[Guest]

You are one of 9 prisoners to be executed tomorrow. The wicked king, who we all know ejoys playing cruel games, puts the fate of all of you in YOUR hands. Tomorrow he will line each of the other 8 prisoners up side by side, and give them each a RED or BLACK hat. He tells you the hats will be split evenly, 4 RED and 4 BLACK, but in any order. No prisoner can see their own, nor the other prisoners hats, but they know what order they stand in line. (Left to right- 1st, 2nd, 3rd, etc.) The king will allow you to say ONLY one number, positive or negative between 0-32. (The positive and negative makes it much easier to work when solving) However the king has underestimated your abilities! Devise a plan to inform each prisoner the color of their hat with a single number.

Edited August 11, 2008 by EyesOfTheDead

[Guest]

solution:

for all numbers just add negative signs too

Guy 1: hat red if positive

Guy 2: hat red if 1-16

Guy 3: hat red if 1-8 or 17-24

Guy 4: hat red if 1-4, 9-12, 17-20 or 21-24

Guy 5: hat red if 1,2,5,6,9,10,13,14,17,18,21,22,25,26,29 or 30

Guy 6: hat red if odd

Guy 7: hat red if said loudly (old trick)

Guy 8: figure it out from above

[Guest]

solution:

for all numbers just add negative signs too

Guy 1: hat red if positive

Guy 2: hat red if 1-16

Guy 3: hat red if 1-8 or 17-24

Guy 4: hat red if 1-4, 9-12, 17-20 or 21-24

Guy 5: hat red if 1,2,5,6,9,10,13,14,17,18,21,22,25,26,29 or 30

Guy 6: hat red if odd

Guy 7: hat red if said loudly (old trick)

Guy 8: figure it out from above

Problem is if you say positive 5, with that guys 1, 2, 3, 5, and 6 are red. If positive 1, guys 1,2,3,4,5, and 6 are red.

[Guest]

Problem is if you say positive 5, with that guys 1, 2, 3, 5, and 6 are red. If positive 1, guys 1,2,3,4,5, and 6 are red.

Yes, correct. This is a problem because...?

[Guest]

Yes, correct. This is a problem because...?

You have a double up!

[Guest]

You have a double up!

How so? In one case, 4 knows he has a red hat on. In the other, he knows he has a black one.

[Guest]

There's 4 red, 4 black

If there is a mod that read this could you just delete this topic? I pretty much messed up the initial problem and can't edit it. I am working on a similar version where the puzzle is in the sequence by the numbers you give. If not I'll just post that as a new topic after I check it 1,000 times to ensure it's accurate!

Edited August 13, 2008 by EyesOfTheDead

[bonanova]

There's 4 red, 4 black

If there is a mod that read this could you just delete this topic? I pretty much messed up the initial problem and can't edit it. I am working on a similar version where the puzzle is in the sequence by the numbers you give. If not I'll just post that as a new topic after I check it 1,000 times to ensure it's accurate!

I won't delete it, but at the OP's request I will close it.