A river crossing puzzle is a type of puzzle in which the object is to carry items from one river bank to another, usually in the fewest trips.
A father, a mother, two sons, two daughters, a thief, a policeman are on one side of the river and they want to cross it.
General conditions of the problem:
- The maximum capacity of the boat is two people.
- Only father, mother and police can drive the boat.
- If the mother is not present in the boat, the girls cannot be with the father.
- If the father is not present in the boat, the boys cannot be with the mother.
- The thief cannot be with the family members without the presence of the police.
- The police and mother and father can go to the other side of the river alone. (combination of two items is also possible)
| Boat Side | Left Side People | Right Side People |
|---|---|---|
| left | Boy-Boy-Father-Mother-Girl-Girl-Police-Thief | |
| right | Boy-Boy-Father-Mother-Girl-Girl | Thief-Police |
| left | Boy-Boy-Father-Mother-Girl-Police-Girl | Thief |
| right | Boy-Boy-Father-Mother-Girl | Girl-Police-Thief |
| left | Boy-Boy-Thief-Police-Father-Mother-Girl | Girl |
| right | Boy-Boy-Thief-Police-Father | Girl-Girl-Mother |
| left | Boy-Boy-Thief-Police-Father-Mother | Girl-Girl |
| right | Boy-Boy-Thief-Police | Girl-Girl-Mother-Father |
| left | Boy-Boy-Father-Thief-Police | Girl-Girl-Mother |
| right | Boy-Boy-Father | Girl-Girl-Police-Thief-Mother |
| left | Boy-Boy-Father-Mother | Girl-Girl-Police-Thief |
| right | Boy-Boy | Girl-Girl-Mother-Police-Thief-Father |
| left | Boy-Boy-Father | Girl-Girl-Mother-Police-Thief |
| right | Boy | Girl-Girl-Father-Boy-Mother-Police-Thief |
| left | Thief-Police-Boy | Girl-Girl-Father-Boy-Mother |
| right | Thief | Girl-Girl-Father-Boy-Boy-Mother-Police |
| left | Thief-Police | Girl-Girl-Father-Boy-Boy-Mother |
| right | Police-Thief-Girl-Girl-Father-Boy-Boy-Mother |
Done in 8.646481037139893s