Professor Layton and the Curious Village/Puzzles 126-135

Puzzle 126

 * Name: Red and Blue 2
 * Trigger: Choose puzzle 126
 * Location: The Decorator's House
 * Chapter: ~Bonus
 * Picarats: 70

Description: Two sets of colored balls, labeled A through D, sit in a box as shown below. Your job is to move the red balls to the red zone and the blue balls to the blue zone. Sound difficult? It gets harder. Within each zone, all the balls must stay in their correct ABCD order in order for you to complete the puzzle. Balls can only move into vacant spot, and they can't jump over other balls.


 * Hint 1: Your first priority should be to get all the balls switched over to their matching zones. Once you've moved the balls to their correct zones, you can worry about arranging them in the proper order.
 * Hint 2: You are going to have to be a little methodical in your approach to this puzzle. You can stumble upon the answer just moving things around, but the puzzle is much easier to finish when you create rules for yourself to operate by.  Make sure you aren't just repeating the same unsuccessful moves each time you start moving balls around.
 * Hint 3: It's easy to move balls around without thinking, but that'll get you nowhere. Remember to stay focused on your goal when moving things around.  The truth is that experimenting with the puzzle is more useful than any hint you could get, but since you paid for it, here's one more.  You have very little room to work with.  As you've probably figured out, there's a single spot in the center where you can stash a ball, so make good use of it.

Answer:

Puzzle 127

 * Name: Perimeter Perplexer
 * Trigger: Choose puzzle 127
 * Location: The Art Lover's House
 * Chapter: ~Bonus
 * Picarats: 70

Description: All you know about the plot of land below is what's written here, but even these few measurements offer you enough information to accurately calculate the plot's perimeter. In feet, what is the length of the perimeter? Be careful when considering your answer. The diagram may not be proportionally accurate.


 * Hint 1: First, don't be thrown off by the shape of the plot's right side. The total length of the right side is five feet. Now focus your attention on that three-foot measurement.  It plays a pivotal role in helping you solve the puzzle.
 * Hint 2: Try drawing a line straight down from the upper-right corner of the plot. This will divide the area  marked three feet into two sections.  The two parts you just created with your line may not be labeled, but you might be able to find equivalent lengths somewhere else on the perimeter of the shape.
 * Hint 3: If you look around the shape, you can find two other lengths equal to both parts of the three-foot edge you divided with your line in Hint Two. If those two parts total three feet and you know there are two more segments identical to those two, then the total of all the edges with unknown lengths should be...

Answer: 26

Puzzle 128

 * Name: Number Lock
 * Trigger: Choose puzzle 128
 * Location: The Art Lover's House
 * Chapter: ~Bonus
 * Picarats: 70

Description: The door in front of you has an odd lock mounted on the front. The only way to unlock this strange contraption is to place small tiles labeled from one to nine in its slots. The lock will open when the numbers on the lock equal the same number when multiplied vertically and horizontally. There are nine tiles, but the lock only has seven slots, so you won't need two tiles. Can you open the lock?


 * Hint 1: There are multiple correct answers, so the best thing to do is just work patiently until you find a solution. For those of us without patience, here's a more obvious hint: you can eliminate the five tile.
 * Hint 2: The five tile isn't used in your answer, nor is the seven tile. Now that you know the seven tiles you need to work with, see if you can find the answer.
 * Hint 3: When you multiply each row of numbers,they should all equal 72. If you still feel like you could use a hint, here's one more.  Place the two tile in the center slot of the lock.

Answer: There are multiple configurations you can use. One solution is as follows:

The numbers that go in the left column, listed from top to bottom are 1, 9, and 8. The number 2 goes in the middle. The numbers in the right column, listed from top to bottom are 3, 4, and 6.

Puzzle 129

 * Name: Four Balls
 * Trigger: Choose puzzle 129
 * Location: The Art Decorator's House
 * Chapter: ~Bonus
 * Picarats: 70

Description: Move each ball to the area with the same color. Do you have what it takes to complete the puzzle?


