Puzzle 118 is Evenly Matched 3 (Pawn Portions 3 in the UK), a 50-picarat Draw Line puzzle. Mayor Billson gives it to you at City Hall Reception in Chapter 7. You can't skip it, because he won't hand over the papers you came for until it's solved. The board is 6 × 6 with eight white and eight black pawns. You draw lines along the grid to cut it into four pieces of the same shape and size, and every piece must hold two white pawns and two black pawns. Pieces may be rotated, but not mirrored.
This page covers the Nintendo 3DS version of Professor Layton and the Miracle Mask (also playable on 2DS and New 3DS). The US and UK releases use the same board and the same answer. The UK version calls the puzzle Pawn Portions 3 and the mayor Mayor Williams (Mayor Billson in the US), and the puzzle text is worded slightly differently. For example, the UK text says "This time round" and "rotated, but cannot be mirrored", while the US text says "This time around" and "rotated but cannot be mirrored". Quotes on this page use the US text. It is the story puzzle numbered 118 in the Puzzle Index. It isn't one of the downloadable Daily Puzzles, and it isn't puzzle 118 from any other Layton game.
Puzzle 118 at a glance
| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| Name | Evenly Matched 3 (US) · Pawn Portions 3 (UK) |
| Type | Draw Line ("Divide the board!") |
| Picarats | 50 on the first try. After one wrong answer it drops to 45, then to 40 |
| Where | Chapter 7, City Hall, Reception. Talk to Mayor Billson (Mayor Williams in the UK) |
| Can you skip it? | No. The mayor won't hand over Henry Ledore's property records until you solve it |
| Board | 6 × 6, with 8 white and 8 black pawns |
| Series | Evenly Matched 043, 071, 118 and 140 |
Where to find puzzle 118
Puzzle 118 comes up during Chapter 7, after Mrs Ascot turns up in Henry's study. Layton heads back to City Hall to see who owns what in Monte d'Or. Go into Reception and tap Mayor Billson. Layton asks for "all of the land deeds and ownership papers for any assets under the control of Henry Ledore". The mayor wants to check with Henry first, so he gives you something to do while you wait: "You solve this puzzle in the meantime!"
If you quit, the mayor stays put and won't help until you come back and solve it. The story can't move on without those papers, so this puzzle can't end up missed. Once you solve it, Michelle, the City Hall receptionist, brings out the documents and your Journal gets a new entry, "The Ownership of Monte d'Or". Then a policeman asks you to come to the briefing room, because the chief wants a word.
Same desk as Evenly Matched 2
The mayor gave you a chessboard puzzle at this same desk in Chapter 5. That one was puzzle 071, Evenly Matched 2. Puzzle 118 is a new board with a new rule: each piece must hold two pawns of each color. If you think you've already solved "the mayor's chess puzzle", check the number on the title card.
The rules, in plain words
The puzzle asks for four sections that are the same shape and the same size, each with four pawns, and this time "two white pawns and two black pawns in each section". The board has 36 squares, so every piece covers 9 of them.
The last line of the question is easy to miss: "solutions may be rotated but cannot be mirrored." You can turn a piece around, but you can't flip it over. Think of four identical wrenches on a pegboard. You can hang one upside down, but a flipped wrench would be a different part.
Lines snap to the grid, so you draw along the borders between squares. If a stroke goes wrong, tap Restart and start over.
Hints, one at a time
These follow the game's own hints, in the same order, with a little more explanation. 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: cutting the board in two
The pawns are spread out more evenly than in the mayor's earlier chess puzzles. Before you look for four pieces, look for one cut that splits the board into two halves with the same number of black pawns and the same number of white pawns in each. Count the pawns on each side of a few candidate lines. Which one comes out four and four?
Hint 2: from halves to quarters
Given where the pawns sit, a single straight vertical line down the middle of the board is a safe first cut, between columns C and D. Each half then has four white and four black pawns. Now split each half into two matching pieces. What has to be true about the two pieces on one half?
Hint 3: the leftmost column
Column A holds three pawns: two black ones (A2, A3) and one white one (A5). All three can go into the same piece. That piece still needs one more white pawn, and it has to come from column B. Which white pawn in column B can you reach while keeping the piece at nine squares?
Super Hint: finishing the left half
Add the white pawn on B3 to the piece with column A. Then shape the left half into two pieces that are the same size and shape. They can be turned, but not flipped. Once the left half works, the game's advice is to draw the same set of lines on the right half. The same lines, not a mirror image of them.
Answer and full solution
The answer below covers every step, with pictures of the finished puzzle. Open it when you're ready.
