Anatomy of Riddles
Riddles come in all shades and sizes. The varieties of forms that riddles can take make them even more difficult to master. If you wish to be able to solve any type of riddle, you must first know how to identify them. For the literate riddles, there are two major types: Enigmas and Conundrums.
EnigmasEnigmas are the stereotypical riddle that is thought inducing. Enigmas are like puzzles: the solver has to collect all of pieces and figure out how they all fit together.
Enigmas can be metaphorical and allegorical at times. By doing this, the enigmatic riddles make themselves that much harder to solve due to the fact that the solver has to understand what it is speaking of. Most of the riddles that I create here on MeRiddleYouSolve are enigmas. So as you go through my blog of riddles, remember that a lot of what you see is not what you think. The double meanings behind enigmas can be tricky at times. |
ConundrumsConundrums are a type of riddle that is on the border of being a joke. These riddles are more lighthearted and are often puny in either their telling or their answer.
Here is an example or two to give you an idea: 1)Which creature is the most inquisitive? Answer: An Owl (it always asks "Who?" 2)How many seconds are there in a year? Answer: Twelve (2nd of Jan, 2nd of Feb...) |
photographic Riddles
In addition to the Enigma and Conundrums, there are more specific types of riddles that aren't particularly categorized by their phrasings. There are more image based riddles that you would have to visualize in order to solve.
Here is one example that could fully encapsulates the need for a visual.
The Hat Riddle
The jailer puts three of the men sitting in a line. The fourth man is put behind a screen (or in a separate room). He gives all four men hats. The jailer explains that there are two black hats, and two white hats; that each prisoner is wearing one of the hats; and that each of the prisoners only see the hats in front of him but not on himself or behind him. The fourth man behind the screen can't see or be seen by any other prisoner. No communication among the prisoners is allowed.
If any prisoner can figure out and say to the jailer what color hat he has on his head with 100% certainty (without guessing) all four prisoners go free. If any prisoner suggests an incorrect answer, all four prisoners are executed. How can the prisoners escape, regardless of how the jailer distributes the hats.
Here is the picture that helps with the visualization.
Here is one example that could fully encapsulates the need for a visual.
The Hat Riddle
The jailer puts three of the men sitting in a line. The fourth man is put behind a screen (or in a separate room). He gives all four men hats. The jailer explains that there are two black hats, and two white hats; that each prisoner is wearing one of the hats; and that each of the prisoners only see the hats in front of him but not on himself or behind him. The fourth man behind the screen can't see or be seen by any other prisoner. No communication among the prisoners is allowed.
If any prisoner can figure out and say to the jailer what color hat he has on his head with 100% certainty (without guessing) all four prisoners go free. If any prisoner suggests an incorrect answer, all four prisoners are executed. How can the prisoners escape, regardless of how the jailer distributes the hats.
Here is the picture that helps with the visualization.
The answer to this riddle is quite complicated, but it makes sense once you hear it all out.
The prisoners know that there are only two hats of each color and we can assume that they are intelligent enough to make appropriate deductions. D is the prisoner with the most information. In the situation that B and C have the same hat color, D would say he has the opposite. But in the case the B and C have different hat colors, D is in the dark about his own hat color. Allowing an appropriate time of waiting and not hearing a response from D, C could realize that D does not know his own hat and by looking at the color of B's hat, C could say that his hat is the opposite.
This riddle is definitely not for a beginner and is reliant on the fact that you can deduce that by the lack of communication between the prisoners, one of them could figure out a solution.
The prisoners know that there are only two hats of each color and we can assume that they are intelligent enough to make appropriate deductions. D is the prisoner with the most information. In the situation that B and C have the same hat color, D would say he has the opposite. But in the case the B and C have different hat colors, D is in the dark about his own hat color. Allowing an appropriate time of waiting and not hearing a response from D, C could realize that D does not know his own hat and by looking at the color of B's hat, C could say that his hat is the opposite.
This riddle is definitely not for a beginner and is reliant on the fact that you can deduce that by the lack of communication between the prisoners, one of them could figure out a solution.