Puzzle 053 is Poke 'Em Totems 2, a 35-picarat Arrange puzzle hidden in Randall's Room, in one of the flashbacks to Hershel Layton's youth. Four columns of stone totem blocks have been knocked out of shape again. This time they have to form a staircase, with the yellow, blue, green and red heads on top. You knock blocks sideways with a mallet, and you can never hit the top block of a column.
This page covers story Puzzle 053 in Professor Layton and the Miracle Mask on Nintendo 3DS, in the US and UK English versions. If you're after Daily Puzzle 053, the first Poke 'Em Totems or Puzzle 053 from another Layton game, see Wrong Puzzle 053? below.
What Puzzle 053 is
| Name | Poke 'Em Totems 2 (Poke 'em Totems 2 in the UK English version) |
|---|---|
| Type | Arrange |
| Picarats | 35 |
| Location | Randall's Room, Stansbury |
| Chapter | Chapter 4 |
| How you get it | Hidden in the room: tap the right spot to find it |
| Comes after | Puzzle 052, Spectacular Views |
| Comes before | Puzzle 054, Archaeological Feet |
The question reads: "What's this? Another prankster? There should be four columns, arranged as in the picture in the top right, like a staircase. Each column should have a totem head on top in this order: yellow, blue, green, red. Can you help once again to restore these magnificent columns? However, as before, note that you can never hit the top block in a column." The objective bar says, "Arrange the totem blocks!"
The game's control help says, "Slide the stylus on the Touch Screen to move the mallet on the top screen." The small board in the top-right corner of the top screen shows the finished shape: the first column five blocks high with the yellow head on top, then the blue, green and red heads, each one step lower.
How the blocks move
- A hit knocks a block one column sideways. Hit it from the left and it moves right; hit it from the right and it moves left.
- Blocks fall. The blocks above the one you hit drop down to fill the gap, and the block you hit drops too if the column it moves into is shorter.
- Nothing goes back up. A head that drops too low stays low, so the order of your hits matters.
- You can never hit the top block of a column. The yellow and green heads start on top, so you can only move them by moving the blocks under them.
Why it looks hard
The fourth column starts empty, and the heads are in the wrong columns. The red head is stuck under the green one, and the blue head is stuck under a plain block and the yellow head.
The goal also needs every column to be a different height, so each hit has to send a block into exactly the right column.
Puzzle names
The puzzle is Poke 'Em Totems 2 in the North American version. The UK English version writes it Poke 'em Totems 2.
| Version | Puzzle name |
|---|---|
| North America | Poke 'Em Totems 2 |
| UK English | Poke 'em Totems 2 |
| Japanese | Probably 古代の石像2 (Kodai no Sekizō 2, "ancient statues 2"); the North American release labels it 石像のナゾ２ ("statue puzzle 2") |
| German | Totemtürme 2 |
| Spanish | Tótems a mazazos 2 |
| Italian | Teste di totem 2 |
| Dutch | Stoot de totems! 2 |
Wrong Puzzle 053?
- Daily Puzzle 053 is Sailing 06, from the Perilous Voyage set.
- The first Poke 'Em Totems is Puzzle 022, hidden in Hershel's Room in Chapter 2. There the heads go in a row instead of a staircase.
- Poke 'Em Totems 3 is Puzzle 138, worth 60 picarats. It uses the same mallet with different blocks, so the hits on this page won't solve it.
- The other hidden puzzle in Randall's Room is Puzzle 054, Archaeological Feet. If tapping the room gave you footprints instead of totems, you found that one.
- Puzzle 053 in another Layton game is a different puzzle. If yours doesn't show totem blocks and a mallet, you're in the wrong game.
Where you get it
Poke 'Em Totems 2 is hidden in Randall's Room, during one of the flashbacks to Hershel's time in Stansbury. That's in Chapter 4. Nobody gives it to you: you find it by tapping the right spot in the room.
The spot is the desk on the right-hand side of the room, with the bookshelf above it. The box under the stairs isn't this puzzle: it holds a collectible, the Shimmering Lens. The room has two hidden-puzzle spots, and the left-hand one belongs to Puzzle 054, Archaeological Feet. So if you get Archaeological Feet, try the other spot, further to the right.
