Let's take an example from last time we did this. There was a puzzle wherein you were stuck in a room where the door was only unlocked for one minute every hour, trying to turn the handle any other time would electrocute you, and all you had was a match and a rope that takes two hours to burn. Something along those lines.

The logic puzzle is 'how can you use a 2-hour rope to measure 1 hour?'. In that situation, there's not very many solutions (though it occurs to me that you might be able to make a pendulum...). But:

That wasn't the goal we were given. The goal was 'escape with only these things'. Following the unspoken rules (you must escape by timing one hour) is... silly.

You, the puzzle creator, get to set the stage. You say what the building is like. You say what the guards will or won't do. You say how many questions we're allowed to ask. And a solution like 'I repeatedly ask the guards the same question until they crack and answer it anyway' would go against the spirit of the puzzle, absolutely.

But doing something that the puzzler didn't account for? That's fair game, as far as I'm concerned.

~

Since this is supposed to be a practical thread, not just a theory one: here, have a puzzle.

You are on a classic desert island - a small 'hill' of sand surrounded entirely by deep water, clear out to the horizon. A single coconut palm grows on the island. You have nothing else except the clothes you were wearing when you came there. There is no ship in sight (nor the wreckage of one), but you know that ships can appear briefly on the horizon at irregular intervals.

Escape.

I have a solution in mind. I won't tell you yours is wrong, though. ;)

... that everyone would rather I shut up and stayed out of this thread.

hS

SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS

Ask a guard, "If the other guard is the opposite of you, which door would he choose?" and then take the other door.

Somehow I missed that in my initial reading. So, I will need to re-examine the question and come up with a better solution.

-Phobos

Well, it occurs to me that you need two pieces of information. 1) Which guard is the Knave/Knight 2) Which door has the treasure.

Asking either guard which door has the treasure is not going to do it. What if that guard is the Knave? You die. Wouldn't want that to happen. So, the only way to ensure that you know the truth is to guarantee that you are being lied to.

Asking Guard 1 what guard 2 would say works because if Guard 1 is the Knave then he will lie about the Knight's response (which would have been a truthful answer. Likewise, if Guard 1 is the Knight, he will tell you the truth about Guard 2's response (which would have been a lie). Either way, you are being lied to, making the actual identities of the guards irrelevant. That being the case, take the door they say is certain death.


The hard challenge is much more interesting. Now you only need one set of information, but the sources of said information are less reliable.

So, let's try talking it through. Label the islanders A, B, and C for simplicity (we'll need as much of that as we can get).

Question 1:
Ask A, "Would B say he is certain he could predict C's answer, if B knew what I was going to ask C?" Complicated, but a Yes/No question none the less.

What does A answer? If Yes, then you are either talking to the Random and B could be either of the others or you are talking to the Knave/Knight and B is the other non-Random. We really don't know a whole lot here, just that B is not Random. Worst case scenario. We'll come back to this in a moment.

If No, then you are talking to the Random. Neither Knight nor Knave will ever answer this question with a No. Proceed to ask B "Would C say you are the Knave?" This guarantees you are being lied to, just like the first challenge. Just switch the answers and use your last question to find out if there's a nice place to get a drink nearby.

If anything else, you are talking to either the Knave/Knight and B is the Random. Neither the Knight nor the Knave can answer this question with a yes or no, because they don't know if they would be lying or telling the truth. In that case, guarantee you are being lied to and go enjoy that drink.

Worst case scenario Question 2: We know B is non-Random in this scenario, so who better to ask? Let's try that same trick again. "Would A say he is certain he could predict C's answer, if A knew what I was going to ask C?"

What does B answer? If yes, then both A and B are non-Random. Use your last question to guarantee you are being lied to.

If no, then you did something very wrong. This should not be a possible answer.

If anything else, then A is the Random. Ask B about C for the Phobos Guarantee and go home.

Convoluted? You bet. Effective, though.


As for the third riddle, word play is less my thing. I prefer the logic puzzles. I might take a look at it later, though.


-Phobos, master strategist and professional Knave

spoilers spoilers spoilers spoilers spoilers spoilers spoilers
spoilers spoilers spoilers spoilers spoilers spoilers spoilers
spoilers spoilers spoilers spoilers spoilers spoilers spoilers
spoilers spoilers spoilers spoilers spoilers spoilers spoilers

Could it be plankton ? The first step of the food chains in the ocean, and I guess an excess of them could hurt with an excess of carbon released in one zone of the ocean.

Precisely how you think you screwed it up, considering it was so fluffy and cute and heartwarming that even the bloody NOTARY got a sweet moment or two. Whatever you decide, though, I enjoyed the RP immensely and feel privileged to have been part of it. =]

Things are often described as family members. Another example would be:

I have many children who run after each other, but never overtake each other.

The children in this context are the spokes of a wheel. Nobody is suggesting that the speaker's offspring are cartwheel spokes, merely that cartwheel spokes remain in the same place as the wheel turns.

Try this riddle then, and see if you can make sense of it:

My hen has laid an egg on thorns.

How rude of me. I was puzzled for a while though. The "Ancient ditch of my father" threw me off. However, once I came back to my senses, the answer was simple.

Oh, yes, a solution warning for those who wish to solve the riddle for themselves. This should be sufficient.

A garment, such as a shirt.

If the child crosses on the mother's back, that's still crossing it!

No wonder African riddles never caught on over here if they're all like this!

One that would grant many smiles. And, yet, not the answer I seek.

Read further only if you need a hint:
Think along the lines of the Riddle of the Sphinx

spoilers spoilers spoilers spoilers spoilers spoilers spoilers
spoilers spoilers spoilers spoilers spoilers spoilers spoilers
spoilers spoilers spoilers spoilers spoilers spoilers spoilers
spoilers spoilers spoilers spoilers spoilers spoilers spoilers

I can only hear the wind going through the leafs. I can't see him because he's dead.

There are trees in the way. Your son is in the woods; you aren't. You need to go in to be able to see him. That's why we call it 'looking for' someone, see?

Or don't see, if you're still hanging around outside the forest.

(You do remember MacGyver hS, right? I'm gonna be here breaking all your (plural) riddles until it's time to leave. >:D)

hS

Still, if you are of a literal mind, perhaps you will enjoy my mathematics based riddles! However, now is not the time. We must play the game proper, no? Let us give more people a chance to answer first.