Professor Layton and the Miracle Mask Puzzle 065: Kitty Solitaire 2 Hints and Answer

Puzzle 065 is Kitty Solitaire 2, a 45-picarat Solitaire puzzle from Maurice, the circus tiger in the Big Top, in Chapter 5. Lucky the black cat is back on the five-by-five board, this time with seven white kittens. The cats jump over kittens to take them off the board, and your job is to leave Lucky alone in the middle square. The puzzle is optional, and it has the same name in the UK version.

Video: Kitty Solitaire 2 solved. It shows the answer, so skip it if you only want the hints.

This page covers story Puzzle 065 in Professor Layton and the Miracle Mask on Nintendo 3DS. The board and the answer are the same in the US and UK English versions; only the wording of the UK text differs a little. Quotes use the North American text. If you're after Daily Puzzle 065, the other Kitty Solitaire puzzles or Puzzle 65 from another Layton game, see Wrong Puzzle 065? below.

Professor Layton and the Miracle Mask Puzzle 065 Kitty Solitaire 2: on the top screen, a black cat and seven white kittens on a yellow five-by-five board on a wooden table with playing cards, and a counter on a signboard reading 0000; on the touch screen, the same board seen from above, with kittens on the middle square of the top row and the second row, on both sides of the empty center square, on the second and fourth squares of the fourth row and in the bottom-left corner, and the black cat in the bottom-right corner — Illustration of the cats in their starting places, on the table on the left and on the touch-screen board on the right. The game's menu buttons aren't shown.

What Puzzle 065 is

Puzzle 065 at a glance
Name	Kitty Solitaire 2 (the same in the US and UK English versions)
Type	Solitaire (jump the cats until only Lucky is left)
Picarats	45
Location	Big Top, in the circus area of Monte d'Or
Chapter	Chapter 5
Required?	No, it's optional
Given by	Maurice, the circus tiger (Hannibal in the UK version)
Previous puzzle number	Puzzle 064, Norwell's Secret (Norwell)
Next puzzle number	Puzzle 066, A Trip to the Hospital (City Monument)

The question reads: "Lucky the black cat is back, but this time she has only seven white kittens with her on the 5 x 5 board. Both Lucky and the kittens can jump over any kitten that is in a horizontally, vertically, or diagonally adjacent square. Jumping over a kitten removes that kitten from the grid, but Lucky cannot be jumped over. Can you make the cats jump around the board so that Lucky is once again left alone on the board, sitting in the middle?" The objective bar sums it up as "Leave Lucky in the middle!"

How the board works

At the start, the seven kittens sit on the middle square of the top row, the middle square of the second row, the squares on both sides of the empty center square, the second and fourth squares of the fourth row and the bottom-left corner. Lucky starts in the bottom-right corner, far from the middle where she has to finish.

Jump to move. Slide a cat over a kitten next to it, in any of the eight directions, onto the empty square just beyond. The kitten you jump over leaves the board.
Lucky can't be jumped. Kittens can never jump over Lucky, but Lucky can jump over kittens.
Every move is a jump. A cat can't just step onto an empty square next to it.
Counting jumps. The top screen shows the same board on a table, with a counter on a signboard that goes up by one with every jump.
Undo and start over. Undo takes back your last jump, and Restart sets up all eight cats again.

Seven kittens have to go, and each jump removes exactly one, so a finished board always takes seven jumps. If no cat can jump any more, the game tells you you're out of moves.

Puzzle names

Puzzle 065 names
Version	Puzzle name
North America	Kitty Solitaire 2
UK	Kitty Solitaire 2
Japanese	猫のソリティア2 (Neko no Soritia 2, "cat solitaire 2")

The UK question and hints probably use British spelling and phrasing, such as "centre" and "north-west", but describe the same moves.

Wrong Puzzle 065?

Daily Puzzle 065 in Miracle Mask is a different puzzle: Kingdom 07, from the Kingdoms set. There are no cats in it.
The other Kitty Solitaire puzzles are different boards from the same tiger: Puzzle 050, Kitty Solitaire, in Chapter 3, and Puzzle 122, Kitty Solitaire 3, in Chapter 7. The cats start in different places, so this page's jumps won't work there.
Puzzle 65 in another Layton game is a different puzzle. If yours doesn't show a black cat and seven white kittens on a five-by-five board, you're in the wrong game.

Where you find it

Kitty Solitaire 2 opens at the start of Chapter 5, once your objective reads "Continue the Investigation!" Go to the circus area of Monte d'Or, enter the Big Top and tap Maurice, who is in his small cage on the right. Luke says, "Oh, Maurice seems depressed. The poor thing is cooped up in that small cage." After a few more growls, Luke translates: "Maurice has a puzzle for us."

Inside the Big Top: a striped tent roof, a small stage with a blue and gold curtain, big striped balls, hoops on the floor, a white chair and two tall orange banners with card suits, and on the right a small cage with a red roof. Numbered rings mark hint coin spots 1 on the diamond of the left banner, 2 on the chair and 3 on the diamond of the right banner. A teal ring labeled Maurice, Puzzle 065 marks the cage — Illustration of the Big Top. The teal ring shows Maurice's cage, and the numbers mark where the three hint coins are.

The Big Top has three hint coins, all in the normal view: on the diamond of the orange banner on the left (1), on the chair in front of the stage (2) and on the diamond of the orange banner on the right (3). Each coin can be collected only once, so if you picked them up in Chapter 3, they're already gone.

You can skip it; the story doesn't need it. Maurice offers it until your objective becomes "Catch the Masked Gentleman!" If you leave it unsolved, it probably goes to Nanna Grams (known as Elizabeth in the UK version) at the start of Chapter 7, so you can still play it there.

When you're stuck

You keep running out of moves with kittens stranded in the corners. A kitten with no neighbor can never be jumped. Plan so that every kitten still has another cat next to it until its turn comes.
You don't know where to start. Open Hint 1 below. It only says which cats to move first, not which jumps to make.
The cat won't move where you drag it. Every move has to be a jump over a kitten onto an empty square directly beyond it.
You can't find the puzzle. Tap Maurice's cage on the right side of the Big Top any time from the start of Chapter 5 until your objective becomes "Catch the Masked Gentleman!"

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: Who moves first?

In this puzzle, Lucky shouldn't jump until the very end. Start with the kittens, and try to remove as many as you can.

Hint 2: The first two jumps

First, you need to move the top kitten down. Now, say that down is south again. The next step is to move the kitten nearest Lucky toward the northwest.

This will leave you with five kittens and Lucky.

Hint 3: Two more kitten jumps

Continuing from Hint 2, move the bottom-left kitten to the northeast and then the top-left kitten straight south.

That now leaves you with three kittens and Lucky.

Super Hint: The last three jumps

You're almost there. Make the bottom-left kitten jump twice: first northeast, then south.

The last move is to jump Lucky into the middle, and that's it!

Answer and full solution

The answer below covers all seven jumps, with a picture of each one and a picture of the solved board. Open it when you're ready.

Show the answer

Answer: make six kitten jumps that clear every kitten but one next to Lucky, then jump Lucky diagonally up-left over that last kitten into the middle. North is up, as in the game's hints.

Step by step:

Top kitten south. The kitten in the middle of the top row jumps down over the kitten below it and lands in the center square. Six kittens are left.
Kitten nearest Lucky northwest. The kitten on the fourth square of the fourth row, diagonally next to Lucky, jumps up-left over the center kitten and lands on the second square of the second row. Five kittens are left.
Bottom-left kitten northeast. The kitten in the bottom-left corner jumps up-right over the kitten diagonally above it and lands in the center. Four kittens are left.
Top-left kitten south. The kitten that landed in step 2 jumps straight down over the kitten below it and lands on the second square of the fourth row. Three kittens are left.
Same kitten northeast. That kitten, now the bottom-left one, jumps up-right over the center kitten and lands on the fourth square of the second row. Two kittens are left.
Same kitten south. It jumps straight down over the kitten below it and lands on the fourth square of the fourth row, right next to Lucky. One kitten is left.
Lucky northwest. Lucky jumps up-left out of her corner over the last kitten and lands in the middle. The counter reads 0007.

Seven copies of the touch-screen board in two rows, each with a teal arrow showing one jump: 1. Top kitten down, from the top row into the center; 2. Kitten by Lucky up-left, from beside Lucky over the center to the second square of the second row; 3. Bottom-left kitten up-right, from the corner into the center; 4. Top-left kitten down, to the second square of the fourth row; 5. Same kitten up-right, over the center to the fourth square of the second row; 6. Same kitten down, to the square beside Lucky; 7. Lucky up-left to the middle, over the last kitten — Illustration of the seven jumps in order. Each arrow starts at the cat that jumps.

These are exactly the moves the four hints describe. There are 13 different ways to clear this board, and every one of them takes seven jumps and moves Lucky only once, as the very last jump, from her corner up-left into the middle. That's why Hint 1 says to leave her alone until the end.

The game confirms it: "Correct! Now where have those kittens gone?"

The solved board: on the top screen, the black cat alone in the middle of the yellow board and the signboard counter reading 0007; on the touch screen, the black cat alone on the center square — Illustration of Lucky alone in the middle after seven jumps.

If it still doesn't finish:

A kitten is stuck on its own. Press Undo until it has a neighbor again, or Restart and follow the steps above from the beginning.
Lucky lands in the middle too soon. She has to be the last cat to move. Restart and make all six kitten jumps first.
The last kitten isn't next to Lucky. After step 6 it must sit on the fourth square of the fourth row, diagonally up-left of Lucky's corner.
The game says "Too bad." It adds, "Try to plan your jumps before you start moving the cats around." Start over and follow the steps in order.

Picarats, hints and hint coins

Kitty Solitaire 2 shows 45 picarats when it starts. Its three picarat values are all 45. If you quit, Maurice roars, "Rrrrraaarrr!" and Luke says, "We'll come back to solve another later!" When you come back to try again, Maurice just growls, "Rrrr..."

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 Big Top's three coins cover only Hints 1 to 3, not the Super Hint, so you need two more coins from elsewhere, or you can use the free hints on this page.

Does it unlock anything?

No. You get the picarats and the puzzle in your collection, but no rabbit play, gadget or other bonus, and the story doesn't depend on it.

Versions

Nintendo 3DS family: this page covers the 3DS game. You jump the cats on the touch screen, and the top screen shows the same board on a table with the jump counter.
US and UK English versions: same name, same board, same answer. The UK text probably says "centre" and writes the directions as "north-west" and "north-east", and its closing line is "Now where have those kittens got to?"

The scene around the puzzle

Before the puzzle, Luke explains why Maurice is so gloomy: "He misses Mr. Dalston! He says Mr. Dalston talks to him a lot...even though he can't understand tiger language." Emmy says, "We must crack this case soon! Not just for the town, but for Maurice too!" and Luke agrees, "You're right, Emmy! We've got to hurry!"

When it's solved, Maurice purrs, "Rrrrrooowww." Luke promises, "I'll come back soon. And Mr. Dalston will be back before you know it!" If you talk to Maurice again afterward, he only manages "Rrr. Rrr.", and Luke says, "He looks sleepy. Let's leave him."

FAQ

Where is the answer to Puzzle 065?

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 065 called?

Kitty Solitaire 2, in both the North American and UK English versions. The official Japanese title is 猫のソリティア2.

Where is Puzzle 065?

In the Big Top in Chapter 5. Tap Maurice, the circus tiger, in his cage on the right side of the tent once your objective is "Continue the Investigation!".

Can I miss Puzzle 065?

You can skip it. An unsolved copy probably goes to Nanna Grams at the start of Chapter 7.

How many picarats is Puzzle 065 worth?

It shows 45 picarats when it starts, and all three of its picarat values are 45.

How many jumps does Puzzle 065 take?

Always seven. There are seven kittens, and every jump removes one of them.

Is Daily Puzzle 065 the same as Puzzle 065?

No. Daily Puzzle 065 is Kingdom 07, from the Kingdoms set. Story Puzzle 065 is Maurice's second cat-jumping puzzle in the Big Top.

More Miracle Mask puzzles

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