Professor Layton and the Diabolical Box/Puzzles 101-125

Caution! This page contains all the hints and solutions for every puzzle from 51 to 75. 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 101

 * Name: Disappearing Act 1
 * Trigger: Talk to Niles
 * Location: Clock Tower Plaza
 * Chapter: 5
 * Picarats: 30

Description: Here's a classic puzzle. The rules are simple--you can move any ball on the board below as long as it satisfies the following conditions: OK, enough rules. Try it yourself!
 * To move, jump your selected ball over an adjacent space occupied by another ball into an empty space on the other side. You can't jump diagonally.
 * Once you've made the jump, the ball you jumped over disappears from the board.
 * To complete the puzzle, you must remove all balls from the board except for one.


 * Hint 1: Make the first of the balls disappear by jumping the ball in the center of the cross over the ball to its immediate left or right.
 * Hint 2: Move the ball at the very bottom into the space formerly occupied by the center ball. With just a few balls to go now, you should be able to sail through the rest of this puzzle.
 * Hint 3: With puzzles of this type, your first move will often determine whether or not you'll be able to solve the puzzle.

Puzzle 102

 * Name: Disappearing Act 2
 * Trigger: Talk to Hopper
 * Location: Northeast Path
 * Chapter: 6
 * Picarats: 35

Description: Here's a different configuration for you to try. As with last time, you can move any ball on the board below as long as it satisfies the following conditions: All right, get hopping!
 * To move, jump your selected ball over an adjacent space occupied by another ball into an empty space on the other side. You can't jump diagonally.
 * Once you've made the jump, the ball you jumped over disappears from the board.
 * To complete the puzzle, you must remove all balls from the board except for one.


 * Hint 1: Your options for a first jump are pretty limited. It has to be one of the four balls surrounding the center ball. The tough part is deciding what to do next. For your second move, pop a ball into the space that opened up when you moved your first ball.
 * Hint 2: Next, move a ball into the open center space.
 * Hint 3: Read carefully, because this next move is key. You need to take the ball now sitting in the center space and move it in the direction that you moved your ball in the first move. The rest of the puzzle is up to you.

Puzzle 103

 * Name: Disappearing Act 3
 * Trigger: Talk to Rory
 * Location: Station Plaza
 * Chapter: 6
 * Picarats: 40

Description: Hmm, these are getting pretty tough. You can move any ball on the board below as long as it satisfies the following conditions: OK, enough rules. Try for yourself!
 * To move, jump your selected ball over an adjacent space occupied by another ball into an empty space on the other side. You can't jump diagonally.
 * Once you've made the jump, the ball you jumped over disappears from the board.
 * To complete the puzzle, you must remove all balls from the board except for one.


 * Hint 1: Wow, these puzzles are really getting tough. Here's a hint to take the edge of this puzzle. Start by clearing the ball three from the edge in the bottom row.
 * Hint 2: Next, move the ball on the edge of the bottom row to fill the space that opened up when you removed a ball in your first move. Then repeat the process detailed in Hints One and Two on the other side of the triangle, and move the balls around until you're left with a number of balls arranged in a shape that resembles a pine tree. The rest is up to you.
 * Hint 3: Hey, didn't Hint Two clearly say, "The rest is up to you"? Well, just know that you won't be able to rely on too many hints in the Disappearing Act puzzles to come! You can have a hint this time, though. Select one of the balls one in from the outer edge of the pine tree and jump it upward. Then, from this new location, jump over the tip of the tree. OK, this time, the rest really is up to you.

Puzzle 104

 * Name: Disappearing Act 4
 * Trigger: Talk to Olson
 * Location: Western Path
 * Chapter: 6
 * Picarats: 45

Description: You know the drill by now. You can move any ball on the board below as long as it satisfies the following conditions: OK, enough rules. Try for yourself!
 * To move, jump your selected ball over an adjacent space occupied by another ball into an empty space on the other side. You can't jump diagonally.
 * Once you've made the jump, the ball you jumped over disappears from the board.
 * To complete the puzzle, you must remove all balls from the board except for one.


 * Hint 1: These puzzles are a lot more fun if you experiment and try to come to the answer on your own. Don't depend on Hints Two and Three to give away much of the puzzle. Start this puzzle by moving the ball in the center of the second row from the top.
 * Hint 2: No more hints to be had here! Instead, here's a little fun fact. Did you know that peg solitaire is actually known as brainvita in India? Oh, and just so you know, Hint Three is also trivia.
 * Hint 3: Fun-fact time! The first evidence of peg solitaire can be traced back to the court of Louis XIV.

Puzzle 105

 * Name: Disappearing Act 5
 * Trigger: Talk to Ray
 * Location: Fork in the Road
 * Chapter: 6
 * Picarats: 60

Description: Hold on to your hats, 'cause this one's going to be rough. Just like before, you can move any ball on the board below as long as it satisfies the following conditions: OK then, give it a try!
 * To move, jump your selected ball over an adjacent space occupied by another ball into an empty space on the other side. You can't jump diagonally.
 * Once you've made the jump, the ball you jumped over disappears from the board.
 * To complete the puzzle, you must remove all balls from the board except for one.


