Professor Layton and the Curious Village/Gameplay

Puzzles
Professor Layton and the Curious Village is all about solving puzzles. You're required to solve certain puzzles to move the story onward. Puzzles can be found everywhere, from talking to people to checking objects. Any puzzles solved will be recorded in the Puzzle Index. Puzzles can sometimes be missed, such as forgetting to solve a puzzle in a location you won't return to, but you can always access Granny Riddleton's shack in the village for unsolved puzzles.

All puzzles possess a set Picarat count, which is a rough measure of how difficult the puzzle is. Solving the puzzle awards Picarats, but quitting or getting a wrong answer will reduce the number of Picarats you get until a set level. Picarats are used to unlock bonus content which can be accessed from the main screen. Don't worry about not having sufficient Picarats to unlock everything. As long as you solve every puzzle, even if you reach the minimum amount of Picarats obtainable for each one, you'll have enough to view all the bonuses.

[[File:PLatCV_Exclamation_Mark_Icon.png]] Searching and Talking
Throughout your adventure, you will be inspecting various objects of interest and obtaining information from the citizens of St. Mystere. If you want to examine objects or talk to people, you simply tap the object or person with the stylus. Talking to people will be the main way you get puzzles, but you can also find secret puzzles hidden throughout St. Mystere by searching the right spots! Examining various parts of the scenery can also let you uncover hint coins, which is detailed below.

[[File:PLatCV_Hint_Coins_Icon.png]] Hint Coins

 * For more Details see: Hint Coins

Hint coins are another major part of gameplay. Hint coins are used to unlock hints, at one hint per hint coin. Each puzzle has three hints which serve to guide you to the solution if you're stuck, though all three will be unlocked free of charge once you solve the puzzle. You start off with ten coins and can collect more by checking certain spots. Like puzzles, hint coins are missable, but there is no way to get ones you lost. Don't use hint coins liberally, as there aren't enough coins for the whole game to unlock hints in every puzzle.

[[File:PLatCV_Shoes_Icon.png]] Moving
You will be moving a lot to many different areas while you explore the village. This is accomplished by tapping the boot icon in the lower-right corner of the lower screen with your stylus. Doing so will show arrows pointing to new areas. Tapping an arrow makes you move in that direction to another location. A minor exception to this is with doors. While doorways are pointed out in the moving interface, you can simply enter a doorway by clicking on the door.

[[File:PLatCV_Trunk_Icon.png]] Professor's Trunk
The Professor's Trunk acts as the menu of sorts where you can view your current progress, such as the number of picarats and hint coins you have. It also has a journal and mysteries section that records interesting events during your time in St. Mystere, as well as three minigames that have to be unlocked and let you unlock post-game content when completed. Finally, you have a bunch of miscellaneous options such as a Save feature and a Puzzle Index to review or replay puzzles you've solved.

[[File:PLatCV_Journal_Icon.png]] Journal
Professor Layton keeps a journal of the Story Events encountered during his investigation. The journal entries appear automatically. To read an entry, tap on it with your stylus.

[[File:PLatCV_Mysteries_Icon.png]] Mysteries
During the investigation of St. Mystere you will encounter some mysteries which need to be solved. However, you don't need to actively seek the truth behind these mysteries, as all of them are automatically solved throughout the story.

[[File:PLatCV_Puzzle_Index_Icon.png]] Puzzle Index
This section contains a list of all the puzzles you have found in St. Mystere. Solved puzzles have checks next to them and can be replayed at any time. Puzzles that have not been solved must be accessed from their original locations.

[[File:PLatCV_Save_Icon.png]] Save
This is where you save your progress. Tap on the Save button to access the list of available game slots. Choose one of the three slots to save in by tapping on the desired slot. The game will prompt you to confirm the save. Simply tap OK! with the stylus, and your game has been saved!

[[File:PLatCV_Gizmo_Icon.png]] Gizmos

 * For more Details see: Gizmos

This will be unlocked in Chapter 2 after you meet Franco. You can view your collected Gizmos here and attempt to assemble a mechanical contraption from the gathered parts.

[[File:PLatCV_Inn_Icon.png]] Inn

 * For more Details see: Inn Items

This will be unlocked in Chapter 2 after you meet Beatrice. You can view any furniture you've picked up from your investigation and place them in Layton or Luke's room to increase their stay at St. Mystere.

[[File:PLatCV_Painting_Icon.png]] Painting

 * For more Details see: Painting Scraps

This will be unlocked in Chapter 1 after tapping on the painting in the Manor Foyer. You can view your collection of painting scraps and attempt to piece together the scraps to form a picture.