Professor Layton and the Miracle Mask Puzzle 063: A Muddy Mess Hints and Answer

Puzzle 063 is A Muddy Mess, a 25-picarat Write Answer puzzle on the Winding Road, during the Chapter 4 flashback to Hershel Layton's school days. On the way to Norwell, young Randall spots a crowd of footprints in the mud by a small bridge over a river. The question asks how many people crossed the bridge, and you write that number in the answer boxes on the touch screen. The story needs this one: solving it opens the way to Norwell.

Video: A Muddy Mess solved. It shows the answer, so skip it if you only want the hints.

This page covers story Puzzle 063 in Professor Layton and the Miracle Mask on Nintendo 3DS. The picture and the answer are the same in the US and UK English versions; a few UK lines are worded slightly differently. Quotes use the North American text. If you're after Daily Puzzle 063 or Puzzle 63 from another Layton game, see Wrong Puzzle 063? below.

Professor Layton and the Miracle Mask Puzzle 063 A Muddy Mess: on the top, a wooden footbridge of pale planks over blue water, with a rope-wrapped wooden post on each side and green bushes at the edges; in the orange mud in front of the bridge are many footprints, bare feet and shoe soles of different sizes, and there are a few bare footprints on the planks too; below, two empty answer boxes on a squared pad with a small box above them and a grey clear button under each — Illustration of the muddy bridge on the top screen and the answer boxes on the touch screen.

What Puzzle 063 is

Puzzle 063 at a glance
Name	A Muddy Mess
Type	Write Answer (write a number)
Picarats	25
Location	Winding Road, on the way to Norwell
Chapter	Chapter 4
Given by	Randall
Solved by	Hershel
When it's there	While your objective reads "Head to Norwell!", after Randall runs ahead on the Winding Road
Required?	Yes. Solving it opens the way to Norwell
Previous puzzle number	Puzzle 062, Shattered Sign (Signpost)
Next puzzle number	Puzzle 064, Norwell's Secret (Norwell)

The question reads: "Here's a bridge at the side of a river. The ground's all muddy, so you can see the footprints left by all the people who've been here recently. None of them seem to have had the same footwear. Can you tell how many people crossed the bridge?" The objective bar at the top of the touch screen says "How many people crossed?" You answer by writing a number in the two boxes on the touch screen, one digit per box.

Everything you need is on the top screen and in the wording of the question. The mud is crowded with prints, so take your time and read exactly what the question asks before you start counting.

Puzzle names

Puzzle 063 names
Version	Puzzle name
North America	A Muddy Mess
UK	A Muddy Mess
Japanese	橋の足跡 (Hashi no Ashiato, "bridge footprints")

The official Japanese title is 橋の足跡. The UK version probably has a few small wording changes: the question starts "So, can you tell how many people crossed the bridge?", Hint 1 says "take care" instead of "be careful", and the wrong-answer line reads "Take a deep breath, and have another think about it."

Wrong Puzzle 063?

Daily Puzzle 063 in Miracle Mask is a different puzzle: Alchemy 08, from The Alchemist's Lair set. There's no bridge in it.
Puzzle 054, Archaeological Feet, is the other footprints puzzle of the flashback, hidden in Randall's Room. If your footprints lead around a dig site with six holes, you've got that one.
Puzzle 63 in another Layton game is a different puzzle. If yours isn't about footprints by a bridge, you're in the wrong game.

Where you get it

Puzzle 063 comes in Chapter 4, in the flashback, after Puzzle 061 has opened the gate into the forest and your objective is "Head to Norwell!". Walk on from the Signpost to the Winding Road (called the Winding Path in the UK version). When you arrive, Randall runs ahead: "Wait... What's that?" Hershel calls, "Randall! Where are you going?", Angela adds, "Randall, be careful!" and Randall answers, "It's OK! Come on!" Then talk to Randall, who waits further along the forest path, to start the puzzle.

The Winding Road in Professor Layton and the Miracle Mask: a dirt path winding through a sunny forest past a grey stone bank, with a big tree trunk leaning across from the left, tall dark green conifers and leafy bushes. Young Randall in a burgundy waistcoat stands small on the path in the distance at the left under a name plate reading Randall, Puzzle 063. Four hint coin spots are numbered 1 on the mushrooms on the leaning trunk at the upper left, 2 low in the middle below the dark green bushes, 3 in the leafy treetop near the top middle and 4 at the lower right where the dirt path meets the grass — Illustration of the Winding Road with Randall. The numbers mark the four hint coins in the list below.

Solving the puzzle opens Norwell, so you can't skip it or miss it: the story doesn't go on until it's solved. If you back out of the puzzle, Randall stays where he is and you can talk to him again.

The Winding Road has four hint coins, all in the normal view, with no zoomed-in view to search. They're in these spots:

The mushrooms growing on the big leaning tree trunk.
The bushes in the middle, low down in front of them.
A leafy tree near the top of the view.
Low on the right, at the foot of a tree root by the edge of the dirt path.

