PROLOGUE: THE CLOCK SHOP ON MIDLAND ROAD

LAYTON: This seems an ideal time to consult the map that accompanied the letter.
LAYTON: Here, Luke. See if you can find the shop's location by yourself.
LUKE: Say no more, Professor!



In true Curious Village fashion, actually getting to the place we need to go involves a puzzle.
This one's still pretty simple and shouldn't take long at all to figure out.

(i) From now, hints/answers will be blurred if you want to play along & figure out these puzzles yourself.

HINT 1: To work out the route to the shop, you need to know where to turn, and in which direction...
HINT 2: Imagine the listed times being displayed on an analogue clock. The minute hand is always pointing straight up, but the hour hand points to various directions...
HINT 3: If you're having trouble, you might be trying to imagine yourself inside the map and working out the directions from there. Try looking at the map as you would a clock on the wall, then use the Memo function to draw the direction of the hour hand directly on to the map.
SUPER: For each time listed, move in the direction the hour hand would point on an analogue clock. The first time listed is 12:00, so keep going north at the first junction you come to. The next time is 03:00, so you've got to head east at the second junction. You can work out the rest from here.

SOLUTION & COMMENTS: The clock times represent the direction you should head in at every intersection. That would be north, east, north, west, then south in this case.



- PUZZLE 002 SOLVED! -
- 25/6000 PICARATS -- 2/168 PUZZLES -



After a very short tutorial on how to navigate the map that I've chosen to skip over, we've got proper control of the game now, and we can get back to poking every thing we can see:


♫ London Streets

[? BACKGROUND BUILDINGS] LAYTON: The London skyline is simply magnificent!
[? YELLOW CAR] LUKE: This car looks more comfortable than the Laytonmobile.
[? ALLEY] LAYTON: This alley leads to Midland Road.
[? BUS STOP] LUKE: Here's a bus timetable. It looks as if buses come quite regularly.
[? CHIMNEY] LUKE: Mmm! Something's cooking! Fresh bread? Chicken, maybe?

Speaking of poking things, this woman on the street has something to show us:



FLORENCE: I can tell from the looks on your faces that you're just dying to hear something useful!
FLORENCE: All right, here's my pearl of wisdom. Go and touch that car parked over there.

What, the (allegedly comfortable) car we just checked out earlier? What's the deal w-


Oh. Well that's not good.

- 11/300 HINT COINS FOUND -



FLORENCE: Never mind that! Did you see the coin that just popped out? That's a hint coin, and it's yours to keep.
FLORENCE: If you ever find yourself stuck on a puzzle, you can spend one of those lovely coins to get a hint.
FLORENCE: Just remember that there's a limit to the number of hint coins you can find.
(300, in fact!)
FLORENCE: If you use them willy-nilly, you may find yourself in a pickle later.
FLORENCE: Hint coins are tucked away all over the place, so touch anything that looks fishy. You might find a coin!
FLORENCE: Well, that's the end of my speech. Good luck with whatever it is you're doing round here. Ta-ta!

If we speak to her again:

LUKE: But... what about the car?
FLORENCE: Dear me, you've made quite a mess, haven't you? Now why did you go and do a thing like that?
LUKE: It wasn't m-my fault! You were the one who told me to touch it!
FLORENCE: Oh, did I now? I certainly didn't recall saying anything of the sort.

Well, before we get in trouble, let's quickly pillage the rest of the coins we can find on this screen then skedaddle:



- 14/300 HINT COINS FOUND -

Notice how we had to scrounge around in that tree for our 4th coin; that's a new feature introduced in PL3, although calling it a "feature" is a bit of a stretch since these hint coins aren't any different and simply require more taps to obtain. It's cute though.

Anyway let's get out of here before we get written up for destruction of property.



We get a short tutorial of the professor's trunk that I also skip because I already covered that earlier. We've also got three more hint coins to find here:



- 17/300 HINT COINS FOUND -

More things to look at here, too:

[? DOOR] LUKE: None of the shops around here seem to be open.
[? DOOR] LAYTON: They don't, do they? But many of them look as though they only open in the evening.
[? SKY] LUKE: Cor! Look at all those tall buildings.
[? UPPER PATCH OF GRASS] LAYTON: Such thick, luscious leaves! This plant is clearly well cared for.
[? SHOP SIGN] LUKE: It's a corner shop, but it seems no one's in at the moment.

