Puzzle 129 is A Sweeping Solution, a 30-picarat Select puzzle that Yuming gives you in the Sapphire Suite at the Reunion Inn, in Chapter 7. The hotel's cleaners go through every room of a large suite without passing through any room twice. They take a different route every day, but one room always comes up at the same point in the route. You have to find that room. It's an optional puzzle.
This page covers story Puzzle 129 in Professor Layton and the Miracle Mask, the 3DS game (US and UK English). The suite 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 129 or Puzzle 129 from another Layton game, see Wrong Puzzle 129? below.
What Puzzle 129 is
| Name | A Sweeping Solution |
|---|---|
| Type | Select |
| Picarats | 30 |
| Location | Sapphire Suite, Reunion Inn, Monte d'Or |
| Chapter | Chapter 7 |
| How you start it | Talk to Yuming in the Sapphire Suite |
| Required? | No |
| Previous puzzle number | Puzzle 128, Faded Photos (Office) |
| Next puzzle number | Puzzle 130, Water, Wood, Fire (Emerald Suite) |
The puzzle reads: "This hotel has a suite with many rooms in it. Cleaning such a large suite is quite a task, so the hotel staff likes to take an efficient route that allows them to cover the whole suite without doubling back through any of the rooms. They take a different route every day, but no matter which order they clean in, there's always one room they pass through at the same point in the route. Can you work out which one?" The objective bar says "Which room?"
The top screen shows the suite from above: 13 rooms joined by doors, split into a left half and a right half. The touch screen shows a broom. You pick a room on the plan with the stylus and submit it.
Puzzle names
| Version | Puzzle name |
|---|---|
| North America | A Sweeping Solution |
| UK | A Sweeping Solution |
| Japanese | 部屋のお掃除 (Heya no O-sōji, "cleaning the rooms") |
The UK question has a few small wording differences, such as "quite the task" and "the hotel staff like to take".
Wrong Puzzle 129?
- Daily Puzzle 129 is Fountain 06, from the Pipework Patch-up set.
- Puzzle 128, Faded Photos, is the puzzle before this one, in the Office. If yours has four old photos of a horse-drawn carriage, that's the one you've got.
- Puzzle 130, Water, Wood, Fire, is the next puzzle, in the Emerald Suite. If yours is a card tournament with fire, wood and water cards, that's the one you've got.
- Puzzle 129 in another Layton game is a different puzzle. If yours doesn't show the floor plan of a hotel suite, you're in the wrong game.
Where you find it
After the lights go out at the Reunion Inn in Chapter 7, the objective becomes "Investigate the Guest Suites!" Go into the Sapphire Suite and talk to Yuming.
Yuming says, "We meet again, English gentleman." Luke asks, "Yuming, what are you doing here?" and Layton adds, "I thought you were at the Dromedary." She explains, "Yes, but they got the dates of my stay wrong, so I got moved over here." Then she asks, "So... are you just walking into rooms now?" and laughs it off: "Oh, I was joking! Please, come in! How about a puzzle?"
The Sapphire Suite has four hint coins: on the pillow, at the plant, on the painting and at the curtain.
You don't have to solve it to move on. The story doesn't need it.
When every route gives a different answer
- Trace a few routes. Go through all 13 rooms without entering any room twice, and number the rooms as you go. Then try a route from a different starting room and compare the numbers.
- Look at the shape of the suite. The rooms fall into a left half and a right half. See how many ways there are to get from one half to the other.
- You can't find the puzzle. Yuming is in the Sapphire Suite once you can search the guest suites, after the lights go out at the inn.
- A wrong answer. It lowers the picarats you can get. Read Hint 3 before you try again.
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: getting started
You want to find a route through the suite without passing through the same room twice.
Why not start off working out some routes and see where they take you?
Hint 2: comparing routes
No matter which route you take through the rooms, there is one room you will always pass through at the same point in the route.
To make it clearer, try starting from the top-left and top-right rooms and count the rooms as you pass through them. Was there a room that was the same number in both routes?
Hint 3: counting the rooms
Actually, you don't even need to trace out any routes to work out this puzzle.
Since there are 13 rooms in all, you have to pass through the same room at the seventh room. The two rooms in the middle of the suite are connected by only one door, so one of these rooms must be the central seventh room in any route.