Each coin can be collected only once. If a spot doesn't give a coin straight away, tap around it a little.

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: A trick question

This is a bit of a trick question, so be careful not to get caught out.

Hint 2: Are you positive?

You might get the impression that a lot of people crossed the bridge, but are you positive about that?

Hint 3: Read it again

Read the question carefully. Sure, there are plenty of footprints in front of the bridge. But can you tell out of those how many crossed the bridge?

Super Hint: Where to count

The puzzle is asking you to look only for the number of people who actually crossed the bridge. You don't need to bother counting the footprints in front of the bridge. You just need to focus on the ones that appear on the bridge. If you count those, the answer should be clear.

Answer and full solution

The answer below covers every step, with a picture of the finished puzzle. Open it when you're ready.

Show the answer

The answer is 2. Only two people crossed the bridge. The game's answer text says, "There might be a lot of footprints in front of the bridge, but there are only footprints for two on the bridge itself."

Step by step:

Read what the question really asks. Not how many people have been here, but how many crossed the bridge.
Leave the mud alone. The prints in front of the bridge show people who walked about by the river. They don't tell you who went over it, so you don't need to count them.
Look only at the planks. On the bridge itself there are just two kinds of print: big bare footprints and small bare footprints. The question says that no two people had the same footwear, so each kind belongs to one person.
Count the people, not the prints. One set of big feet and one set of small feet makes two people. Write 2 in the right-hand box and touch Submit. The game also accepts 02, with a 0 in the left box.

A Muddy Mess solved: a white oval is drawn around the bare footprints on the bridge planks, big prints on the left and in the middle and small prints on the right, and 2 is written in the right-hand answer box — Illustration of the solved puzzle with 2 written in and the prints on the bridge circled.

If your answer keeps failing:

You counted the footprints in the mud. That's the trick the hints warn about. Those people walked in front of the bridge; only the prints on the planks count.
You counted every print on the planks. One person leaves several prints. Count the different feet: big bare feet and small bare feet.
You looked for shoe prints on the bridge. The prints with soles and heels are all in the mud. The planks only have bare footprints.

Picarats, hints and hint coins

A Muddy Mess shows 25 picarats when it starts. The puzzle can award 25, 20 or 15 picarats. Wrong answers may reduce the picarat value. A wrong answer gets "Too bad. Take a deep breath and think about it." If you back out of the puzzle, Hershel says, "Puzzles dealing with feet make me feel odd." When you try again, he says, "I suppose I could try that puzzle again."

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 Winding Road's four coins cover Hints 1 to 3 but not the Super Hint. Or use the free hints on this page and save your coins.

Versions

Nintendo 3DS family: this page covers the 3DS game. You write the number in the answer boxes on the touch screen with the stylus.
US and UK English versions: the name, the picture and the answer are the same. A few UK lines are worded slightly differently, as described under Puzzle names.

The scene around the puzzle

Randall has found the mud by the bridge: "Look at this! Footprints everywhere!" Hershel wonders, "How many sets are there...?" Randall says, "Looks as though whoever left these prints made their way over the bridge." Angela suggests, "It was probably a group of confused tourists," and Randall adds, "Or dancing ones. I wonder how many of them there were..."

Once it's solved, Randall says, "Very well done, Hershel. You have quite a knack for this." Hershel answers, "Oh, it was nothing. You could have done it." Angela teases, "Randall always has puzzles on the brain." Randall agrees: "Of course I do! The world is full of puzzles! And we are but a few steps from one of the greatest puzzles of them all! Let's go!" Norwell is next, where Puzzle 064, Norwell's Secret, is waiting.

FAQ

Where is the answer to Puzzle 063?

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 063 called?

A Muddy Mess, in both the North American and UK English versions. The official Japanese title is 橋の足跡.

Where is Puzzle 063?

On the Winding Road in Chapter 4, between the Signpost and Norwell. Talk to Randall, further along the forest path, once your objective is "Head to Norwell!".

Can I miss Puzzle 063?

No. Solving it opens Norwell, so the story doesn't continue until it's solved.

Are there hint coins on the Winding Road?

Four, all in the normal view. They're on the mushrooms on the leaning tree trunk, by the bushes in the middle, in a leafy tree near the top and low on the right by the edge of the path. That's enough for Hints 1 to 3, but not for the Super Hint as well.

How many picarats is Puzzle 063 worth?

It shows 25 picarats when it starts. The puzzle can award 25, 20 or 15 picarats. Wrong answers may reduce the picarat value.

Is Daily Puzzle 063 the same as Puzzle 063?

No. Daily Puzzle 063 is Alchemy 08, from The Alchemist's Lair set. Story Puzzle 063 is the muddy footprints puzzle on the Winding Road.

More Miracle Mask puzzles

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