Prisoner's Hat | BRAINSTELLAR

strategy puzzles



easystrategy

One hundred prisoners are lined up, facing one direction and assigned a random hat, either red or blue. Each prisoner can see the hats in front of them but not behind. Starting with the prisoner at the back of the line and moving forward, they must each, in turn, say only one word which must be "red" or "blue". If the word matches their hat color they are released, if not, they are kept imprisoned. They can hear each others' answers, no matter how far they are on the line, but they do not hear the verdict (whether the answer was correct). A friendly guard warns them one night before, giving them enough time to come up with a strategy. How many prisoners can be freed using the best strategy?

Assume that there is an unknown number of red & blue hats.





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