Can You Open the Lock Using These Clues? The Answer to the Viral Riddle

Anew trending puzzle is going viral across social media. The riddle, called “Can you open the lock using these clues?” features an image of a padlock and a series of hints about which digits are in the answer. The riddle itself is in the image at the top of this post.

There are five hints to help you find the answer:
682: One digit is right and in its place
614: One digit is right but in the wrong place
206: Two digits are right but both are in the wrong place
738: All digits are wrong
380: One digit is right but in the wrong place

Feeling stumped? If you’re ready to find out the answer to the riddle, keep reading.

The Puzzle Can Be Solved Following a Series of Steps and Deductions, Explained Below

Spoiler: The correct answer to the “Can you open the lock using these clues?” riddle is 042. Now that you know the answer, you can read through the clues again and see how each one applies to the answer.

Because the fourth clue eliminates 7, 3 and 8 as possibilities, the fifth clue means that 0 is the correct number but in the wrong position. The third clue indicates that the right digits, including the 0, are in the wrong place. That means the 0 must be the first number of the code.

Based on the first and second clues, the 6 must be eliminated as a possibility because it’s in the same place in both clues, but one clue says it’s in the right place and the other clue says it’s in the wrong place. So by looking at the first clue, we can determine that 6 and 8 are both eliminated (the 8 due to the fourth clue), meaning that the 2 is right and in its place.

The final number can be solved using the second clue. Because the digit remaining to be solved is the second digit, the answer must be 4 and not 1. The digit is right but in the wrong place, so it can’t be 1, which is already in the middle, so it must be 4, meaning the full answer is 042.

The Riddle Has Gone Viral With People Sharing Answers and Alternative Puzzles

Many people have been sharing the puzzle online, with people replying their guesses. One person joked as a response:

The user joked: “The answer is ‘YES’ since the question is, if you can open the lock using the clues, not what is the combination.”

Other people have posted alternative riddles on social media with the same concept of having a three-digit lock combination as the answer, with a series of hints provided to figure out each digit.

The riddle was also shared on the Reddit riddles subreddit. One user asked why the answer to the question was not 062. User luffy_ueki replied, “Because it wouldn’t fit Clue#1. For 062 to be the answer clue#1 would have been worded something like -2 digits are right and one is on the right place while the other is in the wrong place.”

Another user, tealpajamas, added, “The last two clues guarantee that 0 is first. Since 0 is taking up the first position, we know the 2 in the first clue is the correct number/position rather than the 6. Now we just have to figure out what goes in the middle. Because we figured out that 2 is the only valid number from the first hint, we can eliminate 6 as an option. Looking at the second hint, only 1 and 4 are options, but 1 is in the middle so it can’t be the right number. So 4 must go in the middle.”

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