Let's speak to the laughing fellow on the street here:



LUKE: All right. Well, thanks anyway.
VITO: Oh, wait a minute! On second thoughts, I think I passed a clock shop just the other day.
LUKE: Terrific! Do you remember where it was?
VITO: Hmm... That I'm not sure of.
VITO: I have trouble remembering stuff when I have other things on my mind...
VITO: Help me with this puzzle that's been bothering me and I might be able to remember where I saw that stop.
LUKE: You're in luck, sir! I happen to be a bit of a whizz when it comes to puzzles!



And here we have the first puzzle where you have to start doing JUST a little bit of math, and also play along with the insanity so to speak - you'll see what I mean when we get the answer.

HINT 1: You can choose any bus you like to get to work, but you have to take the first bus that leaves after you finish work in order to get back as quickly as possible. Remember to take this into consideration.
HINT 2: For example, suppose that there is a bus at 12:30. If you took this bus you would get to work at 13:30. By the time you finished work it'd be 15:30. Work out what time you'd finish work for each bus on the timetable this way.
HINT 3: Forget any preconceived notions you might have about what time work starts. You can work at any time you like.
SUPER: Don't rule out working at night and going home in the morning...

SOLUTION & COMMENTS: Of all the options, going to work at midnight gives us the shortest time spent waiting for the bus, which is just 2 hours for the 5 AM bus. You're always going to take 3 hours getting to work and 1 hour going back, so all that's really relevant is how long you'll have to wait for the bus back. Going to work at midnight sounds crazy, but you know, I think I could vibe with it.



- PUZZLE 003 SOLVED! -
- 35/6000 PICARATS -- 3/168 PUZZLES -



LUKE: Thanks. So about that clock shop...
VITO: Right, the clock shop. It's somewhere on this road... I think. Well, got to dash! See you later!
LUKE: Wait! Oh. He ran off.
(Gee, thanks, dude. These people and their puzzles...)
LAYTON: Ha ha ha! Something tells me he was more interested in getting us to solve his puzzle than in helping us.
LAYTON: Not to worry, though. I'm sure we'll be able to find the clock shop on our own.
LAYTON: It's probably just a bit further down this road.

Nothing left to look at here, so let's continue onwards.



Hey, we've seen that dude before! Before we talk to him, let's acquire hint coins and smudge our fingers everywhere first:



- 20/300 HINT COINS FOUND -

[? LEFT ALLEY] LUKE: I can see the clock shop down there!
[? RIGHT ALLEY] LUKE: That looks like a dead end, Professor...
[? GROUND] LAYTON: Mind you don't slip, Luke!



LUKE: Are you sure? I've got a feeling we've met somewhere...
(Yeah, man, what are you doing all the way here? I thought you were a- oh, wait, that's a Curious Village spoiler, oops)
STACHEN: Keh heh heh! Oh no, no, no, you must be thinking of someone else.
STACHEN: But anyhoo, I've got some juicy information you two might want to hear.
LAYTON: Ah, if you're going to tell us about hint coins, then I should stop you now.
LAYTON: A kind lady by the bus stop already gave us a comprehensive explanation.
STACHEN: What?! But... explaining hint coins is just about the only time we ever get to chat.
STACHEN: How could you let someone else give my speech?
(Damn, Stachen just had his whole life purpose stolen from him. That sucks.)
LUKE: You mean you've given us that talk before? So we HAVE already met!
STACHEN: Erm... Ahem. I'm suddenly not feeling too chipper. I'd better head home. I'll be seeing you 'round!
(He then unceremoniously slides offscreen. Bye!)

