Professor Layton and the Last Specter/Puzzles 026-050

Caution! This page contains all the hints and solutions for every puzzle from 1 to 25. Scroll carefully or you might spoil the answer of a puzzle for yourself. The solutions are hidden behind spoiler tags, so only take a peek if you're desperate.

Puzzle 026

 * Name: UFO SOS
 * Trigger: Talk to Clarence
 * Location: North Ely Park
 * Chapter: 4
 * Picarats: 65

Description: "One day, I saw a spacecraft hanging motionless in the sky right above me. 'Must be engine trouble,' I thought. The solution was simple. All I had to do was move the spacecraft's energy ball from the left side to the right, and it was as good as new! Think you can do the same?"


 * Hint 1: The flying saucer can be fixed with a minimum of 31 moves. First, move down the two [[File:PLLS_Puzzle_26_Symbol1.png]] on the right. Then line up the two [[File:PLLS_Puzzle_26_Symbol2.png]] shapes in the top-right corner of the ship.
 * Hint 2: Continuing from Hint 1: Collect all four [[File:PLLS_Puzzle_26_Symbol1.png]] in the middle row, moving the two [[File:PLLS_Puzzle_26_Symbol2.png]] shapes to the left and the right as needed.
 * Hint 3: Once all four of the [[File:PLLS_Puzzle_26_Symbol1.png]] are in a row in the middle, return both [[File:PLLS_Puzzle_26_Symbol2.png]] shapes to the top-right corner. After that, try to maneuver the red [[File:PLLS_Puzzle_26_Symbol1.png]] into the bottom-right space and move all of the other [[File:PLLS_Puzzle_26_Symbol1.png]] to the far right. This will give you the room you need to move the energy ball into the top-left corner.
 * Super Hint: Slide the light-blue [[File:PLLS_Puzzle_26_Symbol1.png]] into the bottom-left section. Then, slide the dark-blue [[File:PLLS_Puzzle_26_Symbol1.png]] into the indentation on the left-hand side. Gather the two [[File:PLLS_Puzzle_26_Symbol2.png]] shapes in the middle row, and move the energy ball to the top-right corner. Slide the two [[File:PLLS_Puzzle_26_Symbol2.png]] shapes to the top left, and move the red and yellow [[File:PLLS_Puzzle_26_Symbol1.png]] to the left-hand side. Almost there!

Puzzle 027

 * Name: Floating Cottages
 * Trigger: Talk to Jasmine
 * Location: Murray Street
 * Chapter: 4
 * Picarats: 35

Description: The floating cottages shown below are connected by 12 small bridges, which has made this little retirement community quite the tourist attraction. A visiting couple has decided to paddle a boat out to one of the cottages and walk back to the mainland by crossing each bridge only once. Which cottage should they start at?


 * Hint 1: From the correct cottage, there are several routes that cross each bridge once on the way back to land. It's OK to visit the same cottage more than once, as long as each bridge is crossed only one time.
 * Hint 2: You can try plotting out different routes back to land from each cottage, but there's an easier way to identify the correct one. Look for something that all but one cottage has in common...
 * Hint 3: Take a close look at how many bridges are connected to each cottage. There's something odd about the number of bridges connected to one of them...
 * Super Hint: There's only one cottage with an odd number of bridges connected to it. If you figure out which one that is, you'll have the correct answer!

Puzzle 028

 * Name: Black and White Cats
 * Trigger: Talk to Hugo
 * Location: Apartment Row
 * Chapter: 4
 * Picarats: 30

Description: You want to display your impressive collection of black and white cat paperweights on this 4x4 grid. You must fill every space, and no row or column can have more than two same-colored cats next to each other. The six cats currently on the grid must remain where they are. How can you fill in the rest of the grid? Touch a space on the grid to place a cat, change its color, or remove it.


 * Hint 1: Any time you spot two adjacent cats of the same color in a row or column, any space next to them in that row or column will need to be filled with a cat of the opposite color.
 * Hint 2: First, concentrate on the placement of the white cats. You can only place a total of four cat paperweights in any single row or column. Once you figure out where the white cats go, you can pretty much fill the remaining spaces with black cats.
 * Hint 3: A white cat must belong in the empty space between the two black cats in the column farthest to the right. Remember, when you have two cats of the same color next to each other in the middle of a row or column, you must place cats of the opposite color on either side of them. Continue placing paperweights according to these rules until the grid is filled in!
 * Super Hint: Put a white cat between the two black cats in the column farthest to the right. Put white cats in the top and bottom spaces of the second column from the left. Put a white cat between the two black cats in the second row from the bottom. Think you can figure out the rest?

Puzzle 029

 * Name: How Old?
 * Trigger: Talk to Finch
 * Location: Crossroads
 * Chapter: 4
 * Picarats: 35

Description: A friend wrote you the following letter: "Our baby girl Nat was born last year in March. If you multiply her age by those of her older sister Kat and brother Pat, the product is 36. If you add all of their ages together, you'll get a sum of 13. Everyone is healthy and happy. Write back soon!" The letter was written on April 25th. What are the ages of Nat, Kat, and Pat?


 * Hint 1: You should be able to work out Nat's age easily. You know the month in which she was born last year, but when was the letter written?
 * Hint 2: Nat is one year old. When you multiply that by the ages of Kat and Pat, you need to get 36. Hear are the possible combinations: 1x36, 2x18, 3x12, 4x9, and 6x6.
 * Hint 3: The sum of all three children's ages is 13. The youngest child is 1, so the sum of the two older children's ages must equal 12.
 * Super Hint: Kat and Pat are the same age. You need to find a number that when multiplied by itself equals 36 and when added to itself equals 12.

Puzzle 030

 * Name: Book Stacks
 * Trigger: Talk to Olga
 * Location: Library
 * Chapter: 4
 * Picarats: 35

Description: Someone left a ton of books on the table, and now these two librarians have the unpleasant task of shelving them all again. The librarians are trying to count all the books, but they're stacked so high that neither one can see them all. Using each librarian's point of view, work out how many books are on the table.


 * Hint 1: Make a note of all the books you see using the Memo function. For example, take a look at how many books each librarian can see from her viewpoint. That can help you determine how many books are in the center pile.
 * Hint 2: Next, let's figure out how many books are in the lower-left corner of the table. Can you see which stack that is from the other librarian's perspective?
 * Hint 3: You can also work out the number of books stacked in the top-right corner from the viewpoint of the librarian at the bottom of the screen. That leaves only two piles of books to figure out!
 * Super Hint: The books in the top-left corner can be counted using the top librarian's viewpoint. Don't forget that from her point of view, the stack is on the right. You already know that the bottom-left corner contains only two books, so the three books that she sees must be in the top-left corner.