Puzzle 015 is Fix the Fossil, the third of Mr. Collins's classroom puzzles in Chapter 2. It's a 30-picarat Arrange puzzle set during the flashback to the Professor's school days at Kingsbrook Academy, and it's part of the story: Mr. Collins hands it to Randall after the previous lesson. A fossil has broken into nine square pieces scattered over a 5 x 5 grid. You slide the pieces back together into the 3 x 3 square they used to be, and the finished fossil has to sit in the middle of the grid. The catch is that the pieces are fragile, so you can only move them three at a time, along a row or a column. The hints below open one at a time, and the answer stays hidden until you choose to show it.
This page covers story Puzzle 015 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 has the same board and the same answer, with slightly different wording. If you're after Daily Puzzle 015, the later Fix the Fossil 2 or Puzzle 15 from another Layton game, see Wrong Puzzle 015? below.
What Puzzle 015 is
| Name | Fix the Fossil |
|---|---|
| Type | Arrange |
| Picarats | 30 |
| Location | Classroom, Kingsbrook Academy |
| Chapter | Chapter 2 |
| Given by | Mr. Collins, the teacher (his third lesson puzzle) |
| Solved by | Randall |
| Is it mandatory? | Yes: the lesson only ends once it's solved, so it looks like you can't move on without it |
| Reward | Opens the second course of the Toy Robot minigame, Unearthed Ruin |
| Hints | Three hints and a Super Hint |
| Previous / next puzzle | 014 Bite of Bygone Days (also in the Classroom) / 016 Wandering Watches (a hidden puzzle, also in the Classroom) |
The puzzle text explains the setup with a joke: the fossil had been restored once before, "but...let's just say one of the teachers is a bit clumsy." The nine pieces each carry part of the fossil's pattern, and together they make a 3 x 3 square. The puzzle text then gives the rules: "you can only move three pieces at a time horizontally or vertically. Put it back together in the center of the grid when it's complete." So a piece on its own can't be moved, and the pattern on each piece tells you where it belongs.
Fix the Fossil in other languages
The North American and UK English versions both call it Fix the Fossil. The UK text words some lines differently, though, and uses British spelling, so the puzzle asks for the fossil in the "centre" of the grid. The answer is the same in the US and UK English versions. The Japanese title is 化石の復元 (Kaseki no Fukugen, "restoring the fossil"). The North American release also carries an internal Japanese label for it, 心太パズル (Tokoroten Pazuru), named after tokoroten, jelly noodles that are pushed out through a press, much like the pieces here are pushed along in a line.
| Version | Puzzle name |
|---|---|
| English (US and UK) | Fix the Fossil |
| Japanese | 化石の復元 (Kaseki no Fukugen, "restoring the fossil") |
Wrong Puzzle 015?
- Fix the Fossil 2 is Puzzle 141, one of Layton's Challenges, worth 80 picarats. It's a bigger fossil: 25 pieces on a 7 x 7 grid, moved five at a time, so the moves on this page won't work there.
- Norwell's Secret, Puzzle 064 in Chapter 4, is the same kind of sliding puzzle with an inscription instead of a fossil: 16 pieces on a 6 x 6 grid, moved four at a time.
- Daily Puzzle 015 in Miracle Mask is a separate puzzle: Zoo 02, from the Pen Pals set. It has nothing to do with the fossil.
- Puzzle 15 in another Layton game is a different puzzle. If yours has no fossil pieces on a grid, you're in the wrong game.
Where you get it
Puzzle 015 comes in Chapter 2, the flashback to the Professor's teenage years, during Mr. Collins's lesson in the Classroom at Kingsbrook Academy. It's the last of three lesson puzzles in a row: 013 Ancient Arti-facts, 014 Bite of Bygone Days and then this one. Once Randall answers Puzzle 014, he asks Mr. Collins about the Mask of Chaos, and the teacher gives him the next problem instead: "Since you're so keen to show off your formidable intellect, Ascot, you can solve the next problem, too."
It's a mandatory story puzzle. If you back out, Randall can't believe it ("What?! Are you certain about that?"), and when you start it again Randall is ready for another go: "I'll definitely get it this time!" The lesson only finishes after the fossil is solved, so the puzzle should stay waiting for you until you complete it.
The Classroom also holds 016 Wandering Watches, a hidden puzzle, and three hint coins, found on the lamp, the certificate and the notice board. Three coins aren't enough for all four hints, which cost five coins together.
Column and row numbers used on this page
The hints and the answer number the full 5 x 5 grid, not the 3 x 3 target. Columns go 1 to 5 from left to right, so column 3 is the middle one. Rows go 1 to 5 from top to bottom, so row 4 is the second row from the bottom. The gold square marks the middle nine squares, where the finished fossil has to end up.
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: how long it takes
The fossil goes back together in just four moves. Every slide that isn't part of the solution makes the board harder to fix, so think before you move anything.
If you've already slid the pieces around a few times, it's quicker to start again from the original layout than to try to slide your way back.
Hint 2: what you can move
You can only move three pieces at a time, and that actually helps: it cuts down the number of slides you can make at all. Look for rows and columns where three pieces sit next to each other in a line.
Keep the goal in mind, too. The finished fossil has to fill the middle nine squares of the grid, not a corner. Which pieces are already inside the gold square in the picture above, and which are outside it?
Hint 3: the first move
Start with the three pieces in the second column from the left, column 2. Slide them down one square.
Look at the top two pieces of that column afterwards. Do their patterns now line up with the pieces next to them?
Super Hint: two more moves
After the first move, slide the middle column, column 3, up one square. Then slide the second row from the bottom, row 4, one square to the right.
That leaves one move. Only one column still has pieces sticking out of the middle nine squares. Which way does it have to go?
Answer and full solution
The answer below covers every move, with pictures of each slide and of the finished fossil. Open it when you're ready.
Show the answer
The answer is four slides: column 2 down, column 3 up, row 4 right, then column 4 up. Each slide moves three pieces by one square, and after the fourth the nine pieces form an ammonite in the middle of the grid.
| Move | Line | Direction | What it does |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Column 2 (second from the left) | Down one square | The top-left and middle-left pieces of the fossil drop into place |
| 2 | Column 3 (the middle column) | Up one square | The top-middle and center pieces slide into place |
| 3 | Row 4 (second from the bottom) | Right one square | The bottom-left and bottom-middle pieces move into place |
| 4 | Column 4 (second from the right) | Up one square | The right-hand column of the fossil lifts into place and the puzzle is solved |
Step by step:
- Column 2 down. At the start, column 2 holds three pieces in rows 1 to 3. Slide them down one square so they sit in rows 2 to 4.
- Column 3 up. The middle column holds three pieces in rows 3 to 5. Slide them up one square into rows 2 to 4.
- Row 4 right. Row 4, the second row from the bottom, now has three pieces in columns 1 to 3. Slide them one square to the right, into columns 2 to 4. The piece that was in column 3 moves out to column 4.
- Column 4 up. Column 4 now holds three pieces in rows 3 to 5. Slide them up one square into rows 2 to 4, and the fossil is complete in the middle nine squares.
If your answer keeps failing:
- You counted rows inside the 3 x 3 square. The rows and columns on this page count the whole 5 x 5 grid. The third move uses row 4, the second row from the bottom. Counting it as the "third row" doesn't work from the starting layout.
- You made the moves in a different order. The order matters. Row 4 only has three pieces in a line after the first two column moves, so do them in the order above.
- You slid a line too far. Every slide in the solution moves its three pieces by just one square. If a line ended up further along, start again from the original layout.
- The fossil looks right but sits off to one side. It has to fill the middle nine squares. A correct picture in a corner doesn't count, so start again and follow the four moves from the beginning.
Picarats, hints and hint coins
Fix the Fossil is worth 30 picarats. Hints cost hint coins, not picarats: each of the first three hints costs one coin and the Super Hint costs two, so opening all four costs five coins. Wrong answers usually lower a puzzle's picarats, but all three of this puzzle's values are 30, so it may stay at 30 even after a miss.
The Classroom has three hint coins (the lamp, the certificate and the notice board), which is enough for the first three hints but not for all four. If you're out of coins, the hints on this page are free.
What you get: Toy Robot course 2
Solving Fix the Fossil opens the second course of the Toy Robot minigame in the Professor's trunk. The game calls it Unearthed Ruin: "An ancient ruin left by a lost culture. Small but perfectly formidable." The toy robot itself comes from Puzzle 005, Robot Factory, which also opens the first course, the Abandoned Lab.
If course 2 is still locked, check that you've finished this puzzle: it's the one that opens it. More courses come from later story puzzles.
Versions and systems
- Nintendo 3DS, 3DS XL, 2DS and New 3DS: the puzzle's solution is the same on every 3DS model. You slide the pieces on the touch screen, with no motion controls.
- US and UK English versions: same board, same pieces, same answer. The UK English text is worded differently in places and spells "centre" the British way.
Mr. Collins's lesson (story spoiler)
Spoiler warning: this section covers the scene around the puzzle. In the flashback to the Professor's school days, young Hershel and Randall sit in Mr. Collins's class at Kingsbrook Academy. Randall answers the teacher's puzzles one after another, and after Puzzle 014's bite-marked fossil he asks about the Mask of Chaos. Mr. Collins sets him the broken fossil next, saying Randall is so keen to show off his formidable intellect that he can solve that one too. Once the fossil is back together, the lesson ends with "Class dismissed." Randall decides that "Cranky Collins is a grump, but he knows how to give a lecture!", and when Hershel asks why he keeps pestering the teacher, Randall tells him to come over to his house later that night so he can explain everything.
FAQ
Where is the answer to Puzzle 015?
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 015 called?
Fix the Fossil, in both the North American and UK English versions. In Japanese it's 化石の復元.
Why can't I move just one piece?
The fossil is fragile, so the rules only let you move pieces in groups of three, along a row or a column. A piece on its own, or a line with fewer than three pieces next to each other, won't slide. Hint 2 explains why that helps.
I've slid the pieces too many times. What now?
Start over from the original layout. The game's first hint warns that extra moves only make the board harder to fix, and the solution is short when you start from the beginning.
Can you skip Puzzle 015?
It doesn't look like it. It's a mandatory part of Mr. Collins's lesson in Chapter 2, and the lesson only ends once the fossil is solved, so it should stay waiting until you complete it.
How many picarats is Puzzle 015 worth?
30 picarats, and it may stay at 30 even after wrong answers.
What does Puzzle 015 unlock?
The second course of the Toy Robot minigame, Unearthed Ruin.
Is Fix the Fossil the same as Fix the Fossil 2?
No. Fix the Fossil 2 is Puzzle 141, one of Layton's Challenges, worth 80 picarats. It has 25 pieces on a 7 x 7 grid, moved five at a time, and its own solution.
Is Daily Puzzle 015 the same as Puzzle 015?
No. Daily Puzzle 015 is Zoo 02, from the Pen Pals set. Story Puzzle 015 is the broken fossil in Mr. Collins's class.
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 010: The Place to Be!
- Puzzle 011: Backstage Blunder
- Puzzle 012: Sharing the Burden
- Puzzle 013: Ancient Arti-facts
- Puzzle 014: Bite of Bygone Days
- 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.