Professor Layton and the Miracle Mask Puzzle 098: Watertight Code Hints and Answer

Puzzle 098 is Watertight Code, a 40-picarat Select puzzle on Ruins B7 in Chapter 6. Young Hershel digs it up deep in the Akbadain ruins. A locked door stands next to a glass water tank, and on the floor lie eight numbered panels, each tied by a cord to a wooden ball or a metal ball. The only clue says, "Those who seek passage need only ask the water." Your job is to work out the four-number code that opens the door.

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

This page covers story Puzzle 098 in Professor Layton and the Miracle Mask, the 3DS game (US and UK English). The panels 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 098, the other puzzle on Ruins B7, or Puzzle 98 from another Layton game, see Wrong Puzzle 098? below.

Professor Layton and the Miracle Mask Puzzle 098 Watertight Code: on the top screen, eight wooden number panels on a mossy green stone floor, each tied by a long white cord to a light brown wooden ball or a dark metal ball, with all the cords tangled together; on the touch screen, a stone wall with four wooden slots stepping down from left to right, each showing the number 1 — Illustration of the puzzle at the start, on the top screen and the touch screen.

What Puzzle 098 is

Puzzle 098 at a glance
Name	Watertight Code (US and UK)
Type	Select
Picarats	40
Location	Ruins B7, Akbadain
Chapter	Chapter 6
When	The flashback with young Hershel and Randall
How you start it	Dig up the glowing spot on the small island in the first room of B7, after rolling a boulder into the trench around it
Required?	No, it's optional
Previous puzzle number	Puzzle 097, Tilt to Traverse (Ruins B6)
Next puzzle number	Puzzle 099, Ancient Artistry 2 (Ruins B7)

The puzzle reads: "There's a glass water tank next to a locked door. On the floor by the door are some metal balls and wooden balls, each of which has a numbered panel attached by a cord. Place the correct panels into the gaps to enter the code to unlock the door. You have only one clue to guide you: "Those who seek passage need only ask the water." What is the code to open the door?" The objective bar says "Enter the door code!"

The top screen shows the floor by the door: eight wooden panels, four light brown wooden balls and four dark metal balls, with all the cords tangled together. The touch screen shows the four gaps in the wall, stepping down from left to right. Touch a gap to change the panel in it. Each gap cycles through seven numbers, 1, 2, 4, 5, 7, 8 and 9, and all four start on 1. When the code is set, touch Submit.

Puzzle names

Puzzle 098 names
Version	Puzzle name
North America	Watertight Code
UK	Watertight Code
Japanese	扉を開くために (Tobira o Hiraku Tame ni, "to open the door")

The name is the same in the US and UK versions. The UK text is worded a little differently in places: the puzzle opens "A glass water tank is next to a locked door," and Hint 2 and the Super Hint are phrased differently. Hint 1, Hint 3 and the messages for right and wrong answers read the same. The panels and the answer are the same in the US and UK English versions.

Wrong Puzzle 098?

Daily Puzzle 098 is Train 03, from the Trains and Train Spotters set.
Puzzle 097, Tilt to Traverse, is the puzzle before this one, on Ruins B6. If yours has you tilting the 3DS to slide stepping stones across canals, that's the one you've got.
Puzzle 099, Ancient Artistry 2, is the next puzzle and the other one on Ruins B7. If yours asks how many deer are in a cave painting, that's the one you've got.
Puzzle 98 in another Layton game is a different puzzle. If yours doesn't show numbered panels tied to balls, 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. Ruins B7 starts in the room at the bottom right of the floor map, where the stairs from B6 come down. In the right half of that room is a small square island with a sunken trench all around it. The puzzle is buried under the glowing spot near the island's top right corner.

From the stairs, walk left and dig up the hint coin under the glowing spot in the patch of dirt. On the far left of the room are two boulders next to two blue crystals. Push the top boulder down. Then push the other boulder up, left, down and right, so it rolls into the trench and gives you a way onto the island. The glowing spot on the left of the island holds a hint coin. Face the one at the top right and touch the Dig Hole icon, or press the A Button. Hershel says, "Wait, I hit something strange. Strings?" Randall answers, "How gracious of the Azran to leave us such an interesting puzzle!" and Hershel replies, "Randall, it's not as if the Azran knew we were coming." Then the puzzle starts.

The Ruins B7 map on old yellow parchment, labelled B7: brown rooms joined by corridors, a red arrow at the top above a room with a pale round emblem in it, a blue arrow above the room at the bottom right, a small X box in the bottom right corner, and a teal ring in the right part of the room at the bottom right, with a label reading Puzzle 098 — Illustration of the Ruins B7 map. The teal ring marks the glowing spot on the island in the first room, where the puzzle is buried.

You don't have to solve it to move on. If you leave Puzzle 098 unsolved, it goes to Nanna Grams (known as Elizabeth in the UK version) at the start of Chapter 7.

When the door won't open

You entered a code and the game says "Too bad." The full message is "Think about the clue some more. What could "ask the water" mean?" Think about what would happen to the balls if they went into the water tank.
You're trying to untangle the cords. You don't need to follow every cord from end to end. If you're not sure what to look for, Hint 2 points it out.
You know which panels count but not the order. Picture the tank from the front, as the Super Hint says, and read the panels from top to bottom.
You can't find the puzzle. It's on the small island in the first room of Ruins B7. Roll a boulder into the trench to get across.

