Frequently Asked Questions


What is the password to open The Secret of the Elysian Box?

You can see a step by step guide to unlocking the secret here

This also let's you see what's hiding behind the door if you no longer have the Curious Village to get the password needed for your DS


What is the password to open A Ticket to Time Travel?

The password (generated from internal DS data) is unique to each DS and passwords from other people will not work on your DS

You can see what's hiding behind the door here

It's recommended that you wait until after completing the Diabolical Box story before looking at this (there's a spoiler)


My microphone is broken, will this be a problem?

Yes, the microphone is needed shortly before the end of the story

To see how the story ends (and to unlock the last two bonus houses), you'll need to borrow a DS or perhaps ask your local gaming store whether you could use their DS to get past the puzzle

Alternatively, you could try rubbing a piece of wire inside the microphone connector (found beside the headphone connector) to produce enough static noise to simulate blowing into the microphone


What are the picarats for?

The picarats basically represent your score for the game

They also unlock (based on the number of picarats) art, music, character profiles, voice and movies in the Top Secret section

Don't worry about incorrect answers as you'll still have enough picarats to unlock everything even if you receive the lowest number of picarats from every puzzle in the game

You don't receive anything extra (besides personal satisfaction) for finishing the game with a perfect score


Can any puzzles be permanently missed?

No, you can return to Folsense after completing the story to find any puzzles that you've missed

Any missing puzzles will either be in Granny Riddleton's Shack or still in their original locations


Can any hint coins be permanently missed?

Yes, there are 67 hint coins that could be permanently missed

The walkthrough includes Hint Coin Warnings to alert you of steps that will cause any hint coins not yet found to be permanently lost


Do you get anything special for collecting all 230 hint coins?

No, only the personal satisfaction of doing so


Can anything else be permanently missed?

No, all remaining diary keys and everything needed to complete the trunk tasks (camera, hamster and tea set) can still be found or accomplished even after completing the story


Can I continue exploring after finishing the story?

Yes, although you can't revisit locations prior to Folsense

You can see how to return to Folsense here


Do people become thirsty again if I give them the wrong tea?

Yes, everyone that needs to have a tea break continue becoming randomly thirsty until they're served the correct tea

To get someone thirsty again, you need to keep running out of and back to their location (sometimes more than ten times)


I've served 25 teas but I can't find Stachenscarfen for the 26th

Stachenscarfen (aka Stachen) is not the person you're missing

Stachenscarfen is the one who tells you about serving teas to thirsty folk and you can't explore Folsense until he's had his tea


I've served 25 teas but I can't find the 26th thirsty person

There's no easy way to tell who you've missed

You need to work through the people in the Tea Break index that you're not sure about (running out of and back to their location