The Lantern Workshop
The window test.
The paper lanterns are ready for their final test. One of you knows the wiring. The other has the lighting plan. Work together to choose which switches to press before the workshop opens.
Complete opening puzzle · Two hints · Worked answer · No purchase needed
Different papers.
One shared deduction.
Use one device each. Choose different roles, keep your clues private and talk freely. Each device checks its own answer. Playing alone? Choose the solo preview to read both sheets.
Choose a role above, or open the role sheets below.
For your partner: Open the other role on their device ↗
Wire Keeper
At the start, only A, D are ON. The table lists every lamp each switch flips. Flipping changes ON to OFF or OFF to ON. If two selected switches flip the same lamp, those two flips cancel.
| Switch | Lamps it flips |
|---|---|
| 1 | A, C, E |
| 2 | C, D |
| 3 | B, C |
| 4 | A, D, E |
| 5 | A, B, C |
| 6 | A, D |
Light Checker
Your partner knows the starting lights and which lamps each switch flips. Tell them this checklist.
- At the end, only B, D, E must be ON. Every other lamp must be OFF.
- Press exactly 2 different switches. Press each selected switch once; leave all others alone.
- The order of presses does not matter. Work out the switch numbers before checking your answer.
Your shared answer.
Write the switch numbers you will press to reach the requested lighting pattern. The order of the numbers does not matter.
One hint at a time.
Hint 1
Compare the starting and requested lights. For a lamp that changes, an odd number of selected switches must flip it. For a lamp that stays the same, the number must be even.
Hint 2
Start with lamp B. The only switches that affect it are listed here: 3, 5. Its number of flips must be odd; keep only switch sets that fit that rule.
Worked answer · reveals the solution
1, 3 Only lamps A, B, E must change. Start with lamp B, using only switch sets that flip it an odd number of times. Then check each other lamp using the same odd-for-change, even-for-no-change rule. Ignoring the press limit, the complete list of sets that fit all lamps is (1, 3) / (2, 3, 4). The set (1, 3) is the only one with exactly 2 switches. It flips each of A, B, E an odd number of times, so the final lit lamps are B, D, E.
Keep the curiosity going.
The complete printable game contains this opening puzzle and two more cases, with separate role sheets, hints and worked answers. A4 and US Letter files are included. The answers stay fixed on replay.
Full printable game · US$3.90 ↗Optional one-time purchase on itch.io. This opening case and its complete answer stay free. Full PDFs: English, Spanish, Brazilian Portuguese and French.
Free PDFs & complete edition details → · Try a different free opening →
AI-assisted text and artwork. This is the same first puzzle as the free PDF and paid edition, with the same answer. Solutions were checked computationally; independent human playtesting is not claimed.