Puzzle 016 is Wandering Watches, the hidden puzzle on the Classroom clock in Chapter 2. It's a 20-picarat Write Answer puzzle that young Hershel finds by tapping the clock on the left-hand side of the Classroom at Kingsbrook Academy. Nobody hands it to you, so it's easy to miss. Four people at the end of an evening party compare watches, and none of them shows the right time: A's watch is always 20 minutes slow, B's is 10 minutes slow, C's is set 5 minutes fast and D's is 10 minutes fast. The top screen shows the four watches, and you write the correct time in the answer boxes on the touch screen. The hints below open one at a time, and the answer stays hidden until you choose to show it.
This page covers story Puzzle 016 in Professor Layton and the Miracle Mask on Nintendo 3DS (US and UK English), using the North American text, with pictures rebuilt from the game's own art. If you're after Daily Puzzle 016 or Puzzle 16 from another Layton game, see Wrong Puzzle 016? below.
What Puzzle 016 is
| Name | Wandering Watches |
|---|---|
| Type | Write Answer |
| Picarats | 20 |
| Location | Classroom, Kingsbrook Academy: the clock on the left-hand side of the room |
| Chapter | Chapter 2 |
| Found by | Tapping the clock (no one gives it to you) |
| Solved by | Young Hershel |
| Is it mandatory? | Probably not. It's one of the hidden puzzles you find by tapping the scenery |
| Reward | Probably none besides the picarats |
| Hints | Three hints and a Super Hint |
| Previous / next puzzle | 015 Fix the Fossil (also in the Classroom) / 017 Busted Umbrella (another hidden puzzle, at Kingsbrook Academy) |
The puzzle text sets the scene: "Four people are talking at the end of a very enjoyable evening party. Comparing watches, they realize that none of them have the correct time." Then each person says how far off their watch is, and the question is simply "What time is it?" The four watches appear in speech bubbles on the top screen, each with its time written underneath, but the bubbles don't say which watch belongs to A, B, C or D. Working that out is the puzzle.
The touch screen has three answer boxes: one for the hour on the left, and two for the minutes on the right. The colon between them is already printed. You tap a box, write a digit with the stylus, and touch Submit when the time is complete.
Wandering Watches in other languages
The North American version calls it Wandering Watches, and the UK English version uses the same name. The UK puzzle text may use British spelling ("realise"), and its hints are worded a little differently. The answer is the same in the US and UK English versions. The Japanese title is ずれた時計 (Zureta Tokei, roughly "clocks that are off"). The North American version carries a different Japanese label for it, 待合室のナゾ ("the waiting room puzzle"); the Japanese puzzle text may set the four people in a waiting room rather than at a party.
| Version | Puzzle name |
|---|---|
| English (US and UK) | Wandering Watches |
| Japanese | ずれた時計 (Zureta Tokei) |
Wrong Puzzle 016?
- Daily Puzzle 016 in Miracle Mask is a separate puzzle: the second puzzle in the Food Chain set, often listed as Food Chain 2. It has nothing to do with watches.
- Puzzle 16 in another Layton game is a different puzzle. If yours doesn't have four watches at a party, you're in the wrong game.
Where you get it
Puzzle 016 is in Chapter 2, the flashback to the Professor's teenage years at Kingsbrook Academy. Look for the small clock on the left-hand side of the Classroom, near the windows. Tap it and young Hershel says: "That clock never seems to tell the right time. Nor does my watch, for that matter." Then he wonders, "Hmm. What was that puzzle Randall was going on about?", and the puzzle starts.
The clock is separate from Mr. Collins's lesson puzzles (013 to 015), so finishing the lesson doesn't give you this one. The clock may only respond after the lesson. Either way, tap the clock before you leave the Classroom rather than leave it for later.
If you back out of the puzzle, Hershel decides, "I have better things to do than dally around all day looking at clocks." Tap the clock again and he says, "I should give this clock puzzle another try," and the puzzle starts again.
Left the Classroom without it?
The Classroom is part of the Chapter 2 flashback, so you can't simply walk back later. The puzzle probably isn't lost: it should turn up with Nanna Grams (known as Elizabeth in the UK version), who keeps the puzzles you pass over, once you reach her in Chapter 3. Some hidden puzzles stay where they are instead, though, so this one may not move. Missing it doesn't block the story.
Hint coins in the Classroom
The Classroom has three hint coins, all in the normal view, with no zoomed-in view to search: the hanging ceiling lamp, the framed certificate near the blackboard, and the noticeboard. They're the same three coins as in Puzzles 013 to 015, so you may already have them. Three coins pay for the first three hints, but not the Super Hint as well.
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: put the watches in order
Sort the four watch times on the top screen from the latest to the earliest. Then line up the four statements the same way, from the watch that runs furthest ahead to the one that lags furthest behind.
How do the two lists match up?
Hint 2: the two extremes
The fastest watch reads 1:35 and the slowest reads 1:05. A's watch is the slowest, because it's 20 minutes behind, and D's is the fastest, because it's 10 minutes ahead.
