Professor Layton and the Miracle Mask Puzzle 084: Neon Orange Hints and Answer

Puzzle 084 is Neon Orange, a 40-picarat Select puzzle hidden at the Casino Entrance in Monte d'Or, in Chapter 5. Nobody hands it to you: you start it by tapping the pink scorpion neon sign on the tall pole at the left of the Casino Entrance. A round shop sign has eight orange neon circles around its logo, and each circle is cut into 16 segments. Some segments glow blue, following a pattern. Your job is to light the right segments in the top circle, the one marked with a question mark.

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

This page covers story Puzzle 084 in Professor Layton and the Miracle Mask, the 3DS game (US and UK English). The sign and the answer are the same in the US and UK English versions; quotes use the North American text. If you're after Daily Puzzle 084, the other puzzles around the casino, or Puzzle 84 from another Layton game, see Wrong Puzzle 084? below.

Illustration of the puzzle at the start, on both screens.

What Puzzle 084 is

Puzzle 084 at a glance
Name	Neon Orange (US and UK)
Type	Select
Picarats	40
Location	Casino Entrance, Monte d'Or
Chapter	Chapter 5
When	Your first visit to the Casino Entrance
How you start it	Hidden puzzle: tap the pink scorpion neon sign on the tall pole at the left of the Casino Entrance
Previous puzzle number	Puzzle 083, Settle the Scores (Chance Avenue)
Next puzzle number	Puzzle 085, Slot Sequence (Casino)

The puzzle reads: "The sign for this shop has the logo in the middle, surrounded by eight orange neon lights. Each light consists of a circle divided into 16 segments, some of which glow blue according to a certain pattern. Can you work out which segments should be lit in the top circle, marked with a question mark?" The objective bar says "Which segments are lit?"

The top screen shows the whole sign. The touch screen shows a close-up of the top circle, with all 16 of its segments orange at the start, and the edges of its two neighbors on either side. As the game puts it, "Touch a segment to light it blue or turn it off." When you're happy with the circle, submit it.

The Neon Orange touch screen close-up of the top circle with its sixteen segments numbered 1 to 16 clockwise, starting with segment 1 just right of the twelve o'clock line — Illustration of the segment numbers used on this page, on the touch screen at the start.

This page numbers the segments 1 to 16, going clockwise. Segment 1 is just right of the twelve o'clock line, segment 4 is just above the three o'clock line, segment 8 is just right of the six o'clock line, and segment 16 is just left of the twelve o'clock line. The same numbers work for every circle on the sign.

Puzzle names

Puzzle 084 names
Version	Puzzle name
North America	Neon Orange
UK	Neon Orange
Japanese	ネオンの光る場所 (Neon no Hikaru Basho, "where the neon shines")

The name is the same in the US and UK versions. The UK text differs only in spelling and small wording details: it writes "neighbouring" and "anticlockwise", and the wrong-answer message says "Have a good look" instead of "Take a good look". The sign and the answer are the same in the US and UK English versions.

Wrong Puzzle 084?

Daily Puzzle 084 is Sweets 02, from the Sweet Truth set.
Puzzle 083, Settle the Scores, is the puzzle before this one, on Chance Avenue. If yours is about arrows and scores, that's the one you've got.
Puzzle 085, Slot Sequence, comes from Drake, the casino owner, inside the Casino. If yours starts with him, that's the one you've got.
Puzzle 086, Even Deal, is the hidden puzzle inside the Casino.
Puzzle 84 in another Layton game is a different puzzle. If yours doesn't show eight orange neon circles around a logo, you're in the wrong game.

Where you find it

In Chapter 5, your objective becomes "Go to the Scorpion Casino!" On Chance Avenue, talk to Humbert, the gambler who has lost his money. He tells you, "Well, if you're looking for the casino, just head on straight from here," and the Casino Entrance opens up at the far end of the street. The puzzle is waiting in the Casino Entrance view itself: tap the scorpion neon sign on the tall pole at the left. Layton says, "This sign really grabs your attention!" Luke adds, "The entire city is glowing with neon..." and Layton offers, "I happen to have a neon-related puzzle here. Would you like to try it?" Then the puzzle starts.

You don't have to solve it: it's a hidden puzzle, and the story doesn't need it. The sign keeps offering the puzzle until you solve it, so you can come back for it later.

The Casino Entrance in Monte d'Or at night: a golden casino with a glowing fan-shaped neon sign over its entrance and a tall tower behind it, lamp posts along the square, a pink striped dome and palm trees on the right, and on the left a tall pole topped by a pink scorpion neon sign above a blue arrow sign; a gold ring labelled Scorpion sign, Puzzle 084 circles the scorpion sign, and three numbered rings mark the top of a lamp post, the fan-shaped sign over the entrance and the palm tree on the right — Illustration of the Casino Entrance at night, as on your first visit. The gold ring marks the sign that starts the puzzle, and the numbered rings mark the three hint coins.

The Casino Entrance has three hint coins, all in the normal view. They're on top of the lamp post just right of the scorpion sign, on the fan-shaped neon sign over the casino entrance and in the palm tree on the right, just under its leaves. Each coin can be collected only once.

When the circle won't come out right

You can't keep track of the circles. Use the numbered picture above and write down the numbers of the lit segments in each circle on the top screen.
You're comparing circles that aren't next to each other. The pattern runs from one circle to the next one around the sign, not across the logo.
The numbers go past 16. The segments go round in a loop, so the segment after 16 is 1 again.
You lit a segment by mistake. Touch it again to turn it off. Only the segments that are blue when you submit count.
You can't find the puzzle. It's at the Casino Entrance, from Chapter 5: tap the scorpion neon sign on the pole at the left of the view.

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: how many are lit

Each circle has two lit segments. They may not look like it at first, but they do follow a pattern.

Compare neighboring circles to see if you can work out the pattern.

Hint 2: what to count

The two lit segments in each circle move according to two different rules.

Count how many spaces each lit segment moves between circles.

Hint 3: the first rule

If you start with one circle and move clockwise around the sign, you'll notice that one of the lit segments is moving two spaces clockwise within the circle each time.

What about the other one?

Super Hint: the second rule

Moving clockwise around the sign, the other lit segment is moving four spaces counterclockwise within the circle each time.

There's no easy way to tell which segment is which, so you'll just have to compare the circles and work out where the lit segments go in the top circle.

Answer and full solution

The answer below names the segment to light, follows both lit segments around the sign circle by circle, and shows the finished puzzle. Open it when you're ready.

Show the answer

Answer: light only one segment, segment 6. It's on the right-hand side of the top circle, the second segment below the three o'clock line, at about four o'clock. Leave the other fifteen segments orange.

Going clockwise around the sign from the top right circle, one lit segment moves two places clockwise each time, and the other moves four places counterclockwise. In the top circle, both of them land on segment 6, so only that one segment is lit.

The lit segments, circle by circle
Circle, going clockwise	Segment moving 2 clockwise	Segment moving 4 counterclockwise
1. Top right	8	2
2. Right	10	14
3. Bottom right	12	10
4. Bottom	14	6
5. Bottom left	16	2
6. Left	2	14
7. Top left	4	10
8. Top (the question mark)	6	6

Eight orange neon circles in two rows, labelled 1. Top right, 2. Right, 3. Bottom right, 4. Bottom, 5. Bottom left, 6. Left, 7. Top left and 8. Top; each of the first seven has one green and one blue segment, with notes reading green 8, blue 2; green 10, blue 14; green 12, blue 10; green 14, blue 6; green 16, blue 2; green 2, blue 14; and green 4, blue 10; the eighth circle, outlined in gold, has a single blue segment at about four o'clock and the note both on 6: only 6 lit — Illustration of the eight circles in order, as the finished sign colors them. Green marks the segment that moves two places clockwise, and blue marks the one that moves four places counterclockwise.

Why it works. Follow the green segment: 8, 10, 12, 14, 16, then 2 and 4 after going past 16, and next comes 6. Follow the blue segment: 2, 14, 10, 6, 2, 14, 10, and next comes 6 again. Both rules point at segment 6 in the top circle, so the two lit segments overlap and the circle shows just one. That's why lighting two segments there is wrong, even though Hint 1 says every circle has two.

The game confirms it: "Correct! If you compare the circles going clockwise around the sign, one of the lit segments moves four places counterclockwise and the other moves two places clockwise in each subsequent circle. So in the top circle, the two lit segments overlap and only one is lit."

The finished puzzle: on the top screen, the sign with the question mark gone and the top circle showing one blue segment at about four o'clock, while each of the other seven circles shows one green and one blue segment; on the touch screen, the close-up of the top circle with only segment 6, at about four o'clock, lit blue — Illustration of the finished sign, with only segment 6 lit in the top circle.

If it still doesn't work out:

You lit two segments. The two rules land on the same segment, so the top circle has only one lit segment.
You lit segment 5 or segment 7. Count again from the twelve o'clock line, going clockwise: segment 6 is the second segment below the three o'clock line.
You lit segment 12. That's the mirror image of segment 6. The lit segment is on the right-hand side of the circle.

Picarats, hints and hint coins

Neon Orange shows 40 picarats when it starts. The puzzle can award 40, 30 or 20 picarats. Wrong answers may reduce the picarat value. If you quit, Layton says, "We should really be moving on." When you come back to try again, Luke says, "I'll do it this time, Professor! You'll see!" A wrong answer brings the message "Too bad. Take a good look at the lit segments on each circle in turn."

Hints cost hint coins, not picarats. Hints 1 to 3 cost one hint coin each and the Super Hint costs two, five in total. The Casino Entrance's three coins cover Hints 1 to 3 but not the Super Hint, so you'll need coins saved from earlier for that one, or you can use the free hints on this page.

Does it unlock anything?

No. Solving it doesn't give you an item. You get the picarats, and the puzzle counts toward your total.

Versions

Nintendo 3DS family: this page covers the 3DS game. You light the segments by touching them with the stylus on the touch screen, and the top screen shows the whole sign.
US and UK English versions: the sign, the pattern and the answer are the same. The UK text differs only in small details of wording and spelling.

The scene around the puzzle

The puzzle starts from the scorpion neon sign outside the casino, after Layton remarks that it "really grabs your attention." When it's solved, Luke says, "That was fun!" and Layton replies, "Luke, seeing someone so keen at puzzle solving warms my heart."

FAQ

Where is the answer to Puzzle 084?

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 084 called?

Neon Orange, in both the North American and UK versions. In Japanese it's ネオンの光る場所.

Where is Puzzle 084?

At the Casino Entrance in Monte d'Or, from Chapter 5. It's hidden: tap the pink scorpion neon sign on the tall pole at the left of the view.

Which way are the segments numbered on this page?

Clockwise, starting with segment 1 just right of the twelve o'clock line. See the numbered picture under What Puzzle 084 is.

How many picarats is Puzzle 084 worth?

It shows 40 picarats when it starts. The puzzle can award 40, 30 or 20 picarats. Wrong answers may reduce the picarat value.

Is Daily Puzzle 084 the same as Puzzle 084?

No. It's a different puzzle, listed under Wrong Puzzle 084?. Story Puzzle 084 is the neon sign puzzle hidden at the Casino Entrance.

More Miracle Mask puzzles

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