Puzzle 030 is Big Cake, Little Cake, a 35-picarat puzzle from Madelaine in Gallery Plaza in Monte d'Or, in Chapter 3. Three children, A, B and C, each ate one slice of strawberry cake: a large one, a medium one and a small one. A and B each make two statements, one true and one false. You work out who ate which slice and put each slice on the right plate.
This page covers story Puzzle 030 in Professor Layton and the Miracle Mask on Nintendo 3DS, in the US and UK English versions. If you're after Daily Puzzle 030 or Puzzle 030 from another Layton game, see Wrong Puzzle 030? below.
What Puzzle 030 is
| Name | Big Cake, Little Cake |
|---|---|
| Type | Arrange (move the slices onto the plates) |
| Picarats | 35 |
| Location | Gallery Plaza, Monte d'Or |
| Chapter | Chapter 3 |
| How you start it | Talk to Madelaine (Serena in the UK version) |
| Unlocks | The Explorer's Needs aisle of the Shop minigame (Orienteering in the UK version) |
| Comes after | Puzzle 029, Tenth-Round Ace |
| Comes before | Puzzle 031, Emperor's Throne |
The puzzle says: "A, B, and C each ate one of three differently sized slices of strawberry cake." Then come the two statements:
- A: "C ate the medium slice, and B had the large one."
- B: "A had the large slice, and I had the medium one."
"A and B have each made one statement that is true and one that is false. Can you work out who ate which slice? Move the slices onto the plates to answer." The objective bar asks, "Who ate which slice?" C doesn't say anything.
On the touch screen, the plates for A, B and C sit in a row from left to right, each with that person's face above it. Drag each slice from the board onto a plate, then submit. The top screen shows the three of them behind their empty plates.
One truth each: how to read the statements
"One true and one false" means exactly one half of each statement is true. It doesn't mean A is honest and B is lying. The way in is to pick one half of A's statement, pretend it's false, and see whether B's statement still has one true half. If it doesn't, you picked the wrong half.
The wrong-answer message gives the same advice: "Take another look at the statements, and consider them one at a time."
Puzzle names
The puzzle is called Big Cake, Little Cake in the North American version. The UK English version probably uses the same name. The logic and the answer are the same in the US and UK English versions, though some of the wording is different. The character who gives it to you is Madelaine in the US version, and Emmy calls her "Maddy". In the UK version she's Serena. The Shop aisle it unlocks is Explorer's Needs in the US version and Orienteering in the UK version.
| Version | Puzzle name |
|---|---|
| North America | Big Cake, Little Cake |
| Japanese | ケーキは大中小 (Kēki wa Dai Chū Shō, "cake: large, medium, small") |
The Japanese title is ケーキは大中小. The North American version carries the same Japanese label.
Wrong Puzzle 030?
- Daily Puzzle 030 in Miracle Mask is a different puzzle: Big Block Box 03. You fill a frame with blocks, and there's no cake in it.
- Puzzle 030 in another Layton game is a different puzzle. If yours doesn't show three slices of strawberry cake and plates for A, B and C, you're in the wrong game.
Where you get it
Madelaine gives you this puzzle in Gallery Plaza in Monte d'Or, in Chapter 3. You reach her by following the road down after you talk to Sterling (Waltham in the UK version). She's a fan of the Masked Gentleman: "I can describe the Masked Gentleman in two words: super cool."
If you quit, she says, "You can't do it? Ah well, c'est la vie!" If you answer wrong, she asks, "You want to try my puzzle again? Isn't it amazing?!"
Gallery Plaza has four hint coins: under the pillar on the left, on the roof of the gallery, on the pole on the right and on the tower on the left. 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 (known as Elizabeth in the UK version) 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 plates come out wrong
- You treated A as the honest one. Each of them told one truth and one lie. Neither statement is all true.
- You started with B. That works too, but the game's hints start with A, and it's quicker.
- Your answer makes a statement all true or all false. Check each guess against both halves of both statements. Exactly one half of each must be true.
