Puzzle 142 is Spinning Maize 3, a 55-picarat maze in The Ringmaster's House, one of Layton's Challenges. The red ladybug has lost its blue friend on a third corncob. This cob has ten tunnels running right through it, and the blue ladybug is only a few squares away, walled off by kernels, so you have to go the long way round.
This page covers bonus Puzzle 142 in Professor Layton and the Miracle Mask, the 3DS game (US and UK English). The cob and the route are the same in the US and UK English versions; quotes use the North American text. If you're after Daily Puzzle 142, one of the earlier corncobs, or Puzzle 142 from another Layton game, see Wrong Puzzle 142? below.
What Puzzle 142 is
| Name | Spinning Maize 3 (US and UK) |
|---|---|
| Type | Maze |
| Picarats | 55 |
| Location | Layton's Challenges, The Ringmaster's House (Bonuses menu) |
| Chapter | None. It's a bonus puzzle outside the story |
| How you unlock it | Finish all ten plays of the Rabbit Show minigame |
| Required? | No, it's optional |
| Previous puzzle number | Puzzle 141, Fix the Fossil 2 (The Shopkeeper's House) |
| Next puzzle number | Puzzle 143, Flowery Footpath 2 (The Ringmaster's House) |
The puzzle reads: "Our ladybug friends have lost each other yet again! Between the corn kernels in their way and the tunnels that run right through the corncob, the obstacles are many. Can you help the red ladybug find its friend again?" The objective bar says "Guide the ladybug!"
It plays like Puzzle 055, Spinning Maize 2. You tap the touch screen to turn the ladybug and hold the stylus down to make it walk. Kernels block the way, the cob turns as you walk round it, and stepping onto a tunnel hole takes you out of the hole at the other end of that tunnel.
How the cob works
- Kernels block the way. The ladybug can only walk on the bare cob between them.
- The cob is round. On the flat map, walking off the bottom edge brings you back in at the top, and the other way round.
- Each tunnel has two holes. Step onto one and you come out of the other. On the answer map, holes with the same number are the two ends of one tunnel.
- Tunnels work both ways. You can go back through a tunnel the way you came.
Puzzle names
| Version | Puzzle name |
|---|---|
| North America | Spinning Maize 3 |
| UK | Spinning Maize 3 |
| Japanese | ぐるぐるコーン3 (Guruguru Kōn 3, "spinning corn 3") |
The name is the same in the US and UK versions. The UK text says "ladybird" instead of "ladybug" and "ten tunnels" instead of "10 tunnels". In Japanese it's ぐるぐるコーン3.
Wrong Puzzle 142?
- Daily Puzzle 142 is Dinosaurs 07, from the St. Bronto's set.
- Puzzle 019, Spinning Maize, is the first corncob, on Pebble Lane in Chapter 2. It has kernels but no tunnels.
- Puzzle 055, Spinning Maize 2, is the second corncob, on Pebble Lane in Chapter 4. It has four tunnels.
- Puzzle 142 in another Layton game is a different puzzle. If yours doesn't show ladybugs on a corncob, you're in the wrong game.
Where you find it
Puzzle 142 is one of the fifteen bonus puzzles in Layton's Challenges, which you open from the Bonuses section. The challenges are split into five houses of three puzzles each, and The Ringmaster's House holds Puzzles 142, 143 and 144. Spinning Maize 3 is the first puzzle in that house.
The Ringmaster's House opens when you finish the Rabbit Show, the minigame in the Professor's trunk where you teach the rabbit to act. Once all ten plays are done, the game tells you, "The Ringmaster's House has been added to Layton's Challenges." The Miracle Mask minigames page has help with every play.
When the ladybug won't get there
- The blue ladybug is right there, but you can't reach it. Kernels wall it in. The only way to it is through a tunnel.
- You keep coming back to the same place. After the first tunnel, turning left only leads you in circles. Go right instead, as Hint 3 says.
- You walked off the edge of the map. The top and bottom edges join, so walking off one brings you back on the other.
- You came out somewhere useless. Not every tunnel helps. Go back through the one you just took and try a different hole.
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: how many tunnels
This corncob has a total of 10 tunnels! You'll need to go through at least five of those to find the blue ladybug.
Hint 2: the first tunnel
First, take the tunnel that's down and to the left of your starting area. Which way next?
