Linked Questions
17 questions linked to/from A "Puzzling" Cipher
122
votes
7
answers
30k
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100 Prisoners' Names in Boxes
Names in Boxes
The names of 100 prisoners are placed in 100 wooden boxes, one name to a box, and the boxes are lined up on a table in a room.
One by one, the prisoners are led into the room; each may ...
57
votes
4
answers
77k
views
What is the largest tile possible in 2048?
I can get to 4096 max. There are videos on youtube of guys making it to 8192. What is the theoretical maximum limit on this?
PS: if you haven't played this, here is the link to addiction.
44
votes
6
answers
8k
views
Burning ropes as timers
You have 2 identical ropes which burn at a specific rate, and an unlimited supply of matches. When you light one end of a rope, the fire will take exactly 1 hour to travel to the other end of the rope....
37
votes
4
answers
18k
views
How many chess pieces does it take to "cover" all spaces on a chessboard?
Given an 8x8 chessboard, your goal is to "cover" each space on the board with the fewest possible number of pieces. A space is "covered" if there is a piece on it, or if a piece on the board can be ...
47
votes
4
answers
5k
views
Which switch goes to which bulb?
You are in a room with three switches, labeled $A$, $B$, and $C$. Initially, each switch is in an off state. In an adjoining room, there are three incandescent light bulbs. Your task is to ...
32
votes
4
answers
22k
views
Learning to Solve a River Crossing Puzzle
I have seen many variations of the following puzzle:
Once upon a time, a farmer went to the market and purchased a fox, a goose, and a bag of beans. On his way home, the farmer came to the bank of ...
29
votes
2
answers
5k
views
How many queens can be on a chessboard without attacking each other?
What is the maximum number of queens that can be placed on a standard 8x8 chessboard such that no one of them is capable of attacking any of the others in a single move?
24
votes
5
answers
7k
views
N logicians wearing hats of N colors
N logicians are wearing hats which can be of N different colors (each hat has one color; there can be multiple hats with the same color). Each logician can see the colors of all hats except his own. ...
29
votes
2
answers
2k
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Are there "rules" (or consistent conventions) that limit when the NY Times Crossword can deviate from rotational symmetry?
Most American crosswords use rotational (or "radial") symmetry so that squares directly opposite each other (through the center) are identical.
In the Times, I've only seen this not be the case ...
14
votes
2
answers
1k
views
What is the fewest number of filled-in squares required to uniquely define a magic square?
The magic square is a well-known grid of the numbers from 1 to 9 in which every row, column, and diagonal adds up to 15:
4 9 2
3 5 7
8 1 6
But it is also ...
14
votes
3
answers
2k
views
How many clues are required to ensure Einstein's Puzzle is solvable?
I used to play Einstein's puzzles a lot when I was younger, and very quickly learned to assess quite rapidly whether I thought a puzzle would be a quick solve or more time-consuming, but I never ...
8
votes
2
answers
23k
views
How can I fix "stuck" positions on the Void Rubik's Cube (using the standard beginner's method)?
Sometimes, when solving the Void Rubik's Cube using the standard beginner method, it gets "stuck." What I mean by this is that the top edge of one face and the top edge of an adjacent face's colors ...
13
votes
5
answers
1k
views
How do you create a general locked-box problem?
In this question, I presented a puzzle involving seven locks, with a Grand Vizier and four slaves.
But I would like to use this style of puzzle in some of my own secret-unlocking riddles, in order to ...
11
votes
3
answers
995
views
A Puzzling Cipher: Redux
A couple months ago, I posted this, to test a new cipher encryption idea, but it was poorly constructed and did not work. After that puzzle fail, I redesigned it to work better, making it much cleaner,...
8
votes
2
answers
732
views
Strategy for speedsolving 2048
Once one has mastered winning 2048 in general, it's often an interesting exercise to try to do it as fast as possible.
What strategies are there for speeding up 2048-solving?
For example, how can you ...
5
votes
2
answers
266
views
How do I choose between letter possibilities for 2- and 3-letter words in a cryptogram?
I've tried to begin solving a cryptogram by making educated guesses from the context: position of punctuation, the presence of single-letter words, or assumptions about the frequency of the letter E, ...
5
votes
1
answer
287
views
MPire coloring game basic strategy
The MPire coloring game is a game where several "empires" are laid out touching each other. Your task is to color each empire a different color, and not let two of the same color touch. You also have ...