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: the clue

The clue is the key to this puzzle.

Remember, there's a large glass water tank next to the door. How might that help you?

Hint 2: the balls and cords

Let's take a look at these balls with panels attached lying on the floor. The cords connecting the panels are all different lengths. Additionally, the balls are made of two different materials: wood and metal.

How do these details fit in?

Hint 3: asking the water

Have you worked out what "ask the water" means yet?

Putting all the balls lying on the floor into the tank will cast some light on the situation.

Super Hint: through the glass

Imagine putting the balls into the water tank and viewing them through the glass. The panels attached to the wooden balls will just float on the top, so you won't see them. The metal balls will sink, so you'll only see panels attached to those balls.

The lengths of the cords also differ, so imagine what order the panels would appear in from top to bottom. Might this be the code to get in?

Answer and full solution

The answer below gives the door code, explains which panels count and in what order, and shows the finished puzzle. Open it when you're ready.

Show the answer

The code is 9594. Touch the gaps until they read 9, 5, 9 and 4 from left to right, then touch Submit.

"Ask the water" means dropping every ball into the tank. Wood floats, so the four wooden balls bob at the surface and pull their panels, 1, 2, 7 and 8, up out of sight. Metal sinks, so the four metal balls go to the bottom, and each of their panels floats above its ball as far as its cord lets it.

The top screen at the start, with the four dark metal balls circled in teal and the four light brown wooden balls circled in gold; a key below reads Metal ball and Wooden ball — Illustration: the four metal balls, circled in teal, hold the panels that count. The wooden balls are circled in gold.

The metal balls hold the panels 9, 5, 9 and 4. The longer the cord, the higher the panel floats, so reading the tank from top to bottom gives the longest cord first and the shortest last: 9, then 5, then 9, then 4. That's the order you enter, from the top gap on the left down to the bottom gap on the right.

The game confirms it: "Correct! The door is open!" After you solve it, the top screen shows the balls in the tank: one wooden ball floating at the surface, and the four metal balls on the bottom with their panels standing in a row from 9 down to 4, with a fish swimming past.

The finished puzzle: on the top screen, a glass water tank with a wooden ball floating at the surface, four metal balls on the bottom holding panels 9, 5, 9 and 4 on cords that get shorter from left to right, and a dark fish on the right; on the touch screen, the four wooden slots in the stone wall showing 9, 5, 9 and 4 from left to right — Illustration of the finished puzzle: the panels in the tank, and the code 9594 in the four gaps.

If it still doesn't work out:

You used a 1, 2, 7 or 8. Those panels are tied to wooden balls, so they float at the surface and aren't part of the code.
You have the right four numbers in the wrong order. Order them by cord length, longest first. The 9s go in the first and third gaps.
A gap went past the number you wanted. Keep touching it. Each gap cycles through all seven numbers, so the one you want comes round again.

Picarats, hints and hint coins

Watertight Code shows 40 picarats when it starts. The puzzle can award 40, 32 or 24 picarats. Wrong answers may reduce the picarat value. A wrong answer brings the message "Too bad. Think about the clue some more. What could "ask the water" mean?" When you come back to try again, Randall says, "Watch as I solve this ancient puzzle!"

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 B7 has four hint coins, each buried under a glowing spot. Two of them are in the same first room as this puzzle: one in the patch of dirt on the left side, and one on the island right next to the puzzle. Those four coins cover Hints 1 to 3 with one coin left over, one short of the Super Hint, so you'll need a coin saved from earlier for that one, or you can use the free hints on this page.

Does it unlock anything?

No. It doesn't give you an item or move the story on. You get the picarats, and the puzzle counts toward your total.

Versions

Nintendo 3DS family: this page covers the 3DS game. The panels and balls are shown on the top screen, and you set the code on the touch screen.
US and UK English versions: the panels and the answer are the same. The UK puzzle text, Hint 2 and Super Hint are worded a little differently.

The scene around the puzzle

If you quit the puzzle, Randall says, "Say what you will--the Azran knew how to craft a tricky puzzle!" Hershel answers, "If we're not going to solve it, we should put it back where we found it."

When it's solved, Randall says, "These puzzles must be carefully documented and preserved!" Hershel agrees: "Indeed. Perhaps one day we can share them with others!"

FAQ

Where is the answer to Puzzle 098?

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 098 called?

Watertight Code, in both the North American and UK versions. In Japanese it's 扉を開くために.

Where is Puzzle 098?

On Ruins B7, in Chapter 6. It's buried under the glowing spot on the small island in the first room of the floor. Roll a boulder into the trench around the island to reach it.

Do I have to solve Puzzle 098?

No. It's optional. If you leave it unsolved, it goes to Nanna Grams at the start of Chapter 7.

How many picarats is Puzzle 098 worth?

It shows 40 picarats when it starts. The puzzle can award 40, 32 or 24 picarats. Wrong answers may reduce the picarat value.

Is Daily Puzzle 098 the same as Puzzle 098?

No. It's a different puzzle, listed under Wrong Puzzle 098?. Story Puzzle 098 is the water tank door code puzzle on Ruins B7.

More Miracle Mask puzzles

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