After Stachen leaves, he actually leaves a puzzle where he was standing, namely the stairs:



LAYTON: I'd say they probably lead up to that row of charming Victorian houses.
LAYTON: Say, Luke, all this talk of stairs has reminded me of a puzzle. Care to hear it?
LUKE: Would I ever!
(Wait, what do you mean "all this talk", that was like two sentences at mo-)



This is one of those ones that's hard to visualize entirely in your mind & becomes much easier with some written notes. No dirty tricks here though, just work it out as you normally would.

HINT 1: You can find the answer by doing a lot of calculations, but it's much easier to visualise if you use the Memo function. How many boxes have been moved after one minute? And where are the two men at that point?
HINT 2: After one minute, the larger man has carried two boxes up and the smaller man has carried one. The larger man is still upstairs though, while the little chap has made it back down to the ground floor. If this is the case, what's their progress after two minutes?
HINT 3: After two minutes, the larger fellow has made it down to the ground floor again and is ready to carry up some more boxes. His friend has brought another box upstairs, so there are a total of four boxes on the top floor. This means that there are just three boxes left to move.
SUPER: From the previous hints you know that after two minutes, four boxes have been brought upstairs, and both men are back down on the ground floor. If it takes 30 seconds for the smaller man to get upstairs with one box, and the larger fellow can make it upstairs with two boxes in a minute...

SOLUTION & COMMENTS: Three minutes. By the time the stronger man is back at the ground floor after 2 minutes, the smaller man will also have carried up 2 boxes, so one more minute is all it would take for both of them to bring the remaining 3 boxes upstairs - the return trip to the ground floor afterwards is irrelevant.





- PUZZLE 004 SOLVED! -
- 50/6000 PICARATS -- 4/168 PUZZLES -

Small anecdote: This no longer happens with PL2 and PL3, which now have a delay, but with PL1 specifically on emulator, the little progression notification at the bottom for the "all puzzles" achievement would show up as soon as you submitted the answer for the puzzle which was very funny because you'd find out immediately if you had it wrong because it wouldn't show up if your answer was incorrect, and it noticeably had some very slight delay for puzzles that involved drawing/writing something, presumably due to the game trying to process your answer.



(if the stairs are examined again post-puzzle)
LAYTON: There probably aren't any clock shops in a quiet residential area like that.

Enough about stairs, let's move on.



Well, you know the drill.



- 23/300 HINT COINS FOUND -

[? STAIRS] LAYTON: The walls are damp and clammy...
[? GIANT CLOCK] LUKE: You couldn't miss the fact that it's a clock shop, could you?
[? PUDDLE] LUKE: Whoa, that was close! My shoes nearly got a soaking!
[? METAL GATE] LAYTON: Don't touch that! You'll get your hands all dirty.

We've finally found the shop, let's.. go in?



LAYTON: Yes, finally.
LUKE: Let's go inside!
LUKE: Huh?
LAYTON: What seems to be the matter, Luke?
LUKE: The door's locked. How are we supposed to get in?
LAYTON: Let me have a look. Ah, it seems it's time for a puzzle. We have to solve this one to open the door.



HINT 1: You're looking for a timepiece. Bear in mind, however, that there are many different kinds of timepieces. Since you were told to "touch the panel with the timepiece on it", you know that the entire timepiece should fit on one panel...
HINT 2: You're not looking for an ordinary analogue or digital clock. There are other types of timepiece that don't have many moving parts. Try to think of some examples.
HINT 3: The timepiece you're looking for won't necessarily help you to tell the time. This timepiece shows you how much time has passed instead. You'd probably use a stopwatch to do that these days, but what you're looking for is more of a classic type of timepiece.
SUPER: You're looking for an hourglass. Surely you've seen one before? Now go ahead, try to find it!

SOLUTION & COMMENTS: It's the top-left one with an hourglass. Nothing else that could be considered a "timepiece" is entirely on one panel. This is possibly the least secure door lock I've seen. Future Luke's opsec sucks.