Randall's Room has three hint coins. They're probably on the papers, on an open book and up on the loft. That's enough for the first three hints, but not for the Super Hint as well.
You don't have to solve it to move on. The spot probably keeps offering the puzzle until you solve it. You only visit Randall's Room in the flashbacks, though. If you leave without solving it, it should be sent to Nanna Grams (known as Elizabeth in the UK version) from Chapter 5. Not every missed puzzle is easy to track down later, so it's safest to solve it while you're there.
When the staircase won't come together
- You hit the red head first. With nothing under it in the fourth column, it drops all the way to the bottom. Blocks never move up, so the red head can't get back on top of a plain block there. Start the puzzle again.
- You're trying to move the yellow head. You can't hit it, because it's the top block of its column. It drops into place on its own when the block under it moves out.
- "From the left" sends the block the wrong way. "From the left" means the mallet strikes the left side of the block, so the block moves to the right.
- "Too bad." That's the game's whole message for a wrong answer. Try again with the hints below.
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. We number the columns 1 to 4 from left to right.
Hint 1: Start with the fourth column
Start with the fourth column, on the far right. It starts empty and needs a plain block with the red head on top. Four hits are enough to fix everything.
Hint 2: The first hit
First, hit the plain block right under the red head from the left. It drops to the bottom of the fourth column.
Hint 3: The red head
Next, hit the red head from the left, so it lands on that plain block in the fourth column. Then one more hit fixes the third column.
Super Hint: The third column
To fix the third column, hit the plain block under the green head from the right. After that, you only need one more hit.
Answer and full solution
The answer below lists the hits in order, with a picture of each one and of the finished staircase. Open it when you're ready.
Show the answer
The answer, in four hits, counting columns 1 to 4 from the left: hit the plain block under the red head from the left, then the red head from the left, then the plain block under the green head from the right, and finally the blue head from the left.
Step by step:
- Hit the plain block under the red head from the left. It's the fourth block up in column 3. It moves into the empty column 4 and drops to the bottom. The red and green heads drop one step.
- Hit the red head from the left. It moves into column 4 and lands on the plain block. Column 4 is done. The green head drops one step.
- Hit the plain block under the green head from the right. It moves into column 2, which is now three blocks high. The green head drops one step, and column 3 is done.
- Hit the blue head from the left. It moves onto column 2, and column 2 is done. The plain block and the yellow head above it drop into place, and column 1 is done.
The game's message when you're right says, "Well done! It would be nice if people would leave these columns alone, wouldn't it?"
Picarats, hints and hint coins
Poke 'Em Totems 2 shows 35 picarats when it starts. All three of its picarat values are 35.
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 three coins in Randall's Room fall two short of that.
Versions and systems
- Nintendo 3DS, 3DS XL, 2DS and New 3DS: no difference. You move the mallet with the stylus.
- US and UK English versions: same blocks, same hits. The UK text words the question differently ("It looks as if some pranksters have rearranged the totem blocks"), calls the green head "gawping" instead of "gawking" in the Super Hint, and writes the name Poke 'em Totems 2.
FAQ
Where is the answer to Puzzle 053?
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 053?
It's hidden in Randall's Room, in a flashback in Chapter 4. The spot is the desk on the right-hand side of the room, with the bookshelf above it. The box under the stairs holds a collectible, not this puzzle. If you get Archaeological Feet instead, you found the room's other hidden puzzle, Puzzle 054.
Can I hit the top block?
No. The question says you can never hit the top block in a column. To move a head that's on top, move the blocks under it.
Is this the same as Puzzle 022?
No. Puzzle 022, Poke 'Em Totems, uses the same mallet, but its blocks start in a different place and the heads end up in a row. Puzzle 053's heads end up as a staircase.
How many picarats is Puzzle 053 worth?
35. All three of its picarat values are 35.
Is Daily Puzzle 053 the same as Puzzle 053?
No. Daily Puzzle 053 is Sailing 06, from the Perilous Voyage set. Story Puzzle 053 is the totem puzzle hidden in Randall's Room.
More Miracle Mask puzzles
- Puzzle 022: Poke 'Em Totems
- Puzzle 052: Spectacular Views
- Puzzle 051: Dandy Bears
- Puzzle 060: Dangerous Holes
For the rest of the game's puzzles, see the Miracle Mask puzzle index.