No. 002 - Lost and Found

[reminded]

[Action?]

[Somewhere, a puzzle sits. Abandoned.

Why? How? Nobody knows. But it looks innocent enough. Little blocks in playful colors, purposefully arranged inside a handcrafted house of wood. The blocks slide easily with a nudge, almost as if they were born to do so. It looks like the big red block would fit perfectly into the space on the right. In fact, it looks like it would be a pretty easy task. Might as well give it a try, right?

But this cheerful little puzzle has a dark secret. To the savvy, it's worth 99 picarats and requires a series of 81 moves at minimum to complete. To the not-as-savvy, that means it's a lot harder than it looks. This is not a puzzle for the weak.]


[Voice, evening]

Good evening, Luceti. I’ll only be a moment. I seem to have lost a puzzle of mine -- a sliding block puzzle, to be precise. Has anyone seen it? I would appreciate any word.

(( OOC: I don’t count on him actually getting the puzzle back, but it can be spotted anywhere and everywhere. And if you'd like to play out puzzle frustrations with someone other than Layton, go right ahead! Puzzle destruction is also a thing that is acceptable. Just sayin'.

P.S.: a video of the puzzle if you want to see it in action. ))

Comments

[immamartillo]

So then I shoot you? ...But then if I hit you it'd be even worse because he'd hafta go after me.

[reminded]

You're right there. Shooting me would leave you much worse off. Take a moment to think -- have you really explored all of the options open to you? This puzzle requires some creative thinking.

[immamartillo]

[He growls in frustration.]

But the only other person I could shoot would be me!

[reminded]

[Layton is unfazed. Frustration is a normal part of puzzle life.]

But of course, you wouldn't want to harm yourself either. Which means...?

[immamartillo]

I don't know! Shoot the air? How would that get anything done?

[reminded]

Well, let's consider the consequences of shooting the air. With your turn over, what do you expect I'll do on mine?

[immamartillo]

Well, if I were you I'd got after the tougher guy first. 'Cause if you shoot me, then he'd have to kill you, right?

[reminded]

Quite right. And from here, what possibilities do you see? Are they better or worse than if you had shot at Mr. Blue?

[immamartillo]

Better, I guess, if I can hit you when my turn comes back around. But that's still not guaranteed.

[reminded]

It is still a gamble, yes. But your prospects are much brighter than if you had shot Mr. Blue on your first turn, as counterintuitive as wasting a turn may seem. Doing puzzles often will help you get into the habit of thinking critically.

[immamartillo]

So that's the answer? But you only said I could shoot at you or Mr. Blue!

[No, he didn't.]

[reminded]

Now, now. If you'll recall, I asked, "At whom should you shoot?" And so the answer becomes... "nobody".

[immamartillo]

...That's a trick. That's not fair.

[reminded]

Tricky, to be sure, but not a trick. You would ask yourself the same question in a real world situation -- "Whom should I shoot?" -- and you would have the same options available to you.

[immamartillo]

Tricky, trick--they're the same thing! And anyway, in a real situation I could just use a knife instead and take both of 'em out.

[reminded]

[That's not very gentlemanly. But then again, gentlemen wouldn't be shooting each other dead.]

A knife? That would put you at an even greater disadvantage, surely?

[immamartillo]

Not if you're good enough. You don't hafta reload a knife, either, and it's easier to control it than a bullet.

[reminded]

Intriguing. I would love to see that in action, but I'm not sure if my heart would be able to handle it.

[Also violence is bad, mmkay.]

[immamartillo]

[He wonders if that's a joke.]

Seriously? You'd keel over and die just from seein' somethin' like that?

[reminded]

A figure of speech, good fellow. I'd rather not see anyone have to dodge bullets unless they were figurative.

[immamartillo]

Right. You know, that was pretty violent for a puzzle. They all like that?

[Puzzle people are weirder than he thought.]

[reminded]

Only if you want them to be. [He could probably put a macabre spin on a sliding block puzzle if he had the mind to.] What if I said our guns were actually water pistols?

[immamartillo]

Water pistols..? But then who cares who gets shot or not? No point in solvin' it then.

[reminded]

I think we'll have to agree to disagree there. Even so, I thank you for humoring me up to this point. Hershel Layton is my name. With whom am I speaking?

[immamartillo]

No problem.

[It actually was more interesting than he would have though, and if he were more polite he'd thank Layton for having patience with him.]

Firo Prochainezo. So you are that professor Luke's always talkin' about?