Puzzle 106 is Confusion Cubed, a 50-picarat Arrange puzzle that Cookie gives you in the Merchant District in Monte d'Or, in Chapter 7. A young boy wants to stick six maze panels together into a cube so that a path runs from the car to the flag. The car and flag panels stay where they are, and you move the other four around the net until every path joins the main route with no dead ends.
This page covers story Puzzle 106 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 106 or Puzzle 106 from another Layton game, see Wrong Puzzle 106? below.
What Puzzle 106 is
| Name | Confusion Cubed (US and UK) |
|---|---|
| Type | Arrange |
| Picarats | 50 |
| Location | Merchant District, Monte d'Or (Knickknack Alley at night) |
| Chapter | Chapter 7 |
| How you start it | Talk to Cookie |
| Required? | No |
| Previous puzzle number | Puzzle 105, Free Lunch! (City Monument) |
| Next puzzle number | Puzzle 107, Toppings Up! 3 (Montsarton Gallery) |
The puzzle reads: "A young boy wants to stick these six maze panels together to form a cube, creating a path from the car to the flag. Can you create an example without moving the panels with the car and the flag on them? Oh, and make sure that all paths connect to the main path between the car and the flag, leaving no dead ends!" The objective bar says "Complete the cubic maze!"
The touch screen shows the six panels laid out flat as the net of a cube, in a staircase shape. The car panel and the flag panel sit side by side in the bottom row, with the car on the left. Two loose panels sit in the middle row, one above the flag and one to its right, and two more sit in the top row, one above that right-hand panel and one further right. When the net is folded, paths that run off the edge of one panel carry on across the edge of the panel it meets on the cube. You move the four loose panels between the four free spaces, then submit your cube.
Puzzle names
| Version | Puzzle name |
|---|---|
| North America | Confusion Cubed |
| UK | Confusion Cubed |
| Japanese | 立方体迷路 (Rippōtai Meiro, "cube maze") |
The name is the same in the US and UK versions. The UK text words the question a little differently, asking for paths that "connect up", and Hints 1 and 2 are phrased differently too. The puzzle giver's name changes: Cookie in the US version, Bonnie in the UK version.
Wrong Puzzle 106?
- Daily Puzzle 106 is Dinosaurs 03, from the St. Bronto's set.
- Puzzle 105, Free Lunch!, is the puzzle before this one, at the City Monument. If yours is about three colleagues and who pays for lunch, that's the one you've got.
- Puzzle 107, Toppings Up! 3, is the next puzzle, in Montsarton Gallery. If yours has a pizza with slices face down, that's the one you've got.
- Puzzle 110, Cozy Cabins, comes from Cookie's mother, Tanya, who is out looking for her on the same day. If yours is about a family of five and four cabins, that's the one you've got.
- Puzzle 106 in another Layton game is a different puzzle. If yours doesn't show six maze panels with a car and a flag, you're in the wrong game.
Where you find it
Chapter 7 opens on the fourth day of the investigation in Monte d'Or. From the start of the chapter, Cookie is in the Merchant District, the shopping street lined with shop fronts and a row of palm trees in the middle. She stands in the road, left of the palm trees. She's there by day until your objective reads "Speak to Chief Sheffield!" Later, once your objective reads "Meet Bloom at the Racetrack!", she's in Knickknack Alley at night instead.
Cookie explains, "My mom told me where to go and wait for her if we lost track of each other today...so I lost track of her." Emmy says, "I see." Cookie insists, "It's not my fault! I was too distracted by this puzzle!" and the puzzle starts.
The Merchant District has four hint coins, all in the normal view: low on the yellow corner shop front on the right, on a balloon, on the hanging plant on the right-hand building and at the wall lamp on the green building on the left.
Each coin can be collected only once. These are the same four coins as on your earlier visits for Puzzle 029, Puzzle 067 and Puzzle 078, so if you tapped them then, there's nothing left to pick up here.
You don't have to solve it to move on. After the story ends, Cookie is back in the Merchant District by day and in Knickknack Alley at night.
When the maze won't join up
- You don't know which panel to place first. Hints 2 and 3 point you to the space to settle first.
- Two panels look equally good. That's the trap Hint 1 warns about. Look for an edge where only one panel's paths line up, and work outwards from there.
- A path stops at an edge. When the net is folded, every path that reaches an edge has to carry on into the panel it meets. A path that runs into a blank edge is a dead end.
- The game says "Too bad." The wrong-answer message is "Too bad. Are there any unconnected paths lurking somewhere?" You can try again.
- You can't find the puzzle. Talk to Cookie in the Merchant District by day, or in Knickknack Alley at night later in Chapter 7.
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: where not to start
You can try to find a panel that connects the paths coming from the top of the panel with the flag on it, but there will be two probable solutions if you do that. That won't help you easily narrow your options down to the correct answer.
Think about the other sides. Is there anywhere you can narrow your options down to one panel?
Hint 2: the top of the car panel
There's only one panel that fits the paths coming from the top of the panel with the car on it.
