Professor Layton and the Miracle Mask Puzzle 061: Padlocked Fence Hints and Answer

Puzzle 061 is Padlocked Fence, a 40-picarat Arrange puzzle at the Edge of Town in Stansbury, during the Chapter 4 flashback to Hershel Layton's school days. Young Hershel, Randall and Angela want to get into the forest, but the gate is locked with a padlock that has nine number panels. You swap the panels and flip them over to show the numbers on their backs, until every row, every column and both diagonals add up to the same total. You have to solve it to carry on with the story.

Video: Padlocked Fence solved. It shows the answer, so skip it if you only want the hints.

This page covers story Puzzle 061 in Professor Layton and the Miracle Mask on Nintendo 3DS. The panels and the answer are the same in the US and UK English versions; the UK name and punctuation differ slightly. Quotes use the North American text. If you're after Daily Puzzle 061 or Puzzle 61 from another Layton game, see Wrong Puzzle 061? below.

Professor Layton and the Miracle Mask Puzzle 061 Padlocked Fence: on the top, two dark silhouettes in front of a pale picket fence in a green forest, one kneeling and holding up a padlock, the other standing with one hand raised to the chin; below, a dark green padlock plate hanging from two straps, with nine light green panels in three rows reading 1 1 1, 2 1 1 and 1 1 1, in front of the same forest and fence — Illustration of the scene on the top screen and the nine panels on the touch screen, as the puzzle starts. The game's menu buttons aren't shown.

What Puzzle 061 is

Puzzle 061 at a glance
Name	Padlocked Fence (US), Padlock Gate (UK)
Type	Arrange (swap and flip number panels)
Picarats	40
Location	Edge of Town, Stansbury
Chapter	Chapter 4
Given by	The padlock on the gate (Randall spots it)
Previous puzzle number	Puzzle 060, Dangerous Holes (Old Towne)
Next puzzle number	Puzzle 062, Shattered Sign (Signpost)

The question reads: "The gate is secured by a sturdy padlock with an unusual code. To open the lock, Layton and Randall need to rearrange the nine panels so that every vertical, horizontal, and diagonal set of three numbers adds up to the same sum. It might look impossible, but there are more numbers on the back of the panels. Move and flip the panels to enter the code, and help our heroes unlock the padlock!" The objective bar sums it up as "Move and flip the panels!"

How the panels work

The touch screen shows a padlock plate with nine square panels in three rows of three. At the start, their fronts read 1 1 1 in the top row, 2 1 1 in the middle row and 1 1 1 in the bottom row. This page names the spots top-left, top-middle, top-right, middle-left, center and so on.

Swap by dragging. Drag a panel onto another panel to swap the two.
Flip with the button. Tap a panel without dragging it, and a small speech-bubble button with an orange arrow appears at the panel's upper-right corner. Tap that button to turn the panel over.
Two sides, two numbers. Every panel has a number on its light green front and another on its dark green back. A panel always keeps its own two numbers, wherever you move it.
Submit when it's ready. The game checks all three rows, all three columns and both diagonals, and accepts the panels only if all eight lines have the same total.

Swaps and flips can be undone as often as you like, so you can't get stuck.

Puzzle names

Puzzle 061 names
Version	Puzzle name
North America	Padlocked Fence
UK	Padlock Gate
Japanese	柵の錠 (Saku no Jō, roughly "the fence's lock")

The UK question and hints probably differ only in punctuation, such as leaving out the comma before "and" in lists. The panels and the answer are the same in the US and UK English versions.

Wrong Puzzle 061?

Daily Puzzle 061 in Miracle Mask is a different puzzle: Streetlights 06, from the Bewitching Night set. There's no padlock in it.
Puzzle 060, Dangerous Holes, is the puzzle before this one, in Old Towne, and Puzzle 062, Shattered Sign, is the next one, at the Signpost just past this gate.
Puzzle 61 in another Layton game is a different puzzle. If yours doesn't have nine number panels on a padlock, you're in the wrong game.

Where you find it

In the Chapter 4 flashback, once young Hershel has sneaked out of the house with Randall and Angela, your objective is "Go to the Forest!" and you can head to the Edge of Town. When you get there, Randall announces, "There's the forest! And within it lies the Norwell wall!" Hershel replies, "Yes, we know, Randall. We live here too, remember?" Tap the closed gate in the middle of the fence to start the puzzle.

