Best...Puzzle...Ever....

[orsal]

Well. I think I'll post one.

Eric fell asleep in his Introductory Logic class. The professor decides to make an example of Eric, and slams his hand on Eric's desk, waking him abruptly. The instructor then quickly asks "which of the six words that I am about to give you properly completes the following sequence of words: BASIC, ELF, HAITI, KILL, NO, ? Choose from QUARTER, QUICK, QUARREL, QUAINT, QUIBBLE, and QUERY." Much to the professor's embarrassment, Eric answers the question correctly. Find out what "logic" Eric employed, and decide what the answer should be.

Well, not really a "logic" puzzle, but the answer is

Spoiler

quarter

The reason:

Spoiler

It's the only one whose last letter immediately follows its first in the alphabet.

And, given the subject of this messageboard, could we steer the thread back to the idea of "puzzles/riddles/conundrums that you could credibly incorporate into an adventure"?

 

[evileeyore]

i apologise in advance as this is a language joke puzzle:

-----------------------------------------------------------------
A king on a desert island was so beloved by his people, they decided to
give him a very special gift for the anniversary of his coronation. So
after much thought, they decided to make him a throne out of seashells,
which were plentiful on the island. And when it was finished, they
presented it to the king, who loved it. But he soon discovered it was
very uncomfortable to sit on. So he told his subjects it was too
special to use everyday (so as not to hurt their feelings) and put it in
the attic of his palace (which was, of course, a hut like all the other
dwellings on the island), planning to use it just for special occasions.
But that night, it fell through the ceiling of his bedroom and landed
on top of him, killing him instantly. And the moral of the story is:
-----------------------------------------------------------------

TTFN

EvilE

 

[RangerWickett]

Those who live in grass houses shouldn't stow thrones.

 

[rkanodia]

"Riddle #3: Eddie and Aaron are dead in a cabin in the woods. It's over 500 miles to the nearest living being, and no on else was here when they died. If they didn't kill each other and didn't die from natural causes, nor other animals, what killed them?"

Was the cabin actually the cabin of an airplane? If so, then I'd say the fall killed them.

-Scot

Why couldn't each of them have killed himself?

 

[Saeviomagy]

This is correct... if your strategy is

Spoiler

to decide randomly, with probability 1/2, whether or not to switch.

But that's a stupid strategy. (This is assuming the version of the puzzle in which you always have the option of switching. If you don't, none of this is relevant.) You can do much better, as many people on this thread have already demonstrated, by always switching. Remember, it's in your power to decide that.

Spoiler

Go back over your figures, and change the probability of staying to 0 adn that of switching to 1, and see what you get out of this.

I realise that it's a stupid strategy - I was merely doing the 3 cups puzzle that meriak showed me.

Which turned out to not allow you to switch after the revelation anyway, meaning that the revelation has no impact on the odds.

 

[orsal]

I realise that it's a stupid strategy - I was merely doing the 3 cups puzzle that meriak showed me.

Which turned out to not allow you to switch after the revelation anyway, meaning that the revelation has no impact on the odds.

The point is that, in any version of the puzzle in which you are allowed to switch at your own option, part of the solution to the puzzle is choosing the optimum strategy. So a suboptimal strategy just won't give you the right answer.

 

[evileeyore]

Those who live in grass houses shouldn't stow thrones.

Sweet!

I've always loved using Spoonerisms. Stumps my players and then makes 'em laugh. Keeps 'em from getting angry about the lack of real riddles or puzzles.

I suck at puzzle making

TTFN

EvilE

 

[RithTheAwakener]

bummmp

 

[Saeviomagy]

The point is that, in any version of the puzzle in which you are allowed to switch at your own option, part of the solution to the puzzle is choosing the optimum strategy. So a suboptimal strategy just won't give you the right answer.

Well no - all I was proving was that

Spoiler

merely having the ability to switch would change the odds

. The optimal choice in this case, for that purpose, isn't relevant.

If a worst case proves your point, then proving the optimum case isn't necessary.

 

[rkanodia]

Tonight, fifty smurfs have been told that, in the morning, they will be lined up from tallest to shortest, and each given a red hat or a blue hat (there are fifty red hats and fifty blue hats; the hats chosen could be any combination thereof). Each of them will be able to see the hat of any Smurf shorter than himself (Smurfette isn't around), but not his own, nor those of the smurfs behind him. Then, each of them is required to call out the color of his own hat. Any smurf who says any word other than the color of his own hat, or who says it more than once, will immediately be put down by snipers. Any smurf who hasn't said anything after an hour will be put down by snipers. Any smurf who takes a step, or looks backward, will be put down by snipers. Any smurf who says the color of his hat will be taken away, to be rejoined with any other potential survivors once the whole deal is over.

The smurfs have come to you for advice as to how to escape this dilemma. Give them a plan that, if correctly followed, guarantees that no more than one smurf will die.