Hint 3: the second tunnel
After emerging from the tunnel mentioned in Hint 2, head to the right. If you go left, you'll only end up going in circles!
So make sure you go right, and then head down to the tunnel hole below.
Super Hint: the third tunnel
When you get out of the tunnel mentioned in Hint 3, you'll find yourself in an area with two other tunnels. Take the one on the bottom right.
Beyond here, there's only one route that goes straight to the blue ladybug. Get to it, then!
Answer and full solution
The answer below shows the whole route on the flat map, stage by stage. Open it when you're ready.
Show the answer
The answer: go through five tunnels in this order, the one down and to the left of the start, the one below where you come out, the bottom-right one of the next pair, then the only other hole in each of the next two areas. The fifth tunnel comes out just above the blue ladybug.
Step by step:
- Tunnel 1. Go down 1, right 1, down 2, left 1 and down 1, then left 4 into tunnel 1, the hole down and to the left of where you started.
- Tunnel 2. You come out near the top of the map. Go right 1, down 3, left 1, then down 1 into tunnel 2. Don't turn left here: that only leads round in circles.
- Tunnel 3. You come out in an area with two other holes. Go up 1, right 1, up 1, right 4, down 1, right 1, down 2, then right 1 into tunnel 3, the bottom-right one of the two.
- Tunnel 4. Go up 2, left 3, then down 1 into tunnel 4.
- Tunnel 5. Go down 2, left 2, then up 2 into tunnel 5.
- The blue ladybug. Tunnel 5 comes out just above the blue ladybug. Go down 2, then left 1.
The game says: "Well done! Our ladybugs look happy! But hold on... If they can fly, why couldn't they find each other like that?!"
If it still doesn't work out:
- You came out of tunnel 1 and went left. That way loops back on itself. Go right from the hole instead.
- You took the other hole in the area after tunnel 2. Go back through it and head for the bottom-right hole, as the Super Hint says.
- You lost your place on the map. Find the last numbered hole you used and pick up the list from the stage after it.
Picarats, hints and hint coins
Spinning Maize 3 shows 55 picarats when it starts.
Hints cost hint coins, not picarats. Hints 1 to 3 cost one hint coin each and the Super Hint costs two, five in total. There are no hint coins to find in Layton's Challenges, so you'll spend coins saved from the story, or you can use the free hints on this page.
Does it unlock anything?
No. It doesn't give you an item. You get the picarats, and it counts toward the fifteen Layton's Challenges. Solve all fifteen and the game congratulates you: "Congratulations! You solved all 15 of Layton's Challenges!"
Versions
- Nintendo 3DS family: this page covers the 3DS game. The cob turns on the top screen, and you steer on the touch screen with the stylus.
- US and UK English versions: the cob, the hints and the route are the same. The UK text says "ladybird", and the UK Hint 1 spells out "ten tunnels".
The scene around the puzzle
There's no story scene for the bonus puzzles. The top screen shows the two ladybugs on the turning corncob, the same view as the two Pebble Lane cobs.
FAQ
Where is the answer to Puzzle 142?
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 142 called?
Spinning Maize 3, in both the North American and UK versions. In Japanese it's ぐるぐるコーン3.
Where is Puzzle 142?
In Layton's Challenges, in the Bonuses section. It's the first puzzle in The Ringmaster's House, which opens once you've finished all ten plays of the Rabbit Show.
Do I have to solve Puzzle 142?
No. It's a bonus puzzle, so it has nothing to do with finishing the story.
Do I need all ten tunnels?
No. As Hint 1 says, you need at least five of them. The route in the answer uses exactly five.
How many picarats is Puzzle 142 worth?
Worth 55 picarats.
Is Daily Puzzle 142 the same as Puzzle 142?
No. Daily Puzzle 142 is Dinosaurs 07, from the St. Bronto's set. Puzzle 142 is the third ladybug corncob maze, in The Ringmaster's House.
More Miracle Mask puzzles
- Puzzle 143: Flowery Footpath 2
- Puzzle 019: Spinning Maize
- Puzzle 055: Spinning Maize 2
- Puzzle 141: Fix the Fossil 2
- Puzzle 100: Gate to the Ruins!
- Puzzle 099: Ancient Artistry 2
For the rest of the game's puzzles, see the Miracle Mask puzzle index.