My friend told me this complex story. Everyone in it is either a knight, knave, or liar (more than one person can have the same status). Knights always tell truths, liars always lie, and knaves always alternate every statement.

Everyone knew the status of everyone else except for my friend (he knew nothing at first). If anyone lied about what someone said, they didn’t lie about who, when, or whether they said it; they only lied about what the person said. The story goes as follows.

Aaron and Bill were talking to me.
Aaron told me what he was.
At this point, I could tell what Aaron was.
Bill told me one thing that he wasn’t.
Aaron told me that Cassie was a knight.
I then could figure out what Cassie was.
Bill told me that Cassie was a knave.
I thought about this for a minute.
I soon found that the previous thing Bill said allowed me to know for sure what the last of the three people were.

What type is everyone? The puzzle is solvable.

Edit: I sometimes wonder if this hint is actually too much of a spoiler...  Please read the comment of mine titled "further clarification" and "re(6): Pointing out...Tristan?!?" before reading this one and the rest of its replies.

 

 

Don't stop the comments yet!

I point out that none of the below comments have the correct solution. I gave this a D4 for a reason, you know. If you want to know what's wrong, try reading the whole problem, not just up to "Aaron told me that Cassie was a knight." There is a trick involved, and you must find it to truly solve the puzzle.

I also point out that the title and the last sentence contradict each other. What do you know about contradicting statements in a knights and liars puzzle?

Edited on February 3, 2004, 6:02 pm
Edited on February 4, 2004, 6:23 pm

Edited on May 21, 2004, 2:32 am

Edited on May 21, 2004, 2:36 am

Posted by Tristan on 2004-02-03 18:01:11