Super Hint: the middle of the route
Considering the layout of the suite, we can suppose that one of the two large central rooms is the seventh one that comes up in the middle of any route through the 13 rooms. That room would have to have six rooms on either side of it, wouldn't it?
Which room is that?
Answer and full solution
The answer below names the room, shows it on the floor plan and explains why it's always in the same place in the route. Open it when you're ready.
Show the answer
Answer: the large central room on the left-hand side, the one with the long dining table. Select it on the plan and submit.
- Only one door joins the halves. The left half and the right half of the suite meet at a single door, between the two large central rooms. A route can't go back through a room, so it crosses that door exactly once: it does one whole half, then the other.
- Count the halves. The left half has seven rooms, including the large central room by the door. The right half has six.
- The crossing room is always seventh. If the route starts on the right, it covers the six right-hand rooms, crosses, and the large left-hand central room is room seven. If it starts on the left, it has to leave that room until last on its side, since that's where it crosses, so it covers the other six left-hand rooms first and that room is again room seven.
Every possible route through the suite puts that room seventh, and no other room keeps the same place in every route.
The game confirms it: "Correct! The large central room on the left-hand side is the only room that stays in the same position no matter the route. Use the wall between the two central rooms to divide the suite into two halves. There are several routes, but no matter whether you start on the left or the right, this room will always be the seventh room you pass through."
If it still doesn't work out:
- You picked the large central room on the right. It's next to the crossing door too, but it's the sixth room when a route starts on the right and the eighth when it starts on the left.
- You picked a room on the edge. Rooms at the ends of the suite can come first, last or somewhere else, depending on the route.
- The highlight is on the wrong room. Check which room is selected on the top screen before you submit.
Picarats, hints and hint coins
A Sweeping Solution shows 30 picarats when it starts. The puzzle can award 30, 25 or 20 picarats. Wrong answers may reduce the picarat value. A wrong answer brings the message "Too bad. Have you considered all the possible routes?" If you quit, Yuming says, "You're just visiting people in their rooms and leaving again, huh? Weird." When you talk to her again, she says, "Anyway, how about you solve this puzzle for me while you're here."
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 hints on this page are free to open.
Does it unlock anything?
Yes. Solving it adds the tenth aisle to the Shop minigame in the Professor's trunk: Antiques. The game announces, "You got a new shop aisle: "Antiques"!" Its description says, "Our largest aisle is home to a pristine selection of antiques, ranging from pots and paintings to books and clocks."
The Shop itself, and its first aisle, Fresh Fruits, come from Puzzle 010, The Place to Be!
Versions
- Nintendo 3DS family: this page covers the 3DS game. The suite is on the top screen, and you choose a room with the stylus.
- US and UK English versions: same suite, same answer, same name. The UK text differs only in small details of wording.
The scene around the puzzle
Before the puzzle, Layton tells Yuming, "I'm sorry to hear that," about the mix-up with her booking, and she answers, "The service is first rate, so I don't mind!"
When it's solved, Yuming says, "Hey, not bad! You know, I like the hotels in this town, but who comes up with these names?! I should ask the owner." If you talk to her again afterwards, she says, "I heard you can see the entire city from the roof here!"
FAQ
Where is the answer to Puzzle 129?
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 129 called?
A Sweeping Solution in both the North American and UK versions. In Japanese it's 部屋のお掃除.
Where is Puzzle 129?
In the Sapphire Suite at the Reunion Inn in Monte d'Or, in Chapter 7. Talk to Yuming once you can search the guest suites.
Do I have to solve Puzzle 129?
No. The story doesn't need it.
How many picarats is Puzzle 129 worth?
It shows 30 picarats when it starts. The puzzle can award 30, 25 or 20 picarats.
Is Daily Puzzle 129 the same as Puzzle 129?
No. Daily Puzzle 129 is Fountain 06, from the Pipework Patch-up set. Story Puzzle 129 is Yuming's hotel suite puzzle at the Reunion Inn.
More Miracle Mask puzzles
- Puzzle 126: Mystery Room
- Puzzle 127: Ace of Diamonds
- Puzzle 128: Faded Photos
- Puzzle 130: Water, Wood, Fire
- Puzzle 010: The Place to Be!
For the rest of the game's puzzles, see the Miracle Mask puzzle index.