- PUZZLE 005 SOLVED! -
- 70/6000 PICARATS -- 5/168 PUZZLES -

LAYTON: Good day to you, madam. You'll have to excuse us, we're not here to buy anything, I'm afraid.
LAYTON: I received a letter the other day, you see, instructing me to come here.
SPRING: Tee hee hoo. A letter, you say? Let me have a look at it, dearie.
SPRING: Hmm, yes. There's no mistake here. Whoever sent you this letter wanted you to visit our little shop.
LAYTON: So you don't know who sent it to me?
SPRING: Unfortunately, I can't say that I do. But I do know who you are, Professor Layton!
LUKE: Oh really? And how do you know the professor?
SPRING: Tee hee hoo! Well, it's hard not to know a man who's in the papers so often.
SPRING: And I do so love my morning paper. I read it front to back, every day.
SPRING: So of course I know about the professor.
LUKE: Hey, did you hear that, Professor? Further proof that you're famous throughout London.
LUKE: Even all the way out here!
SPRING: Hey now! What do you mean, "all the way out here"?
SPRING: Just because we don't fancy living in sardine-tin flats doesn't mean we're not central!
SPRING: Still, it is quite a shock to see the famous Professor Layton in the flesh.
SPRING: Such a shock, in fact, that I'm going to need some proof that you're not one of those lookalikes!



No real trick to this one. The memo can make this easier.

HINT 1: The secret to solving this one is just patience and careful counting. Also, this is more a piece of advice than a hint, but try using the Memo function to mark the needles that thread A passes through. That should make things easier.
HINT 2: Use the Memo function to trace the path of thread A. Then use a different color to mark the needles that thread A passes through. You can even use a thicker line so that it's easier to see.
HINT 3: You still haven't got it? Well, it's a double-digit number. That should help a bit.
SUPER: The answer is the sum of the numbers one to four.

SOLUTION & COMMENTS: It's 10 needles.

This is the first puzzle Layton himself solves so here's a video:





- PUZZLE 006 SOLVED! -
- 85/6000 PICARATS -- 6/168 PUZZLES -



LUKE: Of course he does!
SPRING: Yes, well, about that letter...
SPRING: I can't say I've seen it before, but my husband might know something.
SPRING: He's out at the moment, but he should be back soon. Why not look around the shop while you wait?
(She says basically the same line if we try to talk to her again after this.)

Take a look we will. Hope you don't mind that we'll also steal all of your hint coins. You clearly don't need them! (neither do we actually, but shut up)



- 26/300 HINT COINS FOUND -

[? CLOCK MACHINERY] LAYTON: An impressively grand piece of apparatus!

Examining the huge clock in this room gives us another puzzle.



LAYTON: It certainly is impressive. Unfortunately, it doesn't appear to work.
LUKE: Then it's a good job there's so many other ways of telling the time here.
LAYTON: Oh, you've just reminded me of a splendid puzzle, Luke.



This series sure loves its clock/time-based puzzles, but it's even worse here considering time travel is the whole deal this time around.

HINT 1: Pay attention to where the hour and minute hands are pointing. If you have an analogue clock on hand, try moving the hands around and you'll soon find the answer.
HINT 2: Have you noticed that both the hour and minute hands are pointing exactly at gradations of the clock? They're in a straight line, too. What time does that indicate?
HINT 3: With the hour and minute hands pointing straight at the clock's gradations, the time must be ??:00, right on the hour. Considering that both hands are in a straight line, what time must it be?
SUPER: Even without an actual analogue clock, you can get the answer just by visualising one. First, imagine the hour and minute hands pointing the same way at 12:00. Now, if you move the hands round, hour by hour... There is a time when the hour and minute hands are pointing in a straight line.

SOLUTION & COMMENTS: It's 6:00 - the hour hand is pointing directly at an hour mark.



- PUZZLE 007 SOLVED! -
- 100/6000 PICARATS -- 7/168 PUZZLES -



[? GIANT CLOCK] LUKE: That side of the room is just one big clock face!

Nothing left to do on this screen, so let's look around in the front of the shop.



- 29/300 HINT COINS FOUND -

Examining any clock in this room reveals another puzzle:



LAYTON: Yes, and they're all extremely well made. Whoever built them must be very talented.
LUKE: Really? How can you tell that just by looking at them?
LAYTON: Ho ho! One gains an eye for these things with age, my boy.
LAYTON: You know, this might be the ideal time for this clock puzzle of mine.
LAYTON: Care to try it?
LUKE: You bet I would, Professor!



