Puzzle 029 is Tenth-Round Ace, a 30-picarat puzzle from Frankie in the Merchant District of Monte d'Or, in Chapter 3. Two players, A and B, play ten rounds of a card game where fire beats wood, wood beats water and water beats fire. You know how many of each card they drew and that no round was a tie, but not the order. You have to pick the winner: A or B.
This page covers story Puzzle 029 in Professor Layton and the Miracle Mask on Nintendo 3DS, in the US and UK English versions. If you're after Daily Puzzle 029, Puzzle 130, or Puzzle 029 from another Layton game, see Wrong Puzzle 029? below.
What Puzzle 029 is
| Name | Tenth-Round Ace |
|---|---|
| Type | Multiple Choice (A or B) |
| Picarats | 30 |
| Location | Merchant District, Monte d'Or |
| Chapter | Chapter 3 |
| How you start it | Talk to Frankie |
| Unlocks | Toy Robot course 3, Colossal Coliseum |
| Comes after | Puzzle 028, Bunny-Hop Swap 2 |
| Comes before | Puzzle 030, Big Cake, Little Cake |
The puzzle says: "A and B are confronting each other in a 10-round card game. The rules of this game are simple: fire beats wood, wood beats water, and water beats fire." Then it gives the cards: "Player A drew fire three times, wood five times, and water twice, while player B drew fire twice, wood five times, and water three times. There were no ties." The question is "Can you work out who won over 10 rounds?" and the objective bar says "Who was the winner?"
| Player | Fire | Wood | Water |
|---|---|---|---|
| A | 3 | 5 | 2 |
| B | 2 | 5 | 3 |
You answer by tapping A or B on the touch screen. Frankie gives the puzzle to Emmy, so she's the one who answers it.
You don't need the order of the rounds
The puzzle can look unfair, because the game never tells you which card was played in which round. You don't need the order. The key is "There were no ties." No ties means that in every round, the two players drew different cards. That rules out a lot of pairings, and as the hints below show, it's enough to work out the whole score.
The wrong-answer message says, "You had a 50/50 chance of guessing correctly, but you should really think about the answer!" Guessing does work half the time, but a wrong answer lowers the picarats you can earn, so it's worth working it out.
Puzzle names
The puzzle is called Tenth-Round Ace in the North American version. The cards, the rules and the answer are the same in the US and UK English versions. The UK text is worded a little differently, for example "None of the rounds were drawn" instead of "There were no ties."
| Version | Puzzle name |
|---|---|
| North America | Tenth-Round Ace |
| Japanese | 10番勝負 (Jūban Shōbu, "ten-round match") |
The Japanese title is 10番勝負. The North American version carries a different Japanese label for it, カードで勝負.
Wrong Puzzle 029?
- Daily Puzzle 029 in Miracle Mask is a different puzzle: Bewitching Night 03.
- Puzzle 130, Water, Wood, Fire, uses the same fire, wood and water cards, but asks a different question. It comes much later, in the Emerald Suite, and is worth 50 picarats.
- Puzzle 029 in another Layton game is a different puzzle. If yours doesn't show players A and B with fire, wood and water cards, you're in the wrong game.
Where you get it
Frankie gives you this puzzle in the Merchant District of Monte d'Or, in Chapter 3. He's talking about Angela Ledore when you meet him, then says, "While you're at it, maybe you could solve dis puzzle here. I mean, I know the answer, but I just wanna see if you do..."
You can reach him after you talk to Nanna Grams (known as Elizabeth in the UK version) in the hotel, Cookie (Bonnie in the UK version) outside, Ester, and Sterling (Waltham in the UK version), who is further down the road. Then talk to Frankie.
If you quit, Frankie says, "Guess you're not as smart as I thought, eh?! Bahahaha!" If you answer wrong, he asks, "Wanna give it another shot, princess?"
The Merchant District has four hint coins: on the side of the shop on the right, on the balloon, on the plant on the right and on the street lamp. Four coins pay for the first three hints and half the Super Hint, which costs two.
If you leave Chapter 3 without solving it, it should be sent to Nanna Grams at the start of Chapter 5. Missed puzzles can be picked up later, but not every hidden puzzle is, so it's safest to solve it while you're there.
When the answer won't come
- You're trying to work out the order. Stop. Only the pairings matter: which card of A's met which card of B's.
- You're counting cards instead of rounds. A round is won by one player only, so A's wins plus B's wins add up to 10.
- You started with fire or water. Start with wood. Both players drew wood five times, and that's what pins the pairings down.
Hints, one at a time
These hints follow the game's own hints. 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: No ties
"There were no ties" is the important part. In every round, A and B drew different cards. So whenever A drew wood, B drew fire or water.
Hint 2: Match one card against the other two
Pick one kind of card and match it against the other two kinds. Wood is the easy one, because both players drew it five times. When A drew wood, B drew fire or water. Put A's five wood cards against B's fire and water cards together, and you're halfway there.
Hint 3: Score the rounds A played wood
In the five rounds A played wood, B played fire twice and water three times. Fire beats wood and wood beats water, so A lost two of those rounds and won three. Now do the same for the five rounds B played wood.
Super Hint: Score the rounds B played wood
In the five rounds B played wood, A played fire three times and water twice. Fire beats wood, so A won those three rounds. Wood beats water, so B won the other two. Add the two groups of five together.
Answer and full solution
The answer below shows who won, the score and how every round pairs up. Open it when you're ready.
Show the answer
The answer is A. Player A wins the match 6 rounds to 4. Tap A.
Step by step:
- No ties. In every round the two cards were different, so neither player's wood ever met the other player's wood.
- The rounds B played wood. B's five wood cards had to meet A's five non-wood cards: three fire and two water. Fire beats wood, so A wins 3. Wood beats water, so B wins 2.
- The rounds A played wood. That leaves B's two fire and three water for A's five wood cards. Fire beats wood, so B wins 2. Wood beats water, so A wins 3.
- Add them up. A wins 3 + 3 = 6 rounds, and B wins 2 + 2 = 4. Player A is the winner.
The game's message when you're right says the same: "If A won 3-2 when A drew wood, and A also won 3-2 when B drew wood, player A must be the overall winner." Every one of the ten rounds is in one of the two groups, so the order the rounds were played in can't change the result.
When you solve it, Frankie says, "Too bad! I thought you were smarter than-- Wait! You solved it?! But I've been rolling dat around in my head for weeks!" Emmy tells him to "keep rolling it around in there."
Picarats, hints and hint coins
Tenth-Round Ace shows 30 picarats when it starts. The puzzle can award 30, 15 or 7 picarats. Wrong answers may reduce the picarat value. With only two choices, that's a steep price for a guess.
Hints cost hint coins, not picarats. The costs are one coin each for the first three hints and two for the Super Hint, five in total. The Merchant District's four coins cover all but one coin of that. Or use the free hints on this page and save your coins.
What it unlocks
Solving Tenth-Round Ace opens the third course of the Toy Robot minigame in the Professor's trunk, Colossal Coliseum.
Versions and systems
- Nintendo 3DS, 3DS XL, 2DS and New 3DS: no difference. You tap A or B with the stylus.
- US and UK English versions: same cards, same rules, same answer.
After the puzzle
After you solve it, Frankie says, "Ohoho! Smart AND sassy! You're no Angela Ledore, but I like your style." Talk to him again and he mentions that Mr. Ledore "hardly goes home anymore."
FAQ
Where is the answer to Puzzle 029?
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 029 called?
Tenth-Round Ace. In Japanese it's 10番勝負.
Why doesn't the puzzle tell you the order of the rounds?
Because you don't need it. "No ties" decides which cards met which, and the score comes out the same in any order.
Where do I find Frankie?
In the Merchant District of Monte d'Or, in Chapter 3. If you missed him, Nanna Grams should have the puzzle from the start of Chapter 5, but it's safest to solve it while you're there.
What does Puzzle 029 unlock?
The third course of the Toy Robot minigame, Colossal Coliseum.
How many picarats is Puzzle 029 worth?
It shows 30 picarats when it starts. The puzzle can award 30, 15 or 7 picarats. Wrong answers may reduce the picarat value.
Is this the same as Puzzle 130?
No. Puzzle 130, Water, Wood, Fire, uses the same three cards but asks a different question, much later in the game.
Is Daily Puzzle 029 the same as Puzzle 029?
No. Daily Puzzle 029 is Bewitching Night 03. Story Puzzle 029 is Frankie's card game.
More Miracle Mask puzzles
- Puzzle 028: Bunny-Hop Swap 2
- Puzzle 027: That Rings a Bell
- Puzzle 026: Mangled Math
- Puzzle 60: Dangerous Holes
- Puzzle 113: Chip Champions
- Puzzle 122: Kitty Solitaire 3
For the rest of the game's puzzles, see the Miracle Mask puzzle index.