The gate is the way on into the forest. Solving the puzzle opens it, the Signpost becomes reachable, and your objective changes to "Head to Norwell!"

The Edge of Town at night: a timber house with a steep mossy roof behind a wooden fence on the left, a lantern glowing on a tall leaning pole in the middle, pale cliffs with waterfalls in the distance and a large leafy tree on the right. Numbered rings mark hint coin spots 1 on the fence post in front of the house, 2 in the yellow-green tree left of the large tree, 3 on the small bush by the fence on the right and 4 at the house's chimney. A teal ring labeled Padlocked Fence, Puzzle 061 marks the closed double gate in the middle of the fence — Illustration of the Edge of Town. The teal ring shows the gate you tap, and the numbers mark where the four hint coins are.

The Edge of Town has four hint coins, all in the normal view. They're on the fence post in front of the house (1), in the yellow-green tree left of the large tree (2), in the small bush by the fence on the right (3) and at the house's chimney (4). Each coin can be collected only once.

You can't miss it. The gate is the only way on, so the story doesn't continue until it's solved.

When you're stuck

Every panel shows a 1 or a 2 and nothing adds up. You're only seeing the fronts. Flip the panels to see what's on the back.
The flip button doesn't appear. Tap the panel and lift the stylus without moving it. If you drag, the game moves the panel instead.
A spot never shows the number you want. The panel there only has two numbers. Swap a different panel into that spot.
You can't find the puzzle. Tap the closed gate in the middle of the fence at the Edge of Town once your objective is "Go to the Forest!".

Hints, one at a time

These are the game's own hints, word for word from the North American version and in the same order. 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

First, start by flipping all the panels to see which numbers there are. Surprisingly, there are only a few different numbers you can use.

Hint 2

There are only three different numbers: 1, 2, and 3. What do these numbers add up to?

Hint 3

Adding 1, 2, and 3 gives you 6. With a bit of trial and error, you should be able to arrange the panels so that the lines add up to 6 vertically, horizontally, and diagonally.

Super Hint

Here are the diagonal combinations. One is 2, 2, 2. The other is 3, 2, 1 from top to bottom. The remaining four panels are up to you to work out.

Answer and full solution

The answer below covers every move, with a chart of both sides of every panel, the moves in pictures and a picture of the solved puzzle. Open it when you're ready.

Show the answer

Answer: make the panels read 2 1 3, 3 2 1 and 1 3 2, so every line adds up to 6. Swap the top-right panel with the center panel, then flip six panels: top-left, top-right, middle-left, center, bottom-middle and bottom-right.

The finished grid, spot by spot
Spot	Panel that ends up there	Side showing	Number
Top-left	Its own panel (1 front, 2 back)	Back	2
Top-middle	Its own panel (1 front, 2 back)	Front	1
Top-right	The panel from the center (1 front, 3 back)	Back	3
Middle-left	Its own panel (2 front, 3 back)	Back	3
Center	The panel from the top right (1 front, 2 back)	Back	2
Middle-right	Its own panel (1 front, 3 back)	Front	1
Bottom-left	Its own panel (1 front, 3 back)	Front	1
Bottom-middle	Its own panel (1 front, 3 back)	Back	3
Bottom-right	Its own panel (1 front, 2 back)	Back	2

A chart of both sides of all nine panels, laid out in their starting spots. Top row: top-left, top-middle and top-right panels, each 1 on the front and 2 on the back. Middle row: middle-left panel 2 on the front and 3 on the back, center panel 1 and 3, middle-right panel 1 and 3. Bottom row: bottom-left panel 1 and 3, bottom-middle panel 1 and 3, bottom-right panel 1 and 2. Fronts are light green and backs are dark green — Illustration of front and back of every panel, by where it starts.

Step by step:

Swap the top-right and center panels. Drag the top-right panel onto the center panel. The center needs a 2, but the center panel only has a 1 and a 3, so it has to move. The top-right panel has a 2 on its back.
Flip the top-left panel from 1 to 2.
Flip the panel now in the top right (the one that started in the center) from 1 to 3.
Flip the middle-left panel from 2 to 3.
Flip the panel now in the center (the one that started in the top right) from 1 to 2.
Flip the bottom-middle panel from 1 to 3.
Flip the bottom-right panel from 1 to 2.
Submit. The top-middle, middle-right and bottom-left panels stay on their fronts, showing 1.

