The puzzles that follow in this menu are ones in which an oracle sets forth a situation that, on the surface, does not make sense or has a mystery about it.

These descriptions usually are enigmatic enough that one cannot merely ponder for a while and then blurt out the answer as to what is going on. (If you can do that, then please stop everything else you are doing rignt now and and start playing the stock market.) Instead, the solver gets to ask the oracle questions to bring more clarity to the situation.

But not any question at all. These questions have a constraint.

These can only be ones answered by either:
Yes,
No,
or
Inmaterial.

The last answer is used when either a Yes or No contributes nothing that helps to get closer to  the correct conclusion. No other type of question  is allowed.

This constraint is key to the fun. Good questions help define the direction of inquiry, give insight for what to ask next.

For example: “Is it important that we learn the vocation of the woman?” If the answer is yes, then more questions spring to mind. “Is she a professional? Is she a homemaker? Is how old she is important?

If what she wearing has nothing to do with the answer, then a gracious oracle answers “Inmaterial.” so that the other players do not waste time learning the color or style.

The oracle can give hints if the solvers stop making progress.

Amazingly, just following theses simple rules makes for having a lot of fun.

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This brief description does not give this puzzle all the accolades it deserves. It works best with a group of solvers rather than only one, all contributing to finding the solution, all feeding off of one another — brainstorming of the first order! A warm feeling of
accomplishment and camaraderie results when everything makes sense.

In my experience after a  puzzle is solved, someone in the crowd will
say, “Let’s do another.”

—

When I was much younger, I enjoyed working with others on situation
puzzles and started collecting them. Recently, I came across my
collection. The quality of these puzzles vary. Some were simple or had non-sense answers such as:

The police burst into the room. Fred and Marsha were dead on the floor
surrounded by broken glass and water. Tom sat unperturbed on the couch,
but he was not even questioned. Why not?

The answer is that Fred and Marsha are goldfish, and Tom is a cat.

Others are much more intriguing. Many are macabre – dealing with death by unusual means.

That is all the solvers get to start with. Everything else has to be found
out by asking the questions that can  only be answered yes, no or immaterial.

Clearly, if  you assemble a group to play the game, then one of
you has to know the solution, and be the oracle answering yes, no, or
immaterial.

Some in my collection are popular enough that you may recollect their
solutions yourself or they might show up on another site. By whatever
means you get involved, my intent is to have you try the puzzles on
your friends and get the same enjoyment out of them that I did.

In this modern age, you might consider solving situation puzzles using Zoom.