The Hobbit Riddles: Bilbo vs Gollum
Deep under the Misty Mountains, Bilbo played a riddle game with his life on the line. Here are all the riddles from The Hobbit's famous chapter in order, retold in our own words with answers and context, followed by original Middle-earth puzzles in the same spirit. See if you'd have beaten the Gollum riddles, precious.
Gollum's riddles from Riddles in the Dark
Mountain, wind, darkness, fish, and time: the cave dweller's five puzzles retold in order, with the answers Bilbo scrambled for.
Bilbo's riddles with answers
Teeth, sun on the daisies, an egg, fish on a table, and the not-quite-fair pocket question that ended the game.
Original Middle-earth riddles
Past the famous ten, the set continues with new riddles written in the same old style, plus quiz rounds about the chapter itself.
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1. Gollum's first riddle asked about something with roots that nobody sees, standing taller than the trees, going up and up yet never growing. What is it?
Need a hint?
Bilbo was sitting inside one at the time.
Show answer
A mountain. An easy warm-up for Bilbo, since he'd just walked under the Misty Mountains to get into that cave.
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2. Bilbo answered with a riddle about thirty white horses on a red hill: first they champ, then they stamp, then they stand still. What are they?
Need a hint?
Open your mouth and count.
Show answer
Teeth. Poor Bilbo immediately regretted reminding Gollum about eating.
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3. Gollum's next puzzle described something that cries without a voice, flutters without wings, bites without teeth, and mutters without a mouth. What is it?
Need a hint?
You hear it whistle through the crags.
Show answer
The wind. Gollum learned this one long ago, before he crept under the mountains.
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4. Bilbo countered with an eye in a blue face that saw an eye in a green face, saying that eye is like this eye, but in low place, not high place. What is it?
Need a hint?
Day's eye. Say the flower's name slowly.
Show answer
The sun shining on daisies. A cruel choice, since Gollum hadn't seen the sun in ages.
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5. Gollum hissed about a thing that can't be seen or felt, heard or smelt, that lies behind stars and under hills, and fills empty holes. What is it?
Need a hint?
Turn off every light in the house.
Show answer
Dark. Gollum knows it well. It came to him easily, living down there in the black.
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6. Bilbo's turn: a box without hinges, key, or lid, yet golden treasure hides inside. What is it?
Need a hint?
Crack it open for the gold.
Show answer
An egg. Bilbo only thought of it while remembering breakfast back in Bag End.
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7. Gollum asked about a creature that is alive without breath and cold as death, never thirsty yet always drinking, in armor yet never clinking. What is it?
Need a hint?
Its armor is made of scales.
Show answer
Fish. Gollum's favorite meal, which made the riddle easy for him and hard for a hobbit far from any river.
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8. Bilbo's hardest offering: no-legs lay on one-leg, two-legs sat near on three-legs, and four-legs got some. What's the scene?
Need a hint?
Count the legs of everything in a small kitchen.
Show answer
A fish on a little one-legged table, a man sitting on a three-legged stool, and a cat getting the scraps.
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9. Gollum's final true riddle: this thing devours all things, birds, beasts, trees, and flowers. It gnaws iron, bites steel, and grinds mountains to meal. What is it?
Need a hint?
Bilbo's actual answer was a panicked request for more of it.
Show answer
Time. Bilbo only got it by luck, squeaking for more time and accidentally shouting the answer.
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10. Bilbo's last question wasn't a fair riddle at all. Fiddling with something in his pocket, he blurted out: what have I got in my pocket?
Need a hint?
Gollum called it his precious.
Show answer
The One Ring. Gollum demanded three guesses, tried handses, knife, and string or nothing, and lost the game.
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11. I have a round green door and a perfectly round window, and I sit under a hill but I'm no cave. What am I?
Need a hint?
Bag End is the most famous one.
Show answer
A hobbit hole. And that means comfort.
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12. I arrive uninvited, eat all your seed cakes, and leave your pantry empty, yet you end up thanking me. What am I?
Need a hint?
Bilbo's unexpected party.
Show answer
A company of thirteen dwarves (and one wizard).
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13. I sleep on gold I never spend, I fly but own no feather, and one missing cup wakes my temper. What am I?
Need a hint?
He lives under the Lonely Mountain.
Show answer
A dragon. Smaug noticed a single stolen cup out of a whole mountain of treasure.
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14. I'm sharp in the dark and I glow blue when the wrong crowd gets close. What am I?
Need a hint?
Bilbo named his after it stung a giant spider.
Show answer
An elvish blade, like Bilbo's sword Sting. It glows when goblins or orcs are near.
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15. Three of us argued about how to cook our dinner until the sun turned us all to stone. What are we?
Need a hint?
Their names were Tom, Bert, and William.
Show answer
Trolls. Gandalf kept them bickering until dawn did the rest.
