Puzzle 099 is Ancient Artistry 2, a 45-picarat Write Answer puzzle on Ruins B7 in Chapter 6. Young Hershel and Randall dig it up from a glowing spot deep in the Akbadain ruins. It's another cave painting in the dark, and again your lamp lights only one round patch at a time. Your job is to count how many deer the painting shows and write the number on the touch screen.
This page covers story Puzzle 099 in Professor Layton and the Miracle Mask, the 3DS game (US and UK English). The painting 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 099, the first cave painting puzzle, or Puzzle 99 from another Layton game, see Wrong Puzzle 099? below.
What Puzzle 099 is
| Name | Ancient Artistry 2 (US and UK) |
|---|---|
| Type | Write Answer |
| Picarats | 45 |
| Location | Ruins B7, Akbadain |
| Chapter | Chapter 6 |
| Objective | "Continue Your Descent!" |
| How you start it | Dig up the top-left one of four glowing spots in the top-left corner of the big room on the far left of B7 |
| Required? | No, it's optional |
| Previous puzzle number | Puzzle 098, Watertight Code (Ruins B7) |
| Next puzzle number | Puzzle 100, Gate to the Ruins! (Ruins B8) |
The puzzle reads: "Another cave, another cave painting! As before, the cave is dark, so it's difficult to make out the entire painting. Your lamp can only illuminate one part at a time, but can you count how many deer are depicted here?" The objective bar says "How many deer are there?"
It works just like Puzzle 092, Ancient Artistry. The top screen is dark except for one round patch of light. The touch screen starts as a pad with a lamp on it: drag your stylus across the pad and the light moves over the painting, so you can sweep it from one side to the other. When you've counted, switch the touch screen to the answer boxes, write your number and touch Submit. You can switch back to the lamp as often as you like.
Puzzle names
| Version | Puzzle name |
|---|---|
| North America | Ancient Artistry 2 |
| UK | Ancient Artistry 2 |
| Japanese | 洞窟の壁画2 (Dōkutsu no Hekiga 2, "the cave wall painting 2") |
The name is the same in the US and UK versions. The UK question is worded differently: it opens with "Ah, a cave painting! A magnificent find!" and says the lamp "only illuminates a small area". UK Hint 2 also writes its number as a word rather than as figures. The other hints, the painting and the answer are the same in the US and UK English versions.
Wrong Puzzle 099?
- Daily Puzzle 099 is Ducks 03, from the Little Lost Ducklings set.
- Puzzle 092, Ancient Artistry, is the first cave painting puzzle, dug up earlier on Ruins B3. It asks "How many bulls are there?" instead of deer.
- Puzzle 098, Watertight Code, is the puzzle before this one, also on Ruins B7. If yours asks you to enter a door code by a glass water tank, that's the one you've got.
- Puzzle 100, Gate to the Ruins!, is the next puzzle, on Ruins B8.
- Puzzle 99 in another Layton game is a different puzzle. If yours doesn't show a dark cave painting of deer lit by a lamp, 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 Puzzle 098 and two hint coins are. Go up into the next room, then left through the room in the middle, and on into the big room on the far left of the map. Boulders block the way in these rooms, so you'll push a few of them aside as you go.
When you enter the big room on the left, Randall wonders, "I wonder what the treasure chamber holds... Jewels? Technological marvels? Maybe alchemical formulas?" Push this room's boulders out of the way to reach its top-left corner, where four glowing spots sit in a square. Face the top-left spot and touch the Dig Hole icon, or press the A Button. Randall says, "This place has more puzzles than any archaeological site I've ever heard of!" and after a short chat he calls, "Hershel, look at this!" Then the puzzle starts.
The other three spots are worth digging too. The top-right spot holds a collection item, the Mineral Nugget, and the two bottom spots each hide a hint coin.
You don't have to solve it to move on. If you leave Puzzle 099 unsolved, it goes to Nanna Grams (known as Elizabeth in the UK version) at the start of Chapter 7.
When the count won't come out right
- You keep losing count. There are a lot of deer. Jot each one down in the Memo as you find it, the way Hint 1 suggests, and sweep the lamp across the painting in rows.
- Some deer are small or faint. Move the lamp slowly. A few of the deer are painted small, and some sit near the dark edges of the painting.
