raft keeping in mind all the rules?
The rules are applicable not only in the raft but also outside the raft.




Similar Riddles

Which is the rope you never skip with?

Asked by Neha on 01 May 2024


A bridge is about to collapse. There are four people P, Q, R and S on one of the sides. Before the bridge collapses, they want to cross it. Now since the bridge is too weak, it can only stand the weight of two people at a time. Also, it is night time and nothing is visible. They have just one torch with them.

Now P takes one minute to cross the bridge, Q takes two minutes to cross, R takes five minutes to cross and S takes ten minutes to cross.

The bridge will collapse in seventeen minutes. How will they be able to cross the bridge before it collapses?

Asked by Neha on 01 Apr 2024

A man is shown a portrait painting. He looks closely, then tells, “Brothers and sisters have I none, but that man’s father is my father’s son!” Who is the man in the portrait?

Asked by Neha on 18 Jun 2025


John buys rice at Rs.60/kg from Britain and then sells them at Rs.5/kg in India. As a result of this, he becomes a millionaire. How come?

Asked by Neha on 22 Jun 2023

A woman named Maria was at the funeral of her mother. She met a nice young man that she had never seen before and after the service, they spent a bit of time together. Then she got busy and didn’t get his name or phone number before he left. She tried to find him, but no one knew who he was or how to contact him. A few weeks later, Maria’s older sister dies and the police suspect murder. Who killed the sister?

Asked by Neha on 02 Jun 2025

The answer I give is yes, but what I mean is no. What was the question?

Asked by Neha on 04 Sep 2025


During an interview, the interviewer ordered hot coffee for the candidate to relieve the stress. The coffee was kept before him. After a minute, the interviewer asked him, 'What is before you?' He replied 'Tea'.

The candidate was selected immediately. Why?

Asked by Neha on 16 Jun 2024

If two's company, and three's a crowd, then whats four and five ?

Complicated counting

Asked by Neha on 22 Feb 2021

A man who was outside in the rain without an umbrella or hat didn’t get a single hair on his head wet. Why?

Asked by Neha on 27 Oct 2021


Why is 6 afraid of 7?

Asked by Neha on 28 Oct 2024

Hot Articles

Amazing Facts

Jigsaw puzzles

Jigsaw puzzles soared in popularity during the great depression, as they provided a cheap, long-lasting, recyclable form of entertainment.