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16. I'm a mark on a door that means burglar wants a good job, plenty of excitement and reasonable reward. Who scratched me there?
Need a hint?
The owner of the door was not consulted.
Show answer
Gandalf. He marked Bilbo's freshly painted door so the dwarves could find it.
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17. By day I set out honey and bread for my guests. By night, something huge and black-furred growls outside the door. I am one host, not two. Who am I?
Need a hint?
Gandalf introduced the dwarves to him two at a time, very carefully.
Show answer
Beorn, the skin-changer who is sometimes a man and sometimes a great bear.
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18. I carried fourteen travelers over a burning forest, and no thanks were needed, only wind beneath my wings. What am I?
Need a hint?
The Lord of them lived on a high rocky perch.
Show answer
An eagle. The Great Eagles rescued the company from the goblins' fire.
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19. I'm a black stream in Mirkwood. Drink from me and you'll forget your errand and sleep for days. What am I?
Need a hint?
The fattest dwarf found out the hard way.
Show answer
The enchanted river. Bombur fell in and had to be carried, snoring, for the rest of the forest.
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20. I'm the one bare patch on a dragon's jeweled waistcoat, and one old thrush told an archer where to find me. What am I?
Need a hint?
Bilbo spotted it first and talked about it too loudly.
Show answer
The hollow in Smaug's armor, the weak spot Bard hit with his black arrow.
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21. I'm a key that fits no door you can see, and I open a passage only on Durin's Day. What am I?
Need a hint?
Thorin's map held the clue in moon letters.
Show answer
The key to the secret side door of the Lonely Mountain, when the last light of Durin's Day reveals the keyhole.
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22. Escape from my halls came in empty wine barrels, floating down the river to Lake-town. Whose halls am I?
Need a hint?
Thranduil never found out how his prisoners vanished.
Show answer
The Elvenking's halls in Mirkwood. Bilbo packed the dwarves into barrels and rode one out himself.
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23. I'm a game with strict rules, sacred and ancient, played for a hobbit's life in the dark. What am I?
Need a hint?
This whole page is named after it.
Show answer
The riddle game itself. Even Gollum dared not cheat at it openly, for the game was sacred long before his time.
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24. Which answer did Bilbo actually shout for Gollum's riddle about the thing that devours all things?
He squeaked for more time to think, and time happened to be the answer. Pure burglar's luck.
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25. What were the stakes of the riddle game between Bilbo and Gollum?
If Bilbo won, Gollum would show him the way out. If Gollum won, well, Gollum eats what he catches.
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26. How many guesses did Gollum demand for the unfair pocket question?
Three guesses, precious. He tried handses, then knife, then string or nothing. All wrong.
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27. Gollum solved Bilbo's egg riddle instantly without any trouble.
False. It stumped him for a good while, until he remembered stealing eggs from nests long ago and hissed out the answer.
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28. The riddle game in The Hobbit is described as an ancient and sacred contest whose rules even wicked creatures fear to break.
True. That's the only reason Gollum agreed to show the way out instead of simply attacking, at least at first.
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29. Bilbo won the riddle game with a proper, fair riddle.
False. What have I got in my pocket is a question, not a riddle, and Bilbo knew it. Gollum accepted anyway and lost.
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30. Alive without breath, cold as death, always drinking, dressed in silent armor. Gollum's own favorite answer. What is it?
Show answer
Fish
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31. It fills the cave where Gollum paddles his little boat, it lies behind stars and under hills, and no lamp survives it forever. What is it?
Show answer
The dark
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32. ⛰️ + 🌲🌲 + ⬆️
Need a hint?
Bilbo was standing inside the answer.
Show answer
A mountain (roots unseen, taller than trees, up it goes). Gollum's opening riddle in emoji form.
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33. 📦 + 🚫🔑 + 🟡
Need a hint?
Think of Bilbo daydreaming about bacon and this.
Show answer
An egg (a box with no key, golden treasure inside). Bilbo's breakfast-inspired riddle in emoji form.
Your score
FAQ about The Hobbit Riddles: Bilbo vs Gollum
How many riddles are in The Hobbit?
The riddle game holds nine true riddles, five from Gollum and four from Bilbo, before Bilbo wins with the question about what is in his pocket. This page covers all ten exchanges in order.
Are these the exact riddles from the book?
No, they are retold in our own words with the same answers and the story context around each one. The later cards are original riddles inspired by Middle-earth, not quotes from the novel.
Can I use these Hobbit riddles for a party or game night?
Yes. Read them aloud in your best Gollum voice and make players commit to an answer before anyone taps the card. Losers wash the dishes, winners keep their pockets private.
Running a tabletop campaign? Borrow a riddle game for your dungeon from DnD Riddles for Your Campaign, or trace the genre back through Famous and Classic Riddles.