 * Hint 1: Remember all that stuff we told you about thinking out this one on your own? ...OK fine, you can have one more hint, but this is seriously the last one you'll get. We strongly recommend that you not start of this puzzle by moving a ball into the center space. Instead, your first goal should be to move things so you get rid of one of those four balls at the very edge of the shape. But where to start?
 * Hint 2: We were only kidding about not giving you any more hints. Start by moving a ball second from either edge in the third row from the bottom. Move this ball down to clear one ball and then across to remove the ball at the bottom of the shape. Then you can move one ball in the third row from the bottom into the space that the ball you used in your first move originally occupied. Then move the ball you used from your first move into the spot that opened up.
 * Hint 3: If you follow Hint Two and continue playing a little yourself, you should be able to arrange the remaining balls into a triangular, pine-tree-like shape like the one in Disappearing Act 3. Use what you've learned to finish the rest of this puzzle.

Puzzle 106

 * Name: The Knight's Tour 1
 * Trigger: Talk to Gregorio
 * Location: Museum Entrance
 * Chapter: 4
 * Picarats: 40

Description: Lead a knight on a trip around the board below. Chess knights move two squares forward and one square perpendicular on each turn. The initial direction can be up, down, left, or right. Move this knight around the entire board, landing on each square only once.


 * Hint 1: This puzzle is way more fun if you solve it yourself, so you should keep the hints to a minimum if you can. But if you're completely stuck, your first move takes the knight into the middle column.
 * Hint 2: For your second and third moves, you don't have any choice where to put the knight. But after that, you should move the knight to the bottom row.
 * Hint 3: If you get stuck after the part of the puzzle mentioned in Hint Two, head to the top part of the board.

Puzzle 107

 * Name: The Knight's Tour 2
 * Trigger: Talk to Gregorio
 * Location: Museum Entrance
 * Chapter: 6
 * Picarats: 50

Description: Lead a knight on a trip around the board below. Chess knights move two squares forward and one square perpendicular on each turn. The initial direction can be up, down, left, or right. Move this knight around the entire board, landing on each square only once.


 * Hint 1: There are multiple solutions to this one, so before you start busting your brain, try moving things around according to your own set of rules. It beats just shuffling the piece around randomly.
 * Hint 2: As a general plan of attack, start by traveling around the perimeter of the board, and once you feel the time is right, head in toward the center of the board.
 * Hint 3: This puzzle, a variant of the knight's tour, is a classic...but the depth and elegance of its solution have kept it fresh for generations.

Puzzle 108

 * Name: The Knight's Tour 3
 * Trigger: Talk to Gregorio
 * Location: Museum Entrance
 * Chapter: 6
 * Picarats: 70

Description: Lead a knight on a trip around the board below. Chess knights move two squares forward and one square perpendicular on each turn. The initial direction can be up, down, left, or right. Move this knight around the entire board, landing on each square only once.


 * Hint 1: Sorry, there aren't any more good hints for us to give. Just have fun solving your way through this classic.
 * Hint 2: Shogi, often known as Japanese chess, has a piece similar to the knight in Western chess. However, unlike Western-chess knights, shogi knights can only advance down toward the other end of the board. Perhaps Western knights were just more flexible than their Japanese counterparts.
 * Hint 3: If you're really stuck, take a break by setting a smaller goal. You could try getting stuck in the fewest number of moves possible, or move the knight so that it traces the shape of a letter. Better yet, combine these little games. For example, draw two Ys horizontally, then try to get your knight stuck in as few turns as possible.

Puzzle 109

 * Name: Walking the Dog
 * Trigger: Talk to Lila
 * Location: West Y-Road
 * Chapter: 6
 * Picarats: 50

Description: A girl takes her dog out. At first, she carries her dog for ten seconds, but then her dad steps out. At this point, the girl sets her dog down and keeps walking. The dog immediately runs over to the dad, and upon reaching him, he turns around and runs back to the girl. The dog keeps doing this until the dad catches up with the girl. The dog runs at five feet per second, the dad walks at two feet per second, and the girl walks at one foot per second. How far does the dog run by the time the dad catches up to his daughter?


 * Hint 1: Wordy problems like this one often have a trap buried somewhere in them. Don't get caught up in the wording. The dad walks at two feet per second, and the daughter walks at one foot per second, so for every second that passes, the distance between the two shrinks by one foot.
 * Hint 2: The father sets out ten seconds after his daughter. The daughter walks at a rate of one foot per second, so she's already ten feet ahead of her father when he starts walking. Using what you've heard from this hint and the last one, you should now know that the father catches up to his daughter in 10 seconds.
 * Hint 3: The dog runs at a rate of five feet per second. The dad catches up to his daughter in exactly 10 seconds.

Puzzle 110

 * Name: Chelmey's Route
 * Trigger: Talk to Chelmey
 * Location: Hotel Lobby
 * Chapter: 4
 * Picarats: 35

Description: Use what the inspector remembers to find the path he took through town. "Well, only one turn I made was at an intersection with a cafe on it. Oh, and I also passed in front of one hat shop. Oh, and one flower shop too. And I didn't walk any farther than necessary." Now that you've heard his recollection, can you trace the route the inspector took through town?


 * Hint 1: The inspector says he took one turn on a block with a cafe, but that doesn't mean he had to turn in the direction of the cafe he saw. Instead, what he's essentially saying here is that he was only able to turn once at any intersection with a cafe.
 * Hint 2: Begin by heading right from the starting point.
 * Hint 3: When you reach the goal, you'll be coming at it from the left.