History Main / OnlySmartPeopleMayPass

* This is the whole concept behind [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Escape_room escape rooms]], a popular form of entertainment that originated in Japan and spread all over the world. Based on the YouWakeUpInARoom genre of video game, escape rooms see players "trapped" in a small area for one hour, and they are required to solve puzzles, find hidden objects, and use the items they can find to complete a goal--often escaping, but sometimes collecting a hidden treasure or catching a criminal. Some games lack any sort of story and simply have players [[SolveTheSoupCan completing puzzles for no reason]], while others have more involved plots that justify each challenge. While the games are often advertised for team building and communication, they're primarily tests of intelligence and the ability to think creatively. Notably, it's considered bad design to include OnlyTheKnowledgeableMayPass in escape rooms--everything the player needs to win should be included ''in'' the room, and needing outside or specialized knowledge to succeed is a quick way to irritate customers.

See BlockPuzzle, the various {{Stock Puzzle}}s and {{Stock Videogame Puzzle}}s, the KnightsAndKnaves puzzle and SolveTheSoupCans for examples of this. Note that the puzzle itself is often [[InformedAttribute not terribly difficult]]; after all, [[ViewersAreMorons the viewers have to be able to follow it]] (or solve it themselves, in a videogame). This often leads to FridgeLogic about why it wasn't solved earlier or what the point of such a simple puzzle really was. Expect even the [[BookDumb least smart of protagonists]] to be able to find a way to solve what was supposed to be an ingenious puzzle.

* ''Anime/OjamajoDoremi'' has Doremi answer a somewhat-Sphinx inspired riddle. [[spoiler: "Thin in the day, thick in the night, it disappears when it sleeps." Answer: Cat's eyes.]]

** 829,735 × 962,527 = ?. Posed to Kiyomaro, [[BadassBookworm a supergenius]] who calculates the answer in his head. ("It's [[WritersCannotDoMath 797,812,605,345]]!").

** In ''Literature/HarryPotterAndThePhilosophersStone'', Dumbledore banks on these to hinder Voldemort from getting to the Philosopher's Stone. Most of the puzzles placed to guard the Stone aren't truly puzzles (rather than leave a spell to ask you how to defeat Devil's Snare, Dumbledore let Professor Sprout decide that it would be much more effective to just set the plant on anyone who came through); notably, the exception is Snape's logic puzzle with the potions: "Most wizards haven't got an ounce of logic; they'd never get out alive." When Harry reaches the final room [[spoiler: he realizes this is a SubvertedTrope. It's made clear that Voldemort could never have retrieved the Philosopher's Stone from the Miror of Erised, no matter how smart or clever he was in bypassing the other defenses. Only someone who ''didn't want to use it'' would be capable of doing so.]]

** Similar to the ''Lord of the Rings'' subversion, the plot of ''{{Literature/Thud}}'' hinges on a magic cube that plays a recording when an unknown password is spoken aloud, that a MadArtist who thought he was a chicken accidentally activated. [[spoiler: The password turns out to be "Awk", which is Dwarvish for "Speak".]]
* Exploited in ''Literature/DiamondDogs'' by Creator/AlastairReynolds. The novella concerns the discovery of a sealed alien tower that can only be ascended by answering successively more difficult math problems in various chambers. The characters in the story are eventually forced to augment their own intelligence with [[NeuralImplanting neural implanting]] just to proceed. More sinisterly, the doorways between each chamber get smaller each time, forcing the characters to also [[BodyHorror modify their bodies to fit]]. [[spoiler: The exploitation comes when narrator realizes that the Tower probably doesn't have ''anything'' at the top. It exists solely to goad gullible intelligent species into exploring it. When they get to the top, the tower "harvests" them like a Venus Fly Trap.]]

* The first episode of ''Series/AreYouAfraidOfTheDark'', "The Tale of the Phantom Cab": The woods are haunted by the ghosts of lost hikers and campers who found Dr. Vink's cottage. He would send them to board the Phantom Cab and die in a replica of the same crash that killed the driver. Why? Because none of them (until the two boys in the tale) could answer his riddle: "What has no weight? Can be seen with the naked eye? And if you put it in a barrel, it will make the barrel lighter?" [[spoiler: A hole.]] Other common entities that satisfy this description: [[spoiler: fire, "A flashlight beam."]]

** [[Recap/DoctorWhoS2E2TheDalekInvasionOfEarth "The Dalek Invasion of Earth"]] contains a particularly nice (or nasty?) example. Human captives of the Daleks are imprisoned in cells aboard their ships. The Doctor examines the door-locking mechanism and works out a way to deactivate it and thus escape. [[spoiler: He does, and it turns out that the mechanism is actually an intelligence test — those smart enough to escape their cells are potentially dangerous and are sent to be turned into [=RoboMen=].]]

* Subverted in ''Series/TheLibrarians2014'' "...And the Rise of Chaos", in which the DOSA vault has three locks. Ezekial finds them unhackable, and while Cassandra's has a maths problem and Jake's has an ancient riddle, entering the answers doesn't work. They eventually realise [[spoiler: that, since they're smarter than anyone at DOSA, and DOSA is specifically trying to keep them out, the locks are designed to ''stop'' smart people from passing. Instead of the complex number she originally came up with, Cassandra realises the ''simplest'' solution is 3, Jake enters the exact opposite of the riddle's answer, and the password for Ezekial's lock? "Password".]]

--> '''Ryan''': It's a [[spoiler: polar bear because you're at the North Pole]].

** [[spoiler: In the ''Time of Tumult'' the players have to select the wrong answer in a classic KnightsAndKnaves puzzle. This is fair since the [=PCs=] are navigating a maze specifically designed to kill anyone but the creators ''and they know it''.]] Only Really Smart People may pass.

** [[spoiler: The prince is 30, the princess is 40. Any age with the same ratio will also do.]]

** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVI'' had a very interesting minigame built into the plot, wherein the team has to sit down for dinner with [[BigBad Emperor Gestahl]] and make small-talk. Several questions are asked of the player, for toasts and such, most of which offer three possible answers: sucking-up, magnanimous, and vindictive. He also answers questions about some plot-points, and then quizzes on which one was asked first. The game goes on through the dinner no matter what; since it's not possible to "lose", it's not exactly a critical puzzle, but "winning" nets the player lots of nice rewards. The puzzle is figuring out the right answers - each has a score attached to it, with the rewards based on the total earned. The answer isn't entirely obvious from the context, but the Emperor is trying really hard to apologize, so [[spoiler: you want to take the magnanimous answers, because you don't to degrade his apology, and you don't want to be rude at a dinner party. As the other Returners are present, you also don't want to offend ''them'', which is why the middle-of-the-road answers are best.]]

* ''VideoGame/LiveALive'' has the Trial of Wisdom dungeon in the Final Chapter. You're only allowed to challenge it if you have [[spoiler:Cube]] in your party, otherwise you are merely told "those who rely on strength may not enter here". There are no battles to be had in the dungeon, and you're instead tasked with solving puzzles to get an ultimate weapon at the end of the dungeon. [[spoiler: That said, there will be a {{Superboss}} waiting for you if you return to the dungeon after clearing it.]]

* ''VisualNovel/ZeroEscape'' is a series of Visual Novels whose gameplay is focused on Escape Rooms, usually under time limits. Characters also tend to be [[ShownTheirWork trivia machines]], stopping for mini-lectures about science and pseudo-science. Add the fact that the games tend to only use lectures on topics that end up [[ChekhovsGun being relevant]], it means that all this trivia is actually required to escape. For what may be the crowning example in the series, at one point during ''VisualNovel/VirtuesLastReward'', the only way to [[spoiler: begin disarming Dio's bombs, (and thus, ensure everyone lives), is to decipher a code using a key from another ending.]] This requires that [[GoodWithNumbers Alice]] find all the factors of a 25 digit number!

** A classic example can be seen [[http://www.goblinscomic.org/12222013/ here]]. [[spoiler: You have to pull out the tree block, and the real key to the door is literally under it.]]

Compare OnlyTheWorthyMayPass, TheseQuestionsThree and; also see FirstContactMath, and contrast OnlyIdiotsMayPass. Subverted in DoomAsTestPrize, where one of these turns out to be a way to dispose of people who are a bit too clever. As mentioned above, RiddlingSphinx is particular form of this. LifeOrDeathQuestion may overlap with this, although in those cases, it's more like only the smart survive.

* ''VideoGame/RogueGalaxy'' -- There's a skyscraper sized block puzzle guarding ancient ruins.

* ''VideoGame/LiveALive'' has the Intelligence Dungeon in the Final Chapter. You're only allowed to challenge it if you have [[spoiler:Cube]] in your party, otherwise you are merely told "those who rely on strength may not enter here". There are no battles to be had in the dungeon, and you're instead tasked with solving puzzles to get an ultimate weapon at the end of the dungeon. [[spoiler: That said, there is a BonusBoss waiting for you if you go back after clearing it.]]

See BlockPuzzle, the various {{Stock Puzzle}}s and {{Stock Videogame Puzzle}}s, the KnightsAndKnaves puzzle and SolveTheSoupCans for examples of this. Note that the puzzle itself is often [[InformedAttribute not terribly difficult]]; after all, [[ViewersAreMorons the viewers have to be able to follow it]] (or solve it themselves, in a videogame.) This often leads to FridgeLogic about why it wasn't solved earlier or what the point of such a simple puzzle really was. Expect even the [[BookDumb least smart of protagonists]] to be able to find a way to solve what was supposed to be an ingenious puzzle.

The architect must have deemed this a better barrier than say, a lock and key carried on someone's person instead of [[LockAndKeyPuzzle being in a chest elsewhere in the building]]. After all, keys can be stolen but knowledge is intangible. Unfortunately, this will not stop people who are [[BrainsEvilBrawnGood evil in addition to smart ]] or at least smart enough to [[MacGuffinDeliveryService trick the heroes into solving the puzzle for them]].

* ''Fanfic/AllThatGlitters'': The route to a hidden cave that Hans claims contains a powerful magic artifact is recorded through a series of riddles.

* ''VideoGame/LiveALive'' has the Intelligence Dungeon in the final stage. You're only allowed to challenge it if you have [[spoiler:Cube]] in your party, otherwise you are merely told "those who rely on strength may not enter here".

* ''VisualNovel/ZeroEscape'' is a series of Visual Novels whose gameplay is focused on Escape Rooms, usually under time limits. Characters also tend to be [[ShownTheirWork trivia machines]], stopping for mini-lectures about science and pseudo-science. Add the fact that the games tend to only use lectures on topics that end up [[ChekhovsGun being relevant]], it means that all this trivia is actually required to escape. For what may be the crowning example in the series, at one point during ''VisualNovel/VirtuesLastReward'', the only way to [[spoiler: begin disarming Dio's bombs, (and thus, ensure everyone lives), is to decipher a code using a key from another ending.]] This requires that [[GoodWithNumbers Alice]] find all the factors of [[UpToEleven a 25 digit number]]!

* Used on you (as the FacelessProtagonist) in ''VideoGame/DarkTales: Murders in the Rue Morgue''. When you first meet Detective Dupin so that you might solve the murder together, he puts you through your paces, solving a series of puzzles in and around his house. He wants to make sure you're up to the task before he lets you come with him.

* ''VideoGame/Killer7'' has a number of strange puzzles in bizarre and unlikely places. Of course, [[MindScrew considering the game we're talking about]], words like "strange" and "bizarre" are highly relative...

* Doubly subverted in Piers Anthony's novel ''Literature/{{Macroscope}}''. The "Destroyer Signal", a radio signal picked up by a SETI search, appears at first to be a treasure trove of alien scientific knowledge that a few of the smartest humans may be capable of understanding, but turns out to be designed to overload their brains and burn out their minds with too much knowledge. Later in the book, it turns out that it is actually an "only smart ''and good'' people may pass" test, designed to destroy any intelligent mind not belonging to PerfectPacifistPeople, to prevent all the tech (especially FTLTravel) from falling into the wrong head.

Compare OnlyTheWorthyMayPass, TheseQuestionsThree and; also see FirstContactMath, and contrast OnlyIdiotsMayPass. Subverted in DoomAsTestPrize, where one of these turns out to be a way to dispose of people who are a bit too clever. As mentioned above, RiddlingSphinx is particular form of this.

** In ''VideoGame/Fallout3'' a sidequest in what's left of the Smithsonian requires you to answer trivia questions on American history to open a safe containing some loot.

* Used over and over again in ''VideoGame/TalesOfEternia'', the first ''Tales'' game with the bright, involved, and unique sort of puzzles that also contributed to ''VideoGame/TalesOfSymphonia'' being the hit it was. Then, without warning, subverted at the beginning of Volt's ruins: the SmartGuy Keele has been left behind, so while the rest of your party is busy scratching their heads and staring at the obtuse riddle on the front gate, Max walks up to the door and body-slams it down. The rest of the dungeon, of course, is full of puzzles, but damn if the scene wasn't hilarious.

** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVI'' had a very interesting minigame built into the plot, wherein the team has to sit down for dinner with [[BigBad Emperor Ghestal]] and make small-talk. Several questions are asked of the player, for toasts and such, most of which offer three possible answers: sucking-up, magnanimous, and vindictive. He also answers questions about some plot-points, and then quizzes on which one was asked first. The game goes on through the dinner no matter what; since it's not possible to "lose", it's not exactly a critical puzzle, but "winning" nets the player lots of nice rewards. The puzzle is figuring out the right answers - each has a score attached to it, with the rewards based on the total earned. The answer isn't entirely obvious from the context, but the Emperor is trying really hard to apologize, so [[spoiler: you want to take the magnanimous answers, because you don't to degrade his apology, and you don't want to be rude at a dinner party. As the other Returners are present, you also don't want to offend ''them'', which is why the middle-of-the-road answers are best.]]

** [[Recap/DoctorWhoS29E742 "42"]] has a bunch of locked doors that require trivia questions to open. In theory this is a passcode system, not a puzzle — the crew of the ship in question set the questions with the intent to be the only group who could give all the right answers. Notably, one of them set his favourite colour as an answer. However, "the crew's changed since we set the questions," they may have been a little drunk at the pub quiz they got the questions from, and some of them have died horribly, explaining the fact that all the questions seen aside from the guy's favourite colour apparently have to be answered by the Doctor or Martha. Granted, this episode is set far enough in TheFuture that a question referencing Music/TheBeatles is listed in the category of "Classical Music".

* Inverted in ''Yarra, River of Death'', an (in)famous Polish module penned by Creator/AndrzejSapkowski. At one point, the characters have to haul their barge over shallows made out of shoulder-deep mud teeming with maggots and leeches. After few moments inside the mud, everyone is required to make an Intelligence check. If they ''pass it'', they instantly get a panic attack due to all the filth crawling all over them and won't be able to help that day anymore. In the same time, to haul the barge over, it requires a Strength value equal to about 3 above average characters, thus making a DumbMuscle [=PCs=] ''very'' handy. That moment is responsible for roughly third of all {{Total Party Kill}}s during the scenario, as it's perfectly possible to get stuck there forever and starve to death or die out of malaria. And no, [[Film/TheAfricanQueen no sudden flood is going to save the party]].

* Played with in ''WesternAnimation/PhineasAndFerb'' KingArthur-slash-''Film/ThePrincessBride''-slash-''Lord of the Rings'' episode "Excaliferb" has Professor Poofenplotz as a bridge-guarding troll who demands that the answers to three questions must be given correctly in haiku form in order to pass. [[IdenticalGrandson Baljeetolas]] notices that the creek is shallow, and the questers go around the bridge, although Baljeetolas gives the correct answer after crossing the creek. Just for the hell of it. Later in the episode, [[IdenticalGrandson Candavere]] approaches the bridge having transformed into a [[HybridMonster uniwhalescorpiopegasquidicorn...]] [[ItMakesSenseInContext girl]]. Poofenplotz lets her pass out of fear.

* ''Fanfic/HarryPotterAndTheUndergroundsSaviour'' Among the physical, magical, and teamwork puzzles the staff (and some Undertale characters) have set up are a few riddles, including: "How many eggs are used in French cooking." This goes unsolved until posed to someone from Beauxbatons, who repeats it in French, leading to the answer, "One, because one egg is un œuf." That is, "Enough".