Hint 3: one watch is enough
You don't need all four people. Start with either the slowest watch or the fastest one, and the answer follows. A has the slowest watch, and it says 1:05.
Super Hint: work from A's watch
A's watch is 20 minutes slow, and it reads 1:05. So what's the correct time?
Remember that a slow watch shows an earlier time than the real one.
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 1:25. A's watch is 20 minutes slow and reads 1:05, so the real time is 20 minutes later: 1:25. Write 1 in the hour box and 2 and 5 in the two minute boxes, then touch Submit. The colon is already printed, so there's nothing else to write.
| Person | What they say | Watch reads | Correct time |
|---|---|---|---|
| A | 20 minutes slow | 1:05 | 1:05 + 20 minutes = 1:25 |
| B | 10 minutes slow | 1:15 | 1:15 + 10 minutes = 1:25 |
| C | 5 minutes fast | 1:30 | 1:30 - 5 minutes = 1:25 |
| D | 10 minutes fast | 1:35 | 1:35 - 10 minutes = 1:25 |
Step by step:
- Order the watches. From the latest time to the earliest they read 1:35, 1:30, 1:15 and 1:05.
- Order the people. From furthest ahead to furthest behind: D (10 minutes fast), C (5 minutes fast), B (10 minutes slow) and A (20 minutes slow). The further ahead a watch runs, the later the time it shows, so the two lists match up in the same order.
- Pick one watch. A's watch is the slowest, so it's the 1:05 watch. It's 20 minutes behind, so add 20 minutes: 1:25.
- Check it. D's watch reads 1:35 and is 10 minutes ahead, so take 10 minutes off: 1:25 again. B and C give 1:25 too, as the table shows.
- Write it in. 1 in the hour box, 2 and 5 in the minute boxes, then touch Submit. The game agrees that it's 1:25 in the morning, time to go home to bed.
If your answer keeps failing:
- You added and subtracted the wrong way round. A slow watch is behind the real time, so you add its minutes; a fast watch is ahead, so you take them away. Getting this backwards gives times like 12:45 or 1:45.
- You matched a statement to the wrong watch. The bubbles aren't labelled. Use the order: the slowest watch (A) shows the earliest time, and the fastest (D) shows the latest.
- You tried to write the colon or a leading zero. The colon is printed between the boxes, and the hour box takes a single digit. Write 1 on the left and 2, 5 on the right.
- A digit was read wrongly. Check what's in each box before you touch Submit, and rewrite any digit that came out wrong.
Picarats, hints and hint coins
Wandering Watches is worth 20 picarats when it starts, and the puzzle can award 20, 15 or 10 picarats. Wrong answers can drop it to 15 and then 10, though how many misses it takes to drop a step isn't clear. 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.
The Classroom's three hint coins (the lamp, the certificate and the noticeboard) 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.
Versions and systems
- Nintendo 3DS, 3DS XL, 2DS and New 3DS: the puzzle's solution is the same on every 3DS model. You write the answer on the touch screen, with no motion controls.
- US and UK English versions: same watches and same answer. The UK English text may use British spelling, and its hints are worded a little differently.
The Classroom clock (story spoiler)
Spoiler warning: this section covers the Chapter 2 scenes around the puzzle. In the flashback to the Professor's school days, young Hershel and Randall sit through Mr. Collins's lesson in the Classroom, where Hershel and Randall answer the teacher's puzzles, 013 to 015. The clock puzzle is a quiet aside: Hershel notices the Classroom clock never tells the right time, and it reminds him of a puzzle Randall had been talking about. Once he's solved it, he sighs, "Time may wait for no man...but it seems I must wait for time."
FAQ
Where is the answer to Puzzle 016?
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.
Where is Puzzle 016 in Miracle Mask?
It starts from the small clock on the left-hand side of the Classroom at Kingsbrook Academy, in Chapter 2. Tap the clock to start it. See Where you get it for a picture.
Do I write a colon in the answer?
No. The colon is already printed between the boxes. There's one box for the hour and two for the minutes, and you write one digit in each.
Which watch belongs to which person?
The bubbles on the top screen aren't labelled, so you work it out from the statements. The game's second hint says A has the slowest watch and D the fastest; Hint 2 above gives the times.
I left the Classroom without solving it. Is it gone?
Probably not. It should turn up with Nanna Grams in Chapter 3, who keeps puzzles you pass over. Missing it doesn't block the story.
Is Puzzle 016 mandatory?
It doesn't look like it. It's a hidden puzzle you find by tapping the clock, and it isn't part of Mr. Collins's lesson.
How many picarats is Puzzle 016 worth?
20 picarats when it starts. The puzzle can award 20, 15 or 10 picarats. Wrong answers may reduce the picarat value.
Is Daily Puzzle 016 the same as Puzzle 016?
No. Daily Puzzle 016 is the second puzzle in the Food Chain set, often listed as Food Chain 2. Story Puzzle 016 is the watch puzzle on the Classroom clock.
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 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.