Luke, my boy, I've taken the last puzzle we literally just solved 30 seconds ago and changed one single detail and that's it. Wanna solve it again???

HINT 1: The hour hand and the minute hand are on top of each other, aren't they?
HINT 2: The hour hand and minute hands are on top of each other. They're also pointing at one of the hours.
HINT 3: The hour and minute hands are on top of each other. They're also pointing at one of the hours. There's only one hour it could be.
SUPER: Imagine the two hands pointing straight up. That should give you your answer.

SOLUTION & COMMENTS: It's 12:00. Obviously. I love how all four hints just repeat the same information we already have because, well, what the hell else can you even say without just giving it away?



- PUZZLE 008 SOLVED! -
- 115/6000 PICARATS -- 8/168 PUZZLES -



[? LEFT CLOCK] LAYTON: There's something poetic about clocks, ticking away quietly...
[? CLOCKS ABOVE] LUKE: Once you notice the ticking of a clock, it's impossible to ignore...
[? RIGHT CLOCK] LUKE: Erm... What time is it again?
[? GIANT CLOCK] LAYTON: That big clock is awe-inspiring, even from this distance.

I'm sick of all this damn clockage!!! Let me out!!!



I guess we're stuck here. Damn it. Let's just go back upstairs.



SPRING: Welcome back, dear. This here is Professor Layton.
SPRING: He tells me he has some business in our shop.
COGG: Layton? You're Professor Layton? My apologies! I wasn't expecting you so soon!
LAYTON: No apology necessary, my good man. Oh, and allow me to introduce my-
LUKE: Apprentice! I'm the professor's apprentice, Luke! Pleased to meet you, sir!
COGG: Luke, you say? Hmm...
COGG: What I mean to say is, those are some fine manners, lad! It's nice to meet you too. The name's Cogg.
LAYTON: You seemed a bit flustered by our arrival, Cogg. We certainly don't mean to impose...
COGG: Oh no, no, no. It's no trouble at all.
COGG: It's just that I had instructions to show you our biggest clock in action upon your arrival.
LAYTON: It certainly is a beauty. Pity it's not in working order.
COGG: Yes, I'd planned to give her a tune-up before you stopped by, so you could see her in all her glory.
COGG: But I'm getting on a bit these days, and I have trouble keeping the old girl in good repair.
COGG: I can't remember where to insert this last gear, and the clock won't work without it.
LAYTON: Ah, I see. That does indeed sound problematic.
COGG: Maybe you can help me. The papers say you're a learned man. Can you work out where this gear goes?
LAYTON: Hmm? Me? Well, I'd like to help, but I'm no expert in mechanics...
COGG: Well, at least give it a try. Don't you want to see our biggest clock in its full working glory?
LAYTON: I certainly do. Very well, I'll give it a shot.



Memo to the rescue again...

HINT 1: To find out how to make both the top and bottom cogs turn in the same direction, try following the cogs from one end to the other, checking the direction of each one. You do realise that adjacent cogs always turn in opposite directions, don't you?
HINT 2: With the method explained in Hint 1, you can systematically check the rotation sequence of the cogs when A, B and C are inserted. However, there is an even quicker way to work out the answer. Try reading Hint 1 again.
HINT 3: As you know from Hint 1, adjacent cogs move in opposite directions. If three cogs were lined up, the second cog would move in the opposite direction to the first, but the third cog would move in the same direction as the first. Thinking along these lines, any two cogs that have an odd number of cogs between them will always move in the same direction. Any two cogs with an even number of cogs between them will move in different directions.
SUPER: If you insert cog A, there will be four cogs between the top and bottom cogs. If you insert cog B, there will be five cogs between the two main cogs. Finally, inserting cog C would mean there are four cogs between top and bottom, the same as when cog A is inserted.

SOLUTION & COMMENTS: Cog B will do the trick.



- PUZZLE 009 SOLVED! -
- 140/6000 PICARATS -- 9/168 PUZZLES -

--- END OF... PROLOGUE. CONTINUE TO... CHAPTER 01 ---