Think about how your example cubic maze would look when completed. Which parts connect where?
Hint 3: the space above the flag
See the space immediately above the flag panel? The paths on the left side of the panel you place there should connect with the top of the car panel.
There are two paths running from the top of the car panel, one on the left and one in the middle.
Super Hint: the first panel to move
The panel initially placed at the top right is the one that you should place above the flag panel. Once you put that into place, the rest is simple.
Look carefully at the parts that are directly connected, and arrange the panels so that the paths line up.
Answer and full solution
The answer below says where each of the four loose panels goes and shows the finished cube. Open it when you're ready.
Show the answer
Answer: the panel at the top right goes above the flag, and the four loose panels end up as two swapped pairs. In the picture below, the loose panels are lettered as they start: D at the top left of the top row, C at the top right, B in the middle row above the flag, and A in the middle row on the right. B and C trade places, and A and D trade places. No panel needs turning.
Step by step:
- Move C, the panel that starts at the top right, into the space above the flag, and put B in C's old place at the top right. When the cube is folded, the left side of the space above the flag meets the top of the car panel, and C is the only panel whose left-hand paths line up with the car panel's two top paths, on the left and in the middle.
- Move A, the panel that starts in the middle row on the right, into the top-left space of the top row, and put D in A's old place, to the right of C.
- Check that each path reaching an edge carries on into the next panel, so every branch joins the route from the car to the flag. Then submit.
The game confirms it: "Correct! Now he can make a beautiful cubic maze using your example!"
If it still doesn't work out:
- You started from the top of the flag panel. Two panels fit there, which is the trap Hint 1 mentions. Fill the space above the flag from the car panel's side instead: C is the panel that goes there.
- Only two panels are in the right place. Both pairs have to trade places. Compare your net with the Solved picture above.
- You moved the car or flag panel. Those two stay in the bottom row. Tap Restart to put everything back.
Picarats, hints and hint coins
Confusion Cubed shows 50 picarats when it starts. The puzzle can award 50, 45 or 40 picarats. Wrong answers may reduce the picarat value. A wrong answer brings the message "Too bad. Are there any unconnected paths lurking somewhere?" When you talk to Cookie again, she says, "I just don't get it... As soon as I solve it, I'll go find my mom." before the puzzle starts again.
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 Merchant District's four coins cover the first three hints and half the Super Hint. The hints on this page are free to open.
Does it unlock anything?
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. The boy and his panels are on the top screen, and you move the panels on the touch screen.
- US and UK English versions: the panels and the answer are the same in the US and UK English versions. The UK text differs in the wording of the question and the first two hints, and the girl who gives you the puzzle is called Bonnie.
The scene around the puzzle
If you quit the puzzle, Cookie says, "I need to find the answer before I can find my mom."
When it's solved, Cookie cheers, "Wow! Thanks! I feel so much better." She remembers, "My mom said that if we got separated, I should wait for her at the Reunion Inn. It's that big white hotel." Luke asks, "Professor? Emmy? Should we take Cookie to the Reunion Inn?" but Cookie answers, "No way! I'm gonna stay around here and check out the action." She adds, "I'll be fine! I have a really good sense of direction," and "I can just take the tram from Pumpkin Park to the Reunion Inn if I need to." Luke ends with "All right, then! See you later, Cookie!" Her mother turns up in Knickknack Alley the same day with Puzzle 110.
FAQ
Where is the answer to Puzzle 106?
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 106 called?
Confusion Cubed, in both the North American and UK versions. In Japanese it's 立方体迷路.
Where is Puzzle 106?
In the Merchant District in Monte d'Or, in Chapter 7, on the fourth day of the investigation. Talk to Cookie in the road left of the palm trees. Later that night she's in Knickknack Alley.
Do I have to solve Puzzle 106?
No. The story doesn't need it.
Can I fail Puzzle 106?
Yes. A cube with a loose path brings "Too bad.", and you can try again as many times as you need. Wrong answers may reduce the picarat value.
How many picarats is Puzzle 106 worth?
It shows 50 picarats when it starts. The puzzle can award 50, 45 or 40 picarats. Wrong answers may reduce the picarat value.
Is Daily Puzzle 106 the same as Puzzle 106?
No. Daily Puzzle 106 is Dinosaurs 03, from the St. Bronto's set. Story Puzzle 106 is the cube maze puzzle in the Merchant District.
More Miracle Mask puzzles
- Puzzle 105: Free Lunch!
- Puzzle 107: Toppings Up! 3
- Puzzle 108: Balls and Boxes
- Puzzle 109: Fishy Triangle
- Puzzle 110: Cozy Cabins
- Puzzle 104: Undercover Code
- Puzzle 103: Stars of the Stage
- Puzzle 102: Dice Crates
- Puzzle 101: Wonky Wiring
- Puzzle 099: Ancient Artistry 2
- Puzzle 113: Chip Champions
- Puzzle 118: Evenly Matched 3
For the rest of the game's puzzles, see the Miracle Mask puzzle index.