Show the answer
The answer is one straight line down the middle, between columns C and D, plus the same zigzag on each half. On the left, the zigzag gives column A plus B2, B3 and B6 to one piece. On the right, it's copied three columns over, not mirrored.
| Piece | Squares | White pawns | Black pawns |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | A1–A6, B2, B3, B6 | B3, A5 | A2, A3 |
| 2 | B1, B4, B5, C1–C6 | B1, C3 | B5, C6 |
| 3 | D1–D6, E2, E3, E6 | D6, E6 | D3, E3 |
| 4 | E1, E4, E5, F1–F6 | F1, F3 | E1, F5 |
This is the only cut that works. We checked every possible way to split this board into four same-shape, nine-square pieces, and this is the only one with two white and two black pawns in every piece. It's also the only layout listed in the game's own answer check, and the table art you see after solving shows the same three lines.
Step by step:
- The midline. Draw one straight line from top to bottom between columns C and D.
- The left zigzag. Start at the top edge between A and B. Go down one row, then right under B1, then down along the C side of B2 and B3. Go back left under B3, down between A and B past rows 4 and 5, right under B5, and finish down the C side of B6 to the bottom edge. That makes piece 1: column A plus B2, B3 and B6.
- Copy it on the right. Draw the same zigzag three columns over. Start at the top between D and E, step right under E1, run down the F side of E2 and E3, step back under E3, run down between D and E past rows 4 and 5, step right under E5, and finish down the F side of E6. Then tap Submit.
If your answer keeps failing:
A wrong answer gets the message "Too bad. Are you sure you had two black and two white pawns in each section?" Check these:
- You mirrored the right half. This is the usual mistake. If the right zigzag starts between E and F instead of between D and E, the piece on D takes only D3, D6 and E1 (three pawns) and the piece on F takes five.
- A piece has three of one color. Four pawns isn't enough on its own. Every piece needs two of each color.
- A line stops short. All three lines run the full height of the board. A gap leaves two pieces joined together.
- Stray strokes. An extra stroke changes the layout the game reads. Tap Restart and draw only the three lines.
Picarats and hint coins
Puzzle 118 pays 50 picarats if you solve it on the first try, 45 after one wrong answer and 40 after that. Buying hints doesn't lower the reward. Hints 1 to 3 cost one hint coin each and the Super Hint costs two. The hints on this page are free, so you can save your coins.
Evenly Matched 1 to 4
| No. | Puzzle | Where | Picarats |
|---|---|---|---|
| 043 | Evenly Matched (UK: Pawn Portions) | Chapter 3, City Hall Steps | 35 |
| 071 | Evenly Matched 2 | Chapter 5, Reception | 45 |
| 118 | Evenly Matched 3 (UK: Pawn Portions 3) | Chapter 7, Reception | 50 |
| 140 | Evenly Matched 4 | Layton's Challenges | 80 |
All four are Draw Line puzzles on a 6 × 6 chessboard, and each gets harder. Some older guides list puzzle 094 as an earlier chessboard, but 094 is Cursed Case, an Arrange puzzle in Ruins B5.
Questions about puzzle 118
Where is the answer to Puzzle 118?
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 118 in Professor Layton and the Miracle Mask?
It's Evenly Matched 3, a 50-picarat Draw Line puzzle. You cut a 6 × 6 chessboard into four same-shape pieces with two white and two black pawns in each.
What is the UK name?
Pawn Portions 3. The UK version also calls the mayor Mayor Williams, and a few words of the puzzle text differ. The board and the answer are the same.
Can the pieces be mirrored?
No. The question says solutions "may be rotated but cannot be mirrored". You can turn a piece in any direction, but a flipped copy counts as a different shape.
How many picarats is puzzle 118 worth?
50 if you get it right first time, 45 after one wrong answer and 40 after that. Hints don't change the reward.
Is this the same as the mayor's earlier chess puzzle?
No. The Chapter 5 puzzle at the same desk is 071, Evenly Matched 2. Puzzle 118 is a different board that needs two pawns of each color per piece.
I'm looking for puzzle 118 in a different Layton game.
Every Layton game numbers its puzzles separately, so puzzle 118 in Curious Village, Diabolical Box, Unwound Future, Last Specter or Azran Legacy is a different puzzle. This page only covers Miracle Mask.
More Miracle Mask puzzles
- Puzzle 60: Dangerous Holes
- Puzzle 100: Gate to the Ruins!
- Puzzle 113: Chip Champions
- Puzzle 122: Kitty Solitaire 3
- Puzzle 117: Ride Rotation
- Puzzle 119: Fairly Shared Squares
For the rest of the game's puzzles, see the Miracle Mask puzzle index.