Puzzle 130 is Water, Wood, Fire, a 50-picarat Multiple Choice puzzle that Conner gives you in the Emerald Suite at the Reunion Inn, in Chapter 7. Four players, A to D, play a knockout card tournament where fire beats wood, wood beats water and water beats fire. Afterwards, one of them grumbles that they'd have won if they could have swapped their wood and water cards. You have to work out who said it. You need to solve it to search the room and go on with the story.
This page covers story Puzzle 130 in Professor Layton and the Miracle Mask, the 3DS game (US and UK English). The cards 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 130 or Puzzle 130 from another Layton game, see Wrong Puzzle 130? below.
What Puzzle 130 is
| Name | Water, Wood, Fire |
|---|---|
| Type | Multiple Choice |
| Picarats | 50 |
| Location | Emerald Suite, Reunion Inn, Monte d'Or |
| Chapter | Chapter 7 |
| How you start it | Talk to Frankie and Conner in the Emerald Suite |
| Required? | Yes |
| Previous puzzle number | Puzzle 129, A Sweeping Solution (Sapphire Suite) |
| Next puzzle number | Puzzle 131, Jewels to the Lock (Grand Hall) |
The puzzle reads: "The cards in this tournament beat each other as follows: fire > wood > water > fire. Four players each draw four cards, which they have to play in order going from top to bottom. Both players in a match play one card. Whoever wins moves on to the final, but if it's a draw, the next cards are played. Used cards are discarded. At the end of the tournament, one player announces, "I'd have won if I'd been allowed to swap wood for water and water for wood!" Who said this?" The objective bar says "Who's the sore loser?"
The top screen shows the bracket: A plays B and C plays D in the first round, and the winners meet in the final. Under each player is a column of four cards, played from the top down. The touch screen shows the four players. Touch the one you think said it.
From the top down, the cards are: A, water, wood, water, fire; B, water, fire, water, fire; C, wood, water, wood, water; D, water, wood, fire, fire.
Puzzle names
| Version | Puzzle name |
|---|---|
| North America | Water, Wood, Fire |
| UK | Water, Wood, Fire |
| Japanese | カードで勝負 (Kādo de Shōbu, "a card match") |
The UK Hint 1 is worded differently: "There's only one player who would have no reason whatsoever to be unhappy with the cards they drew: the winner." The UK answer text also calls player C "he", where the US text says "she".
Wrong Puzzle 130?
- Daily Puzzle 130 is Police 06, from The Barking Beat set.
- Puzzle 129, A Sweeping Solution, is the puzzle before this one, in the Sapphire Suite. If yours asks about a route through the rooms of a hotel suite, that's the one you've got.
- Puzzle 131, Jewels to the Lock, is the next puzzle, in the Grand Hall. If yours is a locked book with jewels to rotate, that's the one you've got.
- Puzzle 130 in another Layton game is a different puzzle. If yours doesn't show a tournament of fire, wood and water cards, 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 Emerald Suite. Frankie and Conner are staying there, and they're in the middle of a row when you walk in. Conner says, "Might I ask what you're doing here... in my hotel room? Hmm?!" and Layton answers, "My apologies, gentlemen. Please don't mind me."
Talk to them. Frankie says, "Since you keep gettin' up in our faces, it must mean you wanna duke it out!" Layton answers, "Perhaps some other time. Right now, I need your permission to search this room." Conner replies, "Ohoho! My, aren't we presumptuous. Of course, Layton! Please, rifle through my room... as soon as you solve this puzzle."
The Emerald Suite has four hint coins: on the vase, on a decoration, at the window and at the plant.
You have to solve it to move on. You need to search the Emerald Suite, and Conner won't let you until the puzzle is solved.
When the matches don't add up
- Play out the real tournament first. Go card by card down each column. A draw means both players play their next card. Whoever wins the final can't be the one complaining.
- Used cards are gone. In the final, each player carries on from the card after the last one they played in the first round, not from the top.
- Then swap one player's cards. For each other player, turn every wood card into water and every water card into wood, keep fire as it is, and play the tournament again with only that player changed.
- 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: who to rule out
If the player was dissatisfied with the cards drawn, that person must not have been the winner.
If you work out who the winner was, you can rule out that player right away.
Hint 2: the real tournament
Here's how you work out the actual winner:
A versus B
- A (water), B (water) = draw
- A (wood), B (fire) = B wins
C versus D
- C (wood), D (water) = C wins
B versus C (final)
- B (water), C (water) = draw
- B (fire), C (wood) = B wins
B is the winner overall.
Hint 3: testing one player
B is the winner, so the one complaining is A, C, or D. What if A had been allowed to swap wood for water and water for wood?