 * Hint 1: You need to make the balls change positions with each other, but the actual act of guiding individual balls to the right hole shouldn't prove too challenging. Make your moves carefully and keep track of what you're doing.  This problem requires you to shift things about a great deal, so just be warned that hints alone won't get you through this one.
 * Hint 2: The shortest solution for this problem involves less than 30 moves, but in order to solve it that quickly, you need to manage the movement of multiple balls at once. If you're having trouble, swallow your pride and try the easier solution where you only need to guide one ball at a time.
 * Hint 3: For puzzles like this, your best bet is to clump as many of the open spaces together as possible to give the ball you're guiding a larger space to move about. Just don't get too obsessed with consolidating space or you might actually make things harder on yourself.

Answer: This puzzle can be solved in 28 moves.

Puzzle 130

 * Name: Too Many Queens 5
 * Trigger: Choose puzzle 130
 * Location: The Golden Apple's House
 * Chapter: ~Bonus
 * Picarats: 99

Description: In chess, the queen can move the full length of the board diagonally, vertically, and horizontally. So, here we are. This is the big one. See if you can place eight queens on the 8x8 chessboard. The rules are the same as before: don't let any piece block another's line of movement.


 * Hint 1: You're an old hand at these puzzles, so why not try to solve this one on your own? Just so you know, there are 92 possible solutions to this puzzle.
 * Hint 2: Sorry, no hints!
 * Hint 3: Hey, didn't you read Hint Two?! No hints!

Answer: One possible solution to this problem is as follows:

In the first row, put the queen in the sixth column. In the second row, put the queen in the last column. In the third row, put the queen in the second column. In the fourth row, put the queen in the fourth column. In the fifth row, put the queen in the first column. In the sixth row, put the queen in the seventh column. In the seventh row, put the queen in the fifth column. Place the last queen in the eight row, third column.

Puzzle 131

 * Name: Heavier or Lighter?
 * Trigger: Choose puzzle 131
 * Location: The Golden Apple's House
 * Chapter: ~Bonus
 * Picarats: 99

Description: Below are 12 weights that are visually identical to one another. Among these is a single weight that has a different weight from the others. The problem is that you don't know whether this wight is heavier or lighter than the others. Use the scales exactly three times to determine which weight is different from the others.


 * Hint 1: There is no one definitive way to solve this puzzle, but it's best to start by putting four weights on each side of the scale. If the scale tips one direction, you know that the four weights off the scale don't contain the weight you are looking for.  If the scale stays level, you know that one of the four weights you didn't load on the scale is the irregular weight.
 * Hint 2: If the scale tips after you weigh eight weights in the fashion described in the first hint, take one set of weights off the scale and keep the other four where they are. Next, put the four unweighed weights on the empty side of the scale.  If you make it this far, all you need to do is narrow the possible choices down one more time in the next step.
 * Hint 3: If your scale doesn't tip after your second weighing as described in the earlier hint, you know the odd weight is somewhere within the four weights you took off the scale. If the scale tips in the same direction as before, you know that the irregular weight is somewhere within the four weights that you kept on the scale.  If it tips in the opposite direction than before, the weight you seek is one of the four you loaded on the scale before the second weighing.

Answer: Will depend.

Puzzle 132

 * Name: Princess in a Box 2
 * Trigger: Choose puzzle 132
 * Location: The Golden Apple's House
 * Chapter: ~Bonus
 * Picarats: 80

Description: Tired of leading a sheltered life, this princess is trying to escape her castle. Armed guards, however, are blocking her path. Slide the blocks out of the way to move the red one out the exit to the right. Her freedom depends on you. Can you do it?


 * Hint 1: You might think you'll get stuck within moments of starting this puzzle, but as long as you aren't repeating the same moves over and over, you'll get that block out eventually.  Sliding puzzles like these don't lend themselves well to hints.  So here's one more hint: don't bother purchasing Hints Two and Three for this puzzle.
 * Hint 2: Since you decided to spend a hint coin anyway, here's a small tip that might help you out. Try to move the long purple blocks out of the way by getting them to the upper-right or lower-left corners of the box.  Once you've done that, the long blue blocks will be easier to handle.
 * Hint 3: Move one of the blue blocks out to the right of the big red block. Once you've done this, your next goal should be to maneuver both blue blocks so that they are at the very top or bottom of the box. That should clear things up a bit.

Answer:

Puzzle 133

 * Name: Finish the Equation
 * Trigger: Choose puzzle 133
 * Location: The Puzzle Master's House
 * Chapter: ~Bonus
 * Picarats: 70

Description: Complete the equation by inserting the four numbered tiles into the correct slots.


 * Hint 1: Thinking in fractions is the key to success.
 * Hint 2: As the first hint suggested, don't try and calculate out hard numbers for this puzzle. Within the parentheses, you will encounter some odd fractions.  Keep these in fraction form for the remainder of the problem.  After all is said and done, as long as your numerator is 10 times larger than your denominator, you've found your answer.
 * Hint 3: That eight goes in the rightmost slot. Your goal is to arrange the numbers so that everything to the left of the equal sign calculates out to 40/4.

Answer: The equation should read (3-7/4)x8=10.

Puzzle 134

 * Name: Land Disputes
 * Trigger: Choose puzzle 134
 * Location: The Puzzle Master's House
 * Chapter: ~Bonus
 * Picarats: 80

Description: Four people are arguing with one another about how to divide up a large chunk of land they inherited. "We want to divide things up nice and even. Each piece of property should have a well and a house, and be exactly the same shape." Can you divide the property up according to their wishes and end the bickering?


 * Hint 1: The feuding parties have demanded that the land be divided into four identically sized properties. You'll have a much easier time achieving this if you start all your divisions from the middle of the large chunk of land.
 * Hint 2: If you find a group of houses or wells together, you know where one of your property lines needs to go. Now you just need to use a little logic to determine where the lines need to pass through.
 * Hint 3: The division lines for all four properties run through the center of the map. You'd do well to try dividing things up further after you've decided how to allot the four squares in the center of the map.

Answer: Each piece of property will have nine squares. The first piece of property includes the top three squares in the first column, the top square in the second column, the top two squares in the third column (including the house with the red roof), the second and third squares in the fourth column, and the second square in the fifth column (which contains a well).

The second piece of property contains the house with the yellow roof and the two squares to its right, the last square of the second row, the last two squares of the third row (including a well), the fourth and fifth squares in the fourth row, and the fifth square in the fifth row.

The third piece of property is in the bottom right corner of the property. It contains the fifth square of the second column, the fourth and fifth squares of the third column, the last two squares of the fourth column, the last square of the fifth column (which contains a well), and the last three squares of the last column (including the square with the house with the green roof).

The fourth piece of property contains the second square in the second row, the second and third squares in the third row (which includes the square with the blue-roofed house), the first two squares of the fourth row, the first square of the fifth row, and the first three squares of the last row(including a space with a well).

Draw the property lines accordingly and hit SUBMIT.

Puzzle 135

 * Name: Royal Escape
 * Trigger: Choose puzzle 135
 * Location: The Puzzle Master's House
 * Chapter: ~Bonus
 * Picarats: 99

Description: Tired of leading a sheltered life, this princess is trying to escape her castle. Armed guards, however, are blocking her path. Slide the blocks out of the way to move the red one out the exit to the right. Her freedom depends on you. Can you do it?


 * Hint 1: This puzzle is difficult, but as long as you aren't repeating the same moves over and over, you'll eventually extricate the red block. Now stop depending on hints and go try it for yourself.
 * Hint 2: This puzzle takes at least 81 moves to solve. There aren't really any good hints to give, but here's a little trick that might help you.  There are two open spaces in the box.  As you slide pieces around, make sure you don't separate one open space from the other.
 * Hint 3: As stated in Hint One, you're just going to have to work this puzzle out yourself. However, it seems wrong to give you nothing for that hint coin you spent, so here's a factoid about the puzzle you're solving.  In Japan, these types of puzzles have been around for hundreds of years.

Answer: