Professor Layton and the Miracle Mask Puzzle 093: Hershel vs. Mummies! Hints and Answer

Puzzle 093 is Hershel vs. Mummies!, a 50-picarat Slide puzzle on Ruins B4 in Chapter 6. Young Hershel and Randall walk into a huge room deep in the Akbadain ruins, and two mechanical mummies come to life. The mummies can only travel along the grooves in the floor tiles. Every time Hershel steps onto a tile, that tile slides into the space he just left, so you change the mummies' paths as you move. Your job is to lead both mummies into the pit in the bottom right corner.

Video: Hershel vs. Mummies! solved. It shows the answer, so skip it if you only want the hints.

This page covers story Puzzle 093 in Professor Layton and the Miracle Mask, the 3DS game (US and UK English). The board and the solution are the same in the US and UK English versions; quotes use the North American text. If you're after Daily Puzzle 093, the later mummy puzzle, or Puzzle 93 from another Layton game, see Wrong Puzzle 093? below.

Professor Layton and the Miracle Mask Puzzle 093 Hershel vs. Mummies!: on the top screen, a green stone room seen from above, its floor made of square tiles with dark grooves forming straight lines, corners and crossings; two bandaged mechanical mummies with curved blades stand on the top row at the left, young Hershel stands in an empty square near the middle, and a dark pit sits in the bottom right corner; on the touch screen, a brown stone pad with young Hershel seen from behind — Illustration of the puzzle at the start, on the top screen and the touch screen.

What Puzzle 093 is

Puzzle 093 at a glance
Name	Hershel vs. Mummies!
Type	Slide
Picarats	50
Location	Ruins B4, Akbadain
Chapter	Chapter 6
When	The flashback with young Hershel and Randall
How you start it	It starts on its own when you reach the big room on Ruins B4
Required?	Yes, you have to solve it to move the story on
Previous puzzle number	Puzzle 092, Ancient Artistry (Ruins B3)
Next puzzle number	Puzzle 094, Cursed Case (Ruins B5)

The puzzle reads: "Two mechanical mummies have whirred into action within the ruins! The mummies are moving in to attack Hershel, traveling along the lines on the floor tiles. Get rid of them by leading them into the pit! You'll need to get them to fall into the pit from the tile immediately above it." The objective bar says "Beat the mummies!"

The floor is seven tiles wide and five high. Hershel starts in the one empty square, near the middle, and the two mummies start side by side at the top left. To move Hershel, slide the stylus on the touch screen in the direction you want him to go. He steps onto the next tile, and that tile slides into the square he just left. He can't step into the pit, off the edge, or onto a tile a mummy is standing on.

The mummies walk slowly and never stop. Each one follows the groove it's on: straight on along a straight groove, round the bend on a corner, and straight across a crossing. When the groove runs out, or the next tile's groove doesn't join up, the mummy turns around, and it also turns around if it runs into the other mummy. A mummy can drop into the pit only by walking down into it from the tile directly above. The puzzle is solved when both mummies are in the pit.

The room seen from directly above at the start: seven columns and five rows of green stone tiles with dark grooves; labels mark the two mummies in the top-left corner, Hershel in the empty square in the middle of the third row, and the pit in the bottom-right corner — Illustration of the board from above at the start: the mummies at the top left, Hershel near the middle and the pit at the bottom right.

If a mummy reaches Hershel, the attempt fails. After you tap to go on, the tiles, Hershel and both mummies all go back to where they started, and you can try again straight away.

Puzzle names

Puzzle 093 names
Version	Puzzle name
North America	Hershel vs. Mummies!
Japanese	対決！ミイラマシン (Taiketsu! Miira Mashin, "Showdown! Mummy Machines")

The UK puzzle text is worded differently: "These two mechanical mummies are moving in to attack Hershel! Luckily, he has spotted that the mummies can only move along the grooves in the tiled floor. Take full advantage of this and help Hershel get rid of the mummies by leading them into the pit!" The UK Hint 3 and Super Hint also drop the comma before "and then". The board and the solution are the same in the US and UK English versions.

Wrong Puzzle 093?

Daily Puzzle 093 is Kitchen 03, from the A Dish Too Far set.
Puzzle 148, Mummies' Revenge!, is the harder mummy puzzle in Layton's Challenges, worth 70 picarats. It uses the same kind of sliding floor and has the same objective, "Beat the mummies!" If yours isn't part of the Chapter 6 story, that's the one you've got.
Puzzle 092, Ancient Artistry, is the puzzle before this one, dug up on Ruins B3. If yours asks you to count bulls in a dark cave painting, that's the one you've got.
Puzzle 094, Cursed Case, is the next puzzle, on Ruins B5.
Puzzle 93 in another Layton game is a different puzzle. If yours doesn't have two mummies walking along grooves in a tiled floor, you're in the wrong game.

Where you find it

Chapter 6 is the long flashback in the Akbadain ruins, where you play as young Hershel exploring with Randall. When the two of them reach the big room on Ruins B4, Randall says, "This room looks enormous! What did they keep in here?" Then he spots something: "What was that? Over there!" Two mechanical mummies whir into action, and the puzzle starts. You don't need to tap or dig anything to find it.

You have to solve it to move the story on. Young Hershel and Randall can't go any deeper into the ruins until both mummies are in the pit.

When the mummies keep catching Hershel

You can't find somewhere safe. Go right first, as Hint 1 says. That gets Hershel away from the mummies while you watch them.
A mummy won't go where you want. Look at the groove on each tile. A mummy follows the groove and turns around when it runs out, so a single wrong tile sends it back the way it came.
Hershel won't move. He can't step onto a tile a mummy is standing on, into the pit or off the edge of the floor.
A mummy walks past the pit. It has to enter the pit moving down, from the tile directly above it. A mummy coming from the side turns back instead.
The second mummy catches you after the first one falls. Don't hurry. Wait until it's heading away from Hershel before you start the long run of moves.

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, go right from the start point to get to a safe place where the mummies can't get you.

From there, you can watch their movements and examine the panels, allowing you to work out how to create a path that will drop them in the pit.

Hint 2

There's no single solution for this puzzle. You just need to get used to the unusual control method and master how to move the tiles around.

Hint 3

Here's an example. From the start point, go right, down, right, up, left, down, right, down, and then wait. The bottom mummy will fall into the pit.

Just be careful the other fiend doesn't get you.

Super Hint

Once you've dispatched the first mummy by following Hint 3, move in the following way: left, up, left, up three times, right, down, down, left, up, right, down, and then right.

Just keep an eye on the mummy as you move. Otherwise, you might have trouble getting it to fall into the pit.

Answer and full solution

The answer below covers every step, in three stages that follow the game's hints, with a picture of each mummy's route and the finished puzzle. Open it when you're ready.

Show the answer

Answer: 22 moves in three stages. Go right, down, right, up, left, down, right, down, then wait while the first mummy falls into the pit. Go left, up, left, then wait until the second mummy heads up, away from Hershel. Then go up three times, right, down, down, left, up, right, down, right, and wait while the second mummy falls in.

The three stages
Stage	Moves	What happens
1. Hint 3	Right, down, right, up, left, down, right, down, then wait	Hershel ends up in the bottom row, next to the pit. The first mummy follows the new path and drops into the pit.
2. Super Hint, first part	Left, up, left, then wait	Hershel steps back toward the middle while the second mummy walks back and forth between the middle of the room and the top left.
3. Super Hint, rest	Up three times, right, down, down, left, up, right, down, right	Start as soon as the second mummy heads up, away from Hershel. The moves lay a path that brings it back and into the pit.

Stage 1. From the start, go right, down, right, up, left, down, right, down. You can make these moves at once; the mummies are still far away. Hershel ends up in the bottom row, just left of the pit. Now wait. The mummy that started on the far left winds down the left side of the room, walks along the bottom row, steps up and across to the tile above the pit, and drops in. The other mummy wanders around the top of the room and can't reach Hershel.

The room from directly above after the first eight moves: a gold line traces Hershel's route from the start square, right, down, right, up, left, down, right and down, ending in the bottom row next to the pit; a pale blue line traces the first mummy's route down the left side, along the bottom row, up one tile and across to the tile above the pit, then down into the pit — Illustration of stage 1. The gold line is Hershel's route and the blue line is the first mummy's route into the pit.

Stage 2. Once the first mummy has fallen, go left, up, left. Hershel is now one row below the middle of the room. Watch the second mummy: it walks back and forth between the middle of the room and the top left.

Stage 3. Wait for the moment the second mummy turns and heads up, away from Hershel, toward the top-left corner. Then go up three times, right, down, down, left, up, right, down, right, at a steady pace. While the mummy is up in the corner, these moves lay a new path for it. It turns around at the top, comes back down, follows the path across the middle of the room and round to the tile above the pit, and drops in. Hershel ends up out of its way, two rows up and one column left of the pit.

The room from directly above after the last eleven moves: a gold line traces Hershel's route from one row below the middle, up three times, right, down twice, left, up, right, down and right; a pale blue line traces the second mummy's route from the top-left corner down and right through the middle of the room, down a row, then right to the tile above the pit and down into the pit — Illustration of stage 3. The gold line is Hershel's route and the blue line is the second mummy's route into the pit.

When the second mummy falls, the puzzle is solved. The game says: "Nice work! Congratulations! You defeated those mechanical menaces!"

The finished puzzle: on the top screen, the green stone room with no mummies left, young Hershel standing on the right side of the floor and a Puzzle Solved banner across the middle; on the touch screen, the brown stone pad with young Hershel — Illustration of the finished puzzle, with both mummies in the pit.

If it still doesn't work out:

The first mummy doesn't fall. Check the eight moves of stage 1 again from a fresh start. A single extra or missing move changes which tiles are where.
The second mummy catches Hershel during stage 3. You started too early or too late. Wait in stage 2 until the mummy heads up, away from Hershel, and start the moment it does.
A move won't go through in stage 3. The mummy is standing on the tile you're trying to move onto. Start over and begin stage 3 the moment the mummy heads up toward the corner.
Something went wrong partway. If a mummy reaches Hershel, the whole board goes back to the start, so run through all three stages again.

Picarats, hints and hint coins

Hershel vs. Mummies! shows 50 picarats when it starts. Its three picarat values are all 50. This puzzle can't be failed: being caught by a mummy only sends the board back to the start, so solving it always awards 50 picarats.

Hints cost hint coins, not picarats. Hints 1 to 3 cost one hint coin each and the Super Hint costs two, five in total. Ruins B4 has no hint coins, so you'll need coins saved from earlier, or you can use the free hints on this page.

Does it unlock anything?

It doesn't give you an item, but it moves the story on. With both mummies gone, young Hershel and Randall can carry on deeper into the ruins. You also get the picarats, and the puzzle counts toward your total.

Versions

Nintendo 3DS family: this page covers the 3DS game. The room and the mummies appear on the top screen, and you move Hershel by sliding the stylus on the touch screen.
US and UK English versions: the board and the solution are the same. The UK puzzle text is worded differently, and two UK hints drop a comma.

The scene around the puzzle

When the last mummy drops into the pit, Randall says, "That takes care of that! Let's move on."

FAQ

Where is the answer to Puzzle 093?

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 093 called?

Hershel vs. Mummies! In Japanese it's 対決！ミイラマシン.

Where is Puzzle 093?

On Ruins B4, in Chapter 6. It starts on its own when young Hershel and Randall reach the big room.

Do I have to solve Puzzle 093?

Yes. You can't go on through the ruins until both mummies are in the pit.

What happens if a mummy catches Hershel?

Everything starts over: after you tap to go on, the tiles, Hershel and both mummies go back to where they started. It doesn't cost you picarats, so this puzzle can't be failed.

How many picarats is Puzzle 093 worth?

50. Its three picarat values are all 50.

Is Daily Puzzle 093 the same as Puzzle 093?

No. It's a different puzzle, listed under Wrong Puzzle 093?. Story Puzzle 093 is the mummy machine puzzle on Ruins B4.

More Miracle Mask puzzles

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