That's one swap and six flips, the fewest moves this puzzle allows. With these panels you can make four grids that pass: this one and three turned or mirrored versions of it. All four add up to 6 and have a 2 in the center.

Three copies of the touch screen side by side. Panel 1, captioned Swap top right and center, shows the starting panels 1 1 1, 2 1 1, 1 1 1 with teal outlines on the top-right and center panels joined by a teal line. Panel 2, captioned Flip the six gold-marked panels, shows the same numbers after the swap with gold outlines on the top-left, top-right, middle-left, center, bottom-middle and bottom-right panels. Panel 3, captioned Every line adds up to 6, shows the panels reading 2 1 3, 3 2 1, 1 3 2, with the 1s on light green fronts and the other numbers on dark green backs — Illustration of the swap, the six flips and the finished grid.

The game confirms it: "There are actually a few valid solutions, but here's one example:" It then shows the grid 2 1 3, 3 2 1, 1 3 2 and adds, "Every line of three digits adds up to six."

The top screen after the puzzle is solved: a large dark green plate with nine panels reading 2 1 3, 3 2 1 and 1 3 2 in front of a striped forest, and on the right the white gate swung open, with the padlock hanging from its post — Illustration of the solved panels and the open gate.

If it still doesn't finish:

A line doesn't add up to 6. Check each spot against the table above and flip any panel that's showing the wrong side.
The center shows a 1 or a 3. The center panel is still in place. Swap it with the top-right panel first.
The game says "Too bad." It adds, "There are more numbers on the backs of the panels. Which numbers do you have to choose from?" Fix the grid and try again.

Picarats, hints and hint coins

Padlocked Fence shows 40 picarats when it starts. The puzzle can award 40, 35 or 30 picarats. Wrong answers may reduce the picarat value. If you quit, Randall says, "How about a quick break before we tackle this puzzle?" When you come back to try again, he says, "We've come too far to let this little gate stop us."

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 Edge of Town's four coins cover Hints 1 to 3 but not the Super Hint, so you need one more coin from elsewhere, or you can use the free hints on this page.

Does it unlock anything?

Yes. Solving it opens the gate, so you can go on to the Signpost, and it gives you a new play for your rabbit, Home Sweet Home. The game announces, "You got a new play for your rabbit: "Home Sweet Home"!" Its description says, "After visiting his friend's house, Bunny feels a bit jealous and decides to move."

Versions

Nintendo 3DS family: this page covers the 3DS game. You swap and flip the panels on the touch screen, and the top screen shows the scene.
US and UK English versions: the panels and the answer are the same. The UK version calls it Padlock Gate, and its question and hints probably differ only in punctuation.

The scene around the puzzle

At the gate, Hershel says, "The gate is locked." Angela adds, "It's probably meant to keep out irresponsible teenagers with too much time and curiosity." Randall takes a closer look: "Take a look at this lock... It's a puzzle!"

When it's solved, Randall cheers, "Yes! We're in!" and Angela says, "Nice work!" Hershel says, "I'm impressed, Randall. You have a natural talent for cracking locks." Randall protests, "You make it sound as if I'm some sort of common thief!" and Angela laughs, "Hee hee. If the padlock fits..."

FAQ

Where is the answer to Puzzle 061?

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 061 called?

Padlocked Fence in the North American version and Padlock Gate in the UK version. The official Japanese title is 柵の錠.

Where is Puzzle 061?

At the Edge of Town in Chapter 4. Tap the closed gate in the middle of the fence once your objective is "Go to the Forest!".

How do I flip a panel?

Tap the panel without dragging it. A small button with an orange arrow appears at its upper-right corner; tap that button to turn the panel over.

Can I miss Puzzle 061?

No. The gate is the only way on, so you have to solve it before the story continues.

How many picarats is Puzzle 061 worth?

It shows 40 picarats when it starts. The puzzle can award 40, 35 or 30 picarats.

Is Daily Puzzle 061 the same as Puzzle 061?

No. Daily Puzzle 061 is Streetlights 06, from the Bewitching Night set. Story Puzzle 061 is the padlock puzzle at the Edge of Town.

More Miracle Mask puzzles

For the rest of the game's puzzles, see the Miracle Mask puzzle index.