Puzzle 010 is The Place to Be!, the "how many people?" puzzle Madame Lapushka sets in her boutique. It's a 30-picarat Write Answer puzzle in Chapter 1. You look through the window of a fashionable delicatessen where a line of people is waiting, but the window is plastered with posters and most of the faces are hidden. You write the number of people in the line and touch Submit. The hints below open one at a time, and the answer stays hidden until you choose to show it.
This page covers story Puzzle 010 in Professor Layton and the Miracle Mask on Nintendo 3DS, using the North American text, with pictures rebuilt from the game's own art. The UK English version calls it The Long Wait, but the picture and the answer are the same in the US and UK English versions. If you're after Daily Puzzle 010 or Puzzle 10 from another Layton game, see Wrong Puzzle 010? below.
What Puzzle 010 is
| Name | The Place to Be! (The Long Wait in the UK English version) |
|---|---|
| Type | Write Answer |
| Picarats | 30 |
| Location | Madame Lapushka's, the costume boutique in Monte d'Or |
| Chapter | Chapter 1 |
| Given by | Madame Lapushka (Ludmilla in the UK English version) |
| Solved by | Professor Layton |
| Is it mandatory? | Yes, it looks like you can't move on without it |
| Reward | The Shop, added to the Professor's trunk |
| Hints | Three hints and a Super Hint |
| Previous / next puzzle | 009 Stamp Stumper (hidden in the same boutique) / 011 Backstage Blunder (City Monument) |
The puzzle's text explains the setup: the delicatessen is "quite the fashionable place to shop for groceries this season", so there's always a line. The window is largely covered in posters, and you have to work out how many people are in the line today. You enter the number with the stylus in the two-box answer panel on the touch screen. There's nothing to move or tap in the picture itself; it's all about looking carefully.
The Place to Be! in other versions
The North American version calls it The Place to Be!. The UK English version uses The Long Wait, calls the boutique owner Ludmilla and talks about a queue instead of a line. The Japanese title is 行列の店 (Gyōretsu no Mise, "the shop with a line"); the North American release also carries a Japanese label for it, 行列のナゾ.
| Version | Puzzle name |
|---|---|
| English (US) | The Place to Be! |
| English (UK) | The Long Wait |
| Japanese | 行列の店 (Gyōretsu no Mise) |
Wrong Puzzle 010?
- Daily Puzzle 010 in Miracle Mask is a separate puzzle: it's a sailing puzzle in the Perilous Voyage set and has nothing to do with the delicatessen line.
- Puzzle 10 in another Layton game is a different puzzle. If yours has no poster-covered shop window, you're in the wrong game.
- Puzzle 009 Stamp Stumper is in the same boutique, but it's a hidden puzzle you find by searching the room, not the one Madame Lapushka gives you.
Where you get it
Puzzle 010 comes up in Chapter 1, when the Professor's goal is to go to the boutique. Inside, talk to Madame Lapushka. She won't answer any questions until you've solved her puzzle: "Before I answer any questions, you must solve my puzzle."
It's a story puzzle and it's mandatory. If you quit, she says "Giving up so easily? A pity." The next goal, leaving Madame Lapushka's, only follows this puzzle, so it looks like you can't move on until it's solved.
While you're in the boutique, search the room. There are three hint coins to find (in the lower-left drawer, on the box on top of the shelf and in the candle), and hidden Puzzle 009 Stamp Stumper is in the same room. Three coins aren't enough to open every hint for this puzzle, but the hints on this page are free.
Hints, one at a time
These follow the game's own hints, in the same order, with a little more explanation. Open only the next one you need. In the game, Hints 1 to 3 cost one hint coin each and the Super Hint costs two.
Hint 1: Faces won't get you there
Most of the faces are hidden behind the posters, and some people in the line are so short that you can't even see the tops of their heads. Counting faces, hair or hats will always come up short. You need a part of each person that the posters don't cover.
Hint 2: Look down at the floor
No one has their feet covered by the posters. Look at the strip of floor under the bottom edge of the posters and count the feet you can find, one pair per person. Take care in two kinds of places: where several pairs stand close together, and where the shoes are a dark brown that blends in with the wall and the floor.
Hint 3: Not everyone is standing
Counted all the feet? You may still be missing someone. Not everyone in the line has their feet on the floor. Look at the whole scene again, above the posters as well as below them, for a person you haven't counted yet.
Super Hint: One rather young person
Every pair of feet on the floor belongs to one person, and no one has both feet hidden by a poster. But one person in the line doesn't have their feet on the floor at all: a rather young one. Look just above the posters, near the middle of the window, for a small red hair bow. Its owner is being carried, so add her to your count of feet.
Answer and full solution
The answer below covers every step, with pictures of the finished puzzle. Open it when you're ready.
Show the answer
The answer is 8. There are seven pairs of feet on the floor, plus a little girl riding piggyback on someone's back, so eight people are in line. Write 8 in the answer panel and touch Submit. The game also accepts 08.
Step by step:
- Ignore the faces. The posters hide most of them, and the shorter people don't show above the posters at all.
- Count the pairs of feet from left to right. There are seven. Go slowly at the left end, where two pairs stand close together, and look carefully at the dark brown shoes, which are easy to miss against the floor.
- Look above the posters. Near the middle of the window, a small red hair bow sticks up. It belongs to a little girl riding piggyback, so she has no feet on the floor.
- Add her to the seven. That makes eight people.
- Write 8 and touch Submit. The game accepts it written as 8 or as 08.
When you get it right, the game takes the posters away and confirms there are eight people in line, "including a little girl riding piggyback!"
If your answer keeps failing:
- You wrote 7. That's the number of pairs of feet on the floor. The little girl being carried doesn't touch the floor, so add one.
- You counted heads or faces. Faces give a lower number, because the shortest people are completely hidden behind the posters.
- You counted two people off the floor. Only one person, the piggyback girl, isn't on the floor; everyone else has feet you can see.
- You counted single feet instead of pairs. Some feet overlap, so count shoes in pairs, one pair per person.
Picarats, hints and hint coins
The Place to Be! is worth up to 30 picarats, and wrong answers can drop it to 25 and then 20. Hints don't cost picarats; they cost hint coins. Hints 1 to 3 cost one coin each and the Super Hint costs two, so opening all four costs five coins.
The boutique has three hint coins of its own, so if you're short, you can collect them before you talk to Madame Lapushka. They cover the first three hints but not the Super Hint as well. If you're out of coins, the hints on this page are free.
What you get: the Shop
After the puzzle, Madame Lapushka gives you the Shop, and the game tells you "Shop has been added to the Professor's Trunk." It's one of the three trunk minigames, also known as the One-Stop Shop. This puzzle opens the first aisle, Fresh Fruits.
More aisles come from later story puzzles. The second aisle, Crockery, comes after Puzzle 019. Madame Lapushka gives you another puzzle later, Puzzle 047, and that one opens the fifth aisle, Baked Goods.
Versions and systems
- Nintendo 3DS, 3DS XL, 2DS and New 3DS: the puzzle's solution is the same on every 3DS model. It uses the touch screen to write the answer, with no motion controls.
- US and UK English versions: the picture and the answer are the same in the US and UK English versions. The UK version names the puzzle The Long Wait and the boutique owner Ludmilla, and its text uses "queue".
- Japanese Miracle Mask Plus: this puzzle appears to be unchanged.
- Other systems: Miracle Mask is a 3DS game. As of October 2026 there's no Switch, mobile or PC version of it.
Madame Lapushka's boutique (story spoiler)
Spoiler warning: this section covers the scene around the puzzle. In Chapter 1 the Professor and Luke visit Madame Lapushka's costume boutique in Monte d'Or looking for answers. Madame Lapushka is happy to talk, but only on her own terms: "Before I answer any questions, you must solve my puzzle." Once the line is counted, she hands over the Shop, and the next goal is to leave the boutique and head on toward the hotel.
FAQ
Where is the answer to Puzzle 010?
It's in the Answer and full solution section above, hidden until you open it. If you only want a push, open the hints one at a time first.
What is Puzzle 010 called?
The Place to Be! in the North American version and The Long Wait in the UK English version. It's the same puzzle with the same answer.
Who gives you Puzzle 010, Madame Lapushka or Ludmilla?
The same boutique owner. She's Madame Lapushka in the US version and Ludmilla in the UK English version.
Can you skip Puzzle 010?
It doesn't look like it. It's a mandatory part of the Chapter 1 story, and the next story goal only follows once it's solved.
Why is my count wrong when I count every pair of feet?
Because not everyone in the line is standing on the floor. Hint 3 and the Super Hint point you to the person you're missing.
How many picarats is Puzzle 010 worth?
Up to 30 picarats. Wrong answers may reduce the picarat value.
What does Puzzle 010 unlock?
The Shop minigame in the Professor's trunk, starting with the Fresh Fruits aisle.
Is Daily Puzzle 010 the same as Puzzle 010?
No. Daily Puzzle 010 is a sailing puzzle in the Perilous Voyage set and is unrelated to The Place to Be!.
More Miracle Mask puzzles
- Puzzle 001: Stumble's Balloons
- Puzzle 002: Where's Mother?
- Puzzle 003: Stumble's Banners
- Puzzle 004: Bumper Perspective
- Puzzle 005: Robot Factory
- Puzzle 006: Bunny-Hop Swap
- Puzzle 007: A Toasty Toast
- Puzzle 008: Carnival Colors
- Puzzle 009: Stamp Stumper
- Puzzle 011: Backstage Blunder
- Puzzle 012: Sharing the Burden
- Puzzle 013: Ancient Arti-facts
- Puzzle 014: Bite of Bygone Days
- Puzzle 015: Fix the Fossil
- Puzzle 60: Dangerous Holes
- Puzzle 100: Gate to the Ruins!
- Puzzle 113: Chip Champions
- Puzzle 118: Evenly Matched 3
- Puzzle 122: Kitty Solitaire 3
For the rest of the game's puzzles, see the Miracle Mask puzzle index.