- You've checked every corner and the game still says "Oh deer." The game's wrong-answer message is "Oh deer. Use your lamp to light up every corner of the painting." Hints 2 and 3 have the push you need.
- You're not sure how to answer. Switch the touch screen to the answer boxes, write the number and touch Submit.
- You can't find the puzzle. It's buried under the top-left of the four glowing spots in the top-left corner of the big room on the far left of Ruins B7.
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: keeping count
There are a lot of deer, so use the Memo Function to keep track as you count them.
Hint 2: a count that's too low
There are at least 10 deer here. Have you missed some?
Hint 3: look again
The small deer aren't the only ones in the painting.
Super Hint: the last ones
There are two large deer painted behind the small ones. Add them to the total.
Answer and full solution
The answer below gives the number, shows every deer in the painting, and shows the finished puzzle. Open it when you're ready.
Show the answer
Answer: 11. Write 1 in the left box and 1 in the right box, then touch Submit.
Sweep the lamp over the whole painting and you'll find nine small, dark deer: two on the far left, one leaping in the upper left, one just right of it, one at the top, two on the right, the big stag in the lower middle, and one at the bottom. That's nine.
The last two are painted behind the small deer, so big that through the lamp they look like the background. One is the huge orange deer with its antlers at the top left and its neck sweeping down to the bottom left. The other is the huge dark brown deer to its right, rising behind the stag. Nine small deer plus two large ones makes 11.
The game confirms it: "Correct! There are nine small deer and two large ones overlapping in the background."
If it still doesn't work out:
- You wrote 9. That's all the small deer, but not the two large ones painted behind them.
- You wrote 10. You've found one of the large deer but not the other. Look for both the orange one and the dark brown one.
- You got 8 or fewer small deer. You've missed one. The two on the far left sit close together, and the one at the very top is easy to skip.
Picarats, hints and hint coins
Ancient Artistry 2 shows 45 picarats when it starts. The puzzle can award 45, 40 or 35 picarats. Wrong answers may reduce the picarat value. A wrong answer brings the message "Oh deer. Use your lamp to light up every corner of the painting." When you come back to try again, Randall says, "I'll solve it this time, Hershel!"
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 in the room where you arrive, and two in the spots right next to this 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. The Mineral Nugget comes from the glowing spot next to the puzzle, not from solving it.
Versions
- Nintendo 3DS family: this page covers the 3DS game. The painting is on the top screen, and you move the lamp and write your answer on the touch screen.
- US and UK English versions: the painting and the answer are the same. The UK question and Hint 2 are worded a little differently.
The scene around the puzzle
Before the puzzle, Hershel jokes, "Were all ancient people as obsessed with puzzles as you are? You're truly a man after your time, Randall!" Randall fires back, "Well, if archaeology doesn't turn out to be your calling, you seem quite suited for stand-up comedy."
If you quit the puzzle, Randall says, "I need more time on this..." When it's solved, he says, "The puzzles enhance the mystique of this place. It's just fascinating!"
FAQ
Where is the answer to Puzzle 099?
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 099 called?
Ancient Artistry 2, in both the North American and UK versions. In Japanese it's 洞窟の壁画2.
Where is Puzzle 099?
On Ruins B7, in Chapter 6. It's buried under the top-left of the four glowing spots in the top-left corner of the big room on the far left of the floor map.
Do I have to solve Puzzle 099?
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 099 worth?
It shows 45 picarats when it starts. The puzzle can award 45, 40 or 35 picarats. Wrong answers may reduce the picarat value.
Is Daily Puzzle 099 the same as Puzzle 099?
No. It's a different puzzle, listed under Wrong Puzzle 099?. Story Puzzle 099 is the deer cave painting puzzle on Ruins B7.
More Miracle Mask puzzles
- Puzzle 100: Gate to the Ruins!
- Puzzle 098: Watertight Code
- Puzzle 092: Ancient Artistry
- Puzzle 097: Tilt to Traverse
- Puzzle 096: Arach-attack!
- Puzzle 095: Snakes and Keys
- Puzzle 094: Cursed Case
- Puzzle 093: Hershel vs. Mummies!
- Puzzle 091: Totem Tumbler
- Puzzle 60: Dangerous Holes
- Puzzle 113: Chip Champions
- Puzzle 118: Evenly Matched 3
- Puzzle 122: Kitty Solitaire 3
For the rest of the game's puzzles, see the Miracle Mask puzzle index.