REVOLUTION!

Does the king knows the name of each one? This is important!

Ummm... Yes? One thing I should say: The king doesn't know their strategy. You should just assume that the names are randomly distributed around the room.

I agree with FD. That or prison break :p

Also I don't like king I prefer the words...evil dictator?

They should bring 99 extra boxes with them to open :P

Do they have to open a different box each time?

See there is a 1% chance that the first box will result in all their deaths anyhow. There has to be something missing from the rules here. Is only one person allowed in the room and does he have to open all 99 before the next can come in? Or can he open one box then another come in and open a box and on and on? If the later, then the name in the first box opened comes in and opens the second box (safe to pick any one) and the second name come sin and opens the third and on and on until the 98th name opens box 99 and tells #99 which box he opened so when the boxes are reclosed and he comes in, he knows which one not to open. As long as the first one doesn't pick his own name (99% chance in the prisoners favor), they will never die.

really i think one person should go, then the person whose name was just opened (assuming thefirst person didnt die) should open the other 99, from which point on you could tell the person after you which box to avoid, not sure if that breaks any rules or not. will be interested to see the 'correct' answer :)

the awkward moment when Draugnar posts the exactly the same thing as me basically, just worded better and a minute before me.

*posts exactly...

It depends on the details of the rules. But the key is passing the position and name along as you come out of the room.

They should all change their names to something new.

Can you give us the probability of the optimal strategy succeeding?

A really good variation would be that prisoner 1 opens a box (1% chance of failure) then #2 (the pprisoner whose name is already open) opens 98 more, they reset, and he opens #99th one that was unknown. Then that name is prisoner 3 so he comes in opens 98, they reset, and he then opens the one he hadn't opened before and that becomes the next prsioner. If priosner one opens box 1, prisoner 2 saves box 2 for last, 3 saves box 3 for last, etc, then prisoner 100 send back in prisoner 1 to open the remaining ones he needs to complete. If #1's name opens in between, then he comes in and opens one box next to his name and that person then comes in and the pattern continues, but now two are opened after the resets.

It's math, not logic. Fuck that. I'll give you a problem that uses lateral thinking, they're a treat.

Father worm, mother worm and baby worm slither through the grass. They arrive to a mound of wet earth and pass through. When they're on the other side, baby worm turns around and says: "Look, there are only two holes!" How is that possible?

The three listed so far only have a 1% chance of death, always ont he very first box. I don't think you can get better.

Easy, baby followed mother or father through.

Nope, try again :)

Zmaj, it's not, worms are not capable of that level of communication ;) and i'm guessing that all three of them went through the same hole, and by two holes the baby worm means the entrance on the first side and the exit on the other side

@Zmaj, worms are hermaphrodites, and father worm and mother worm are one worm?

What do you mean nope? If baby follows mommy through, only two holes. You can't tell me it wouldn't do it.hell, they could be in a row and only produce one hole, the diameter of the biggest of the three no matter which order they go through.

Socrates, your answer is convoluted like a worm, but wrong.

Mertvaya, very imaginative, but still wrong. Try again.

There are only 2 worms, asexual reproduction, I win.

Draugnar, they could do that, but they didn't. Try again.

I think Mert and ZMaj must be right then.

Or just let me know when you give up :)

I mean jmo got it right. But you said nope to Mert...

But more importanly, the spice must flow!

either only baby worm got through or baby worm and only one parent worm got through? or less likely and my last guess they all go through, some of the earth is knocked away and only two holes remain (that was desperate but i give up)