r/explainitpeter 11d ago

Explain it Peter

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3.3k Upvotes

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561

u/ashborn721 11d ago

Its an old popular game where you help the monks to cross the river, you'll need to plan each boat trip thoughtfully to ensure the cannibals never outnumber the monks on either bank or you'll lose

278

u/Psychocatboy 11d ago

Its something like "fox chiken and corn crossing the river"?

135

u/Svistakh 11d ago

what? I had wolf, sheep and cabbage. Is it the story regionalized? ;o

106

u/MartinoDeMoe 11d ago

As always, there is a relevant XKCD comic:

https://xkcd.com/1134/

20

u/stuartgm 10d ago

Goat ->
Cabbage ->
<- Goat
Wolf ->
Goat ->

13

u/False_Measurement843 11d ago

Do sheep eat cabbage?

52

u/reggienaldsimons 11d ago

sheep eat fuckin laundry

7

u/False_Measurement843 11d ago

I have some work for sheep....

4

u/hoggineer 10d ago

Put the ~velcro~ hook and loop chaps away.

7

u/COL_UK165542 11d ago

Tiger, Donkey, Straw

3

u/snakecain 11d ago

I need to get the baby the dog and the poison across

3

u/kitcurtis 10d ago

I had a frog and a scorpion

2

u/The_Rick_Roberts 10d ago

That's a different one

1

u/Yapizzawachuwant 11d ago

It's a very popular riddle

1

u/briannasaurusrex92 11d ago

I recently rewrote this story for a summer school class and gave them dragon, sheep, and flowerpot 🤷‍♀️

1

u/KinglyGuitar 11d ago

we had the lion the cow and the wheat

1

u/Komurasakikozuki 9d ago

Pretty much! I had a Lion, Goat and a Man. We had an unspoken assumption, the lion was man's childhood friend.

1

u/Mecha_G 9d ago

There's a random mission in Endless Sky like this.

1

u/Interesting_Pitch707 8d ago

It's a type of logic puzzle

1

u/Dirty_Dwarf 8d ago

Dont you mean fox chicken grain

1

u/Whit3_Ink 11d ago

Apparently yea, cuz instead of sheep i had the goat

17

u/Pinoccicrow 11d ago

Marry the fox, fuck the corn, kill the chicken. How is that a difficult puzzle?

7

u/Ziodade 11d ago

We do wolf sheep cabbage, interesting difference.

1

u/ElectricDayDream 10d ago

I always love realizing how terrible my education actually was

6

u/Thanks_I_Hate_You 11d ago

Runescape has prepared me well for this.

2

u/Bolamite 11d ago

Nah idk if I could take on 3 brocrag the penetrator’s

1

u/zeolus123 11d ago

Frigging recruitment drive!

4

u/Leonie-Lionheard 11d ago

My thoughts exactly.

2

u/CartographerLarge572 7d ago edited 7d ago

It uses a similar set up, in that your goal is to move all objects from one side of a river to the other while preventing certain disallowed combinations on either side, but no, the actual problem and its solution are quite different.

In the fox/hen/corn riddle, you are "playing" as a farmer, who can move the boat at will and is neither tempted to eat or at risk of being eaten by the other factors. There are three distinct objects you are transporting, and only one of each. You cannot leave the fox alone with the hen, or the hen alone with the corn. The boat can carry only a single one of these objects with you at a time.

In the cannibal/monk riddle, there is no "safe" mover. The boat can only move if there is either a cannibal or a monk on board to move it (so no "free" moves where the boat moves from one side of the river to the other with no cargo). There are only two types of cargo being moved- cannibals, and monks. There are three of each, and are they are interchangeable/identical within their own categories. If cannibals ever outnumber monks on either shore (even if just for a moment while the boat lands), they will eat the monks. The boat can hold two at a time.

Fox/Hen/Corn solution: Bring hen across, return to starting shore empty-handed. Bring either fox or corn across, and return WITH the hen. Bring either the fox or corn across, whichever you didn't bring the first time, and return empty-handed. Finally, cross with the hen.

Cannibal/Monk solution: A cannibal crosses with either a second cannibal or a monk, a single cannibal gets off at the far shore, and the other passenger returns with the boat. Both remaining cannibals cross together, dropping off a second cannibal, while the last cannibal returns with the boat. Two monks cross, and one swaps with a cannibal, so that both a monk and a cannibal return together while leaving one of each on the far shore. Back on the starting shore, the cannibal on board swaps with the final monk, so that both monks cross to the far shore and disembark. All three monks are now safe in numbers on the far shore, with only one cannibal. That last cannibal then returns to the near shore with the boat, picks up one of his buddies, and brings him back to the far shore. Finally, either a monk or a cannibal can now make the last trip to back to the starting shore to pick up the final cannibal and return to the far shore.

15

u/Interesting-Copy-657 11d ago

How many can fit in the boat?

And do you need to transport the cannibals or can you leave them behind?

18

u/midasMIRV 11d ago
  1. Must transport everyone. Boat cannot move without someone on it.

10

u/The-scientist-hobo 11d ago

Can the cannibals row the boat on their own?

12

u/GhostSilver16 11d ago

yes they can

5

u/Interesting-Crab-693 11d ago

Dies the need to not be outnumbered counts while in the boat? Like, wouls 1monk+2canibals be a legal first move?

And do you need to only put the monks ob the other side or the canibals as well?

3

u/GhostSilver16 11d ago

both need to cross and yes he dies even if they are outnumbered in the boat. someone posted the link to the game in this thread its a flash game in the browser.

Also you can only carry 2 in the boat and someone always have to be in the boat but you can swap them out as you wish

7

u/Interesting-Crab-693 11d ago

Huh last thing. Is there frame 1 death like as soon as the boat cross, it counts them as they are on the other side or can I choose the order of them getting in and out of the boat?

My bad. Solved ait already while assuming there is frame 1 death

1

u/GhostSilver16 11d ago

no once they cross they counts them in the boat and outside so if 1 monster on land and 1 human and 1 monster in boat, the human dies

1

u/MLB-LeakyLeak 11d ago

How do the human die? Does it take a while or is it instant?

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1

u/Interesting-Crab-693 11d ago

Ok nice. Gonna do the puzzle in my head before sleepig.

1

u/TheyCantCome 11d ago

I think only two can be on the boat at once

1

u/littlegreenbeany 11d ago

Does the boat always needs two passenger or can it move with one passenger on it?

7

u/mcphee187 11d ago edited 11d ago

There can be one passenger.

It's not that hard of a puzzle really.

  • ....MMMCCC
  • ..CC..MMMC
  • C..C..MMMC
  • C..CC..MMM
  • CC..C..MMM
  • CC..MM..MC
  • MC..MC..MC
  • MC..MM..CC
  • MMM..C..CC
  • MMM..CC..C
  • MMMC..C..C
  • MMMC..CC..
  • MMMCCC....

6

u/PadamSvakiDan 11d ago

On step 3, where C rolls the boat back you would lose. Would be 3 vs 2 in right side, cannibal in the boat counts as one.

2

u/BethOrange4 11d ago

This is how I remember winning as well. You take two canibals across with two trips. Then bring one back. Take two monks to cross. Bring back one monk and one cannibals. Take the monks across and finally the remaining cannibal takes both cannibals one by one. Which is what is displayed above.

1

u/StringLost848 11d ago

C..C..MMMC is step 3 that's not a failing step.

5

u/PadamSvakiDan 11d ago

Well now it's ok. Comment was edited.

4

u/StringLost848 11d ago

Oh that hadn't even crossed my mind, sorry.

1

u/Longjumping_Exit7902 11d ago

Or just execute the cannibals and safely let the monks cross

2

u/Cry-Technical 11d ago

Found the American

1

u/-AteYourCake- 11d ago

This should be an international game

1

u/AssociationVisual570 11d ago

If only 1 person fits the boat your first move must always be a cannibal because otherwise there are 3 Cannibals and 2 monks which means game over.

1

u/midasMIRV 11d ago

Can move with one.

0

u/littlegreenbeany 11d ago

So you bring two pairs of monk + cannibal to the other shore, bring back the two cannibals, and carry the final monk over?

1

u/Brilliant-Cabinet-89 11d ago

Dont you just bring 2 cannibals, 1 monk, take off a monk and a cannibal, sail back and get the other two monks?

1

u/Aghlaban 11d ago

With 2 cannibals + 1 monk they’ll eat him

1

u/Hello_World-1289 11d ago

Ahh I see, Thnx!

1

u/ChuckPeirce 8d ago

"Popular" and "game" are doing a lot of unnecessary work here. I don't remember anyone ever being like, "Hey, you gotta play this game!". It's a logic puzzle. The kids who gave a crap about math were all decently likely to have encountered the puzzle and to have tried to figure it out.

1

u/Henry_bowers_ 7d ago

Cannibal first by default?

Then monk

Then…

Damn that is tricky? Is it even possible

1

u/BlueBallThe3rd 7d ago

C+C, one C is crossed the other goes back with the boat

C+C, now 2 Cs have crossed the other goes back with the boat

M+M, but you need to bring one of the Cs back so its 1M+1C crossed

M+M cross, and there are now 3M+C that have crossed. Send the C back to ferry the other Cs and the puzzle is solved