bonanova

Nice. I missed the part about three prisoners. What was that?

EDIT to add my positions Yeah, that's it. Nice.

Didn't notice psykomakia's post. That's what i get for making dinner while puzzling. So end the suspense ... What was for dinner?

How many Queens does it take to attack all [64-N] unoccupied squares on a standard 8x8 chessboard? Yes, N is the number of Queens.

At least one of the last two statements in this list is true. This is either the first true or the first false statement in the list. There are three consecutive false statements in this list. The difference between the numbers of the last true statement and first true statement is a factor of x. The sum of the numbers of the true statements equals x. This is not the last true statement. Each true statement's number is a factor of x. The percentage of true statements in this list equals x. The number of different factors of x [not counting 1 and x] is greater than the sum of the numbers of the true statements No three consecutive statements in this list are all true. Find x.

Hi psykomakia Interesting stuff. It would be helpful to include all needed information, rather than directing puzzle solvers to your website. For starters, do the cards tile the grid? Welcome to the Den!

You explained it well; I just was slow to follow it.

Hi MikeD. We seem to be converging on a solution. I think we differ only in one case: mmb. See previous post for my analysis of that case. See comment in red inside your spoiler for a question about yours. Thanks.

Having said that, I'll contribute a solution of my own. This solution will give a winning chance of 42/70 or 60%. This is a nice analysis to maximize probability that your answer is correct. I had understood the puzzle to require that when you answer you must be certain that your answer is correct. Then, each chair gives you a particular probability of being the first to be able to answer with certainty of your color. If the student cannot logically deduce the colors, she will move on to the second chair, then the third chair. If that does not decide the issue, she will continue around the circle of chairs until one of you gives the correct response, with correct reasoning, based on the stamps that are visible and the other students' answers.

Perfect. Perhaps presumptuous on my part, but amazingly, that's what fell out. Seriously? Nah.

In accordance with the first rule of this puzzle, I am ready now to declare that this post is NOT an attempt to solve it. Although it may LOOK like a guess, it is not. If it were, it might be worth someone's time and effort to be reading it. But it's not, and there really is no justification for the 8 or 9 seconds anyone has invested, and possibly 4 or 5 additional seconds a misguided soul might further invest. But because any self-respecting post really ought to have embedded within it a spoiler to hide something, even the true non-attempt to solve this puzzle that this post is ... Well then ... here's mine: I expect full and appropriate credit for the crackling insight evident therein.

Valid observation Chad. The OP already said his back ws on the ground. I gave youR post a 1.

All words are correct. And so the answer is ... ?

It's Saturday night, and being a puzzle writer I have no social life. So I make a list of a dozen things: 1. A destroyer of compasses 2. A massive herbivore 3. A peculiar behavior 4. A portrayal, as [if] perfect 5. A student of obfuscation 6. A way for water to disappear 7. An earth scientist 8. Some bilious organs 9. Some cell phones 10. Some foot doctors 11. Some groups of possibly heterogeneous things considered as a whole 12. Some people who study races I lazily let my pencil wander down through the list, three times, thus dividing each word into four pieces of lengths 2, 3, 4: AG BL GE GR ID PT VA [7] ACK ADD AGN ALI ASY BER CRY DEM EDI ERS ETH ETI GAL HIP HOP IDE IST ION IOS IZA LBL MUS NOL OGI OPH ORT OTA POP POR STS STS YSI ZAT ZER [34] CIST EGAT IONS OLOG RIES TION YNCR [7] Finally, I notice that if I take the 2nd letter of each word, I get something appropriate for this forum. What is it? [The words are nouns of equal length, and singular or plural as the clues indicate.]

Generalizing to j and k,

Only possible difference is that player 2 [i think] doesn't know which card player 1 has chosen. E.g. P2 might choose one of them herself, and thus can 'steal' some of p1's chances.

Yeah, good going WoS and Y-San. I corrected the word count and the pure anagram step in OP And was going to add a clue [watch verb tense] for 9. But plainglazed tied a bow on it. I wonder if giving the letter count takes away some of the fun? Oh, and Y-San, 6 was def made to be Googled.

It actually was my worst year. I wuz really loving first grade, and they booted me upstairs halfway through. I'll go for the second option.

Gotta ask: does the size of the grid matter? Or should we assume m by n?

Single-letter changes, anagrams permitted, letter counts given. Enjoy! 1. goes with cotton or vermouth 3 2. close by 4 3. talk like a horse 5 4. swinging joint 6 5. done in from a platform 6 6. beware, Will Robinson! 6 7. made mad 7 8. made mad 7 [oops. Pure anagram here, no letters change.] 9. make amicable 6 10. mini bomb 6 7 11. eats sauce also 6 12. homes to radishes and roses 6 13. caught unawares 6 14. dweebs 5 15. lairs of lions, foxes and iniquity 4 16. finis 3