The rowing boat problem — can you solve this puzzle?

Have you ever played a video game where you had to figure out the right order to do things? Or followed a recipe to bake cookies? That's kind of like what computers do all day long! Here's an example that can help explain what that means:

The Challenge

Imagine you're a farmer standing by a river. You need to get three things across to the other side:

• A wolf 🐺

• A goat 🐐

• A cabbage 🥬

Sounds easy, right? But here's the tricky part: your boat is tiny! You can only take one thing with you each trip.

Oh no! There's more trouble:

• If you leave the wolf alone with the goat, the wolf will eat the goat!

• If you leave the goat alone with the cabbage, the goat will munch it up!

How do you get everyone across safely?

How to think

When you solve a puzzle like this, you're thinking just like a computer programmer! You're creating what's called an algorithm — a fancy word that just means "a list of steps that solves a problem."

Computers use algorithms for everything:

• Finding the fastest way to school on a map

• Deciding which YouTube video to show you next

• Helping robots avoid bumping into walls

• Even sorting your apps on your phone!

🧩 Let's solve it step by step

Here's one way to solve the puzzle. Watch carefully what happens on each side of the river:

Step	Left Side (Start)	Boat Trip	Right Side	Safe or Not?
1	Farmer, Wolf, Goat, Cabbage	Farmer takes Goat	Goat	✅ Safe
2	Farmer, Wolf, Cabbage	Farmer goes back alone	Goat	✅ Safe
3	Farmer, Wolf, Cabbage	Farmer takes Wolf	Wolf, Goat	⚠ Goat eaten if left — not safe unless goat moves next

Uh oh! Step 3 doesn't work. Time to try something else!

| 3 (Try Again) | Wolf | Farmer + Cabbage → | Cabbage, Goat | ❌ OOPS! Goat will eat cabbage! |

Hmm, that doesn't work either. What if we bring the goat back?

| 3 (Better!) | Wolf | Farmer + Cabbage → | Cabbage, Goat | Start of trip: ❌ |

| 4 | Wolf | ← Farmer + Goat | Cabbage | ✅ Cabbage is alone and safe! |

4	Farmer, Goat	Farmer takes Goat back	Wolf, Cabbage	✅ Safe
5	Farmer, Goat, Cabbage	Farmer takes Cabbage	Wolf, Cabbage	✅ Safe
6	Farmer, Goat	Farmer goes back alone	Wolf, Cabbage	✅ Safe
7	Farmer, Goat	Farmer takes Goat	Wolf, Cabbage, Goat	✅ Safe 🎉

| 5 | Goat | Farmer + Wolf → | Wolf, Cabbage | ✅ They won't fight! |

| 6 | Goat | ← Farmer alone | Wolf, Cabbage | ✅ Almost done! |

| 7 | (empty) | Farmer + Goat → | Wolf, Cabbage, Goat | ✅ SUCCESS! 🎉 |

We did it! Everyone made it across safely!

Why this matters

This puzzle teaches us something important: solving problems is like playing a game where you try different moves until you find what works.

When you:

• Get stuck on a level in Minecraft and try different strategies

• Figure out a hard math problem by testing different solutions

• Learn a new dance move by practicing the steps

...you're using algorithmic thinking!

Computers do the exact same thing, just really fast. They try options, follow rules, and find solutions — sometimes millions of times per second!

Your turn!

Now that you know how algorithms work, see if you can spot them everywhere:

• What steps do you follow to tie your shoes?

• How does a traffic light know when to change colors?

Both of these are algorithms! Once you start looking, you'll see them everywhere.

Can you think of a different way to solve the farmer's problem? Try drawing it out with pictures!

Keep exploring!

//Frobo