A versus B
- A (wood), B (water) = A wins
A versus C (final)
- A (water), C (water) = draw
- A (wood), C (wood) = draw
- A (fire), C (water) = C wins
A would have lost even if he had swapped his cards, so A isn't the sore loser.
Super Hint: testing another player
The one who complained must be either C or D. What if C had been allowed to swap her cards?
C versus D
- C (water), D (water) = draw
- C (wood), D (wood) = draw
- C (water), D (fire) = C wins
B versus C (final)
- B (water), C (wood) = C wins
In this scenario, C wins. Hold on--didn't B beat C in the actual game?
Answer and full solution
The answer below names the player, plays out every version of the tournament and explains why the other players don't fit. Open it when you're ready.
Show the answer
Answer: C. Touch C on the touch screen.
The real tournament. A and B draw with water, then B's fire beats A's wood. C's wood beats D's water. In the final, B and C draw with water, then B's fire beats C's wood. B wins, so B isn't complaining.
If C swaps wood and water, C's cards become water, wood, water, wood. Against D, water draws with water and wood draws with wood, then C's water beats D's fire. In the final C plays her last card, wood, against B's first card, water, and wood beats water. C wins the tournament, so C is the one who said it.
The others don't fit:
- A: with the swap, A's cards become wood, water, wood, fire. A beats B straight away, wood against water, but then loses the final to C: water draws with water, wood draws with wood, and C's water puts out A's fire.
- D: with the swap, D's cards become wood, water, fire, fire. Against C, wood draws with wood and water draws with water, then D's fire beats C's wood. In the final, D's last fire meets B's first card, water, and water beats fire, so B still wins.
The game confirms it: "Correct! It was C who was lamenting her bad luck. If she'd had a few more draws, she would have won!"
If it still doesn't work out:
- You picked B. B won the real tournament, so B has nothing to complain about.
- You picked A or D. Play their swapped cards through as shown above. Either way, they still lose a match.
- Your tournament goes differently. Check that you started each player's final from the card after the last one used in the first round.
Picarats, hints and hint coins
Water, Wood, Fire 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. You know from the diagram that in the first round, A plays B and C plays D." If you quit, Conner says, "You may not search the room until you've solved our puzzle!" When you talk to him again, he says, "Come now! If you want to search our room, you must solve this 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. The hints on this page are free to open.
Does it unlock anything?
Yes. Solving Water, Wood, Fire opens the ninth course of the Toy Robot minigame in the Professor's trunk. The game announces, "You got a new stage for your toy robot: "Floating Castle"!" Its description says, "If you look up at the sky after a storm clears, you just might catch a glimpse."
The toy robot itself comes from Puzzle 005, Robot Factory. The eighth course, Small Town, comes from Puzzle 108, Balls and Boxes. Solving this puzzle also lets you search the Emerald Suite.
Versions
- Nintendo 3DS family: this page covers the 3DS game. The bracket and the cards are on the top screen, and you choose a player on the touch screen.
- US and UK English versions: same cards, same answer, same name. The UK Hint 1 is worded differently, and the UK answer text calls C "he" rather than "she".
The scene around the puzzle
When it's solved, Conner splutters, "Well, I... Wow. You actually solved it!" Frankie needles him: "Way to go, Conner. I thought your plans were always so perfect!" Conner snaps back, "Stick a sock in it, Frankie! A dirty one. Go ahead, Layton. There's nothing of value left in here, anyway."
Layton promises, "We will be as quick as possible," and the search of the Emerald Suite begins.
FAQ
Where is the answer to Puzzle 130?
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 130 called?
Water, Wood, Fire in both the North American and UK versions. In Japanese it's カードで勝負.
Where is Puzzle 130?
In the Emerald Suite at the Reunion Inn in Monte d'Or, in Chapter 7. Talk to Frankie and Conner while the objective reads "Investigate the Guest Suites!"
Do I have to solve Puzzle 130?
Yes. Conner won't let you search the Emerald Suite until you solve it, and the story needs that search.
How many picarats is Puzzle 130 worth?
It shows 50 picarats when it starts. The puzzle can award 50, 45 or 40 picarats.
Is Daily Puzzle 130 the same as Puzzle 130?
No. Daily Puzzle 130 is Police 06, from The Barking Beat set. Story Puzzle 130 is Conner's card tournament puzzle at the Reunion Inn.
More Miracle Mask puzzles
- Puzzle 126: Mystery Room
- Puzzle 127: Ace of Diamonds
- Puzzle 128: Faded Photos
- Puzzle 129: A Sweeping Solution
- Puzzle 108: Balls and Boxes
For the rest of the game's puzzles, see the Miracle Mask puzzle index.