Solving the “Simple” Two Door Riddle From Labyrinth

It hurt my brain as a kid

Image owned and created by Author

If you remember the awesome movie Labyrinth by Jim Henson, you’ll probably remember three things from the movie:

1. A young Jennifer Connelly led the movie as a curious adventurer
2. David Bowie starred as a creepy crystal ball-holding madman
3. The weird double-headed guards with the weird life or death, truth or lie puzzle

It turns out, the simple but somehow complicated riddle that many children didn’t stop to think about for longer than 5 minutes was a variation of an old logic puzzle called Knights and Knaves.

The same puzzle has even been featured in fun mystery shows like Doctor Who and Samurai Jack. The basic riddle has built up a bit of a fan base over the years.

Here’s how it goes.

Explaining Labyrinth’s Liar’s Paradox Riddle

The premise of the puzzle is somewhat basic. The young adventurer Sarah approaches a fork in the road of a labyrinth where there are two guards waiting in front of two doors.

1. One of the doors leads to her freedom and the other door leads to certain death.
2. One guard is red and the other is blue.