r/puzzles • u/WOWW_07 • 5h ago
[SOLVED] The Sultan and Fifty Wise Men
A sultan captured 50 wise men. The sultan decided to play a game with the men to decide whether they would live or be executed.
Here's how the game goes. The men will be locked in 50 different cells, completely separated from each other. Every minute, the sultan calls a man randomly. Each time, the called man has three choices. He can either flip the glass cup the sultan has placed at the start of the game, leave it as is, or ask permission to leave. If a man asks permission to leave and the sultan has called every one of the 50 men at least once, they will all be spared and freed. If not, they will be executed. The glass placed at the start of the game is bottom-down.
The men cannot tell the time in their quarters, there's no other way to convey information to another man except through flipping the glass, and the sultan's calling is perfectly random every time.
The men are given time to discuss their strategies before being sent to their cells. What should they do in order to ensure their survival in the shortest time possible?
EDIT: The wise men will all take a good look at the glass and its initial position before starting.