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: Assume one half is a lie
A and B each said two things, one true and one false. Take one half of A's statement, assume it's the lie, and see what that does to the rest of the statements.
Hint 2: Test "C ate the medium slice"
Suppose A's "C ate the medium slice" is false. Then A's other half, "B had the large one", must be true. But if B had the large slice, A didn't have it, and B didn't have the medium one. Both halves of B's statement would be false. That can't happen, so this guess is wrong.
Hint 3: So C did eat the medium slice
Hint 2 rules out the guess, so A's "C ate the medium slice" is true. Now look at the two halves of B's statement one at a time. Which one can't be true any more?
Super Hint: B's false half
C ate the medium slice, so B's "I had the medium one" is false. That means B's other half, "A had the large slice", is true. Only one slice is left for B.
Answer and full solution
The answer below shows which slice goes on each plate and checks it against both statements. Open it when you're ready.
Show the answer
The answer: A ate the large slice, B ate the small slice and C ate the medium slice. Drag the large slice onto A's plate on the left, the small slice onto B's plate in the middle and the medium slice onto C's plate on the right.
Step by step:
- Test A's first half. If "C ate the medium slice" were false, "B had the large one" would be true. Then B's "A had the large slice" and "I had the medium one" would both be false, which breaks the rules.
- So C ate the medium slice. A's first half is true, and A's second half, "B had the large one", is the lie.
- Check B. C has the medium slice, so B's "I had the medium one" is the lie. B's other half, "A had the large slice", is true.
- The last slice. A has the large slice and C has the medium one, so B ate the small slice.
| Statement | True or false |
|---|---|
| A: "C ate the medium slice" | True |
| A: "B had the large one" | False |
| B: "A had the large slice" | True |
| B: "I had the medium one" | False |
The game's message when you're right says, "The small slice was eaten by B, the medium slice by C, and the large slice by A. A must have wanted to cover up her greed, but why did B bother to lie?"
If it still won't go through, check the plate order. A is on the left, B is in the middle and C is on the right, and the faces above the plates show which is which.
Picarats, hints and hint coins
Big Cake, Little Cake shows 35 picarats when it starts. The puzzle can award 35, 32 or 28 picarats. Wrong answers may reduce the picarat value.
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. Gallery Plaza'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 Big Cake, Little Cake adds the third aisle to the Shop minigame in the Professor's trunk: Explorer's Needs (Orienteering in the UK version).
Versions and systems
- Nintendo 3DS, 3DS XL, 2DS and New 3DS: no difference. You drag the slices with the stylus.
- US and UK English versions: same logic, same answer. Some wording and names differ. In the UK version, the woman who gives you the puzzle is Serena and the Shop aisle it unlocks is Orienteering.
After the puzzle
When you solve it, Madelaine says, "Absolute, unbelievable genius! I thought you'd be stumped for sure! For. Sure." Emmy asks if she's scared of the Masked Gentleman after what he did yesterday, and she says she'd adore a stone statue of herself.
FAQ
Where is the answer to Puzzle 030?
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 030 called?
Big Cake, Little Cake. In Japanese it's ケーキは大中小.
Where is Madelaine?
In Gallery Plaza in Monte d'Or, in Chapter 3. If you missed her, Nanna Grams should have the puzzle from the start of Chapter 5, but it's safest to solve it while you're there.
Is Serena a different person?
No. Serena is her name in the UK version. In the US version she's Madelaine.
What does Puzzle 030 unlock?
The Explorer's Needs aisle (Orienteering in the UK version), the third aisle of the Shop minigame.
How many picarats is Puzzle 030 worth?
It shows 35 picarats when it starts. The puzzle can award 35, 32 or 28 picarats. Wrong answers may reduce the picarat value.
Is Daily Puzzle 030 the same as Puzzle 030?
No. Daily Puzzle 030 is Big Block Box 03. Story Puzzle 030 is the cake slices puzzle in Gallery Plaza.
More Miracle Mask puzzles
- Puzzle 029: Tenth-Round Ace
- Puzzle 028: Bunny-Hop Swap 2
- Puzzle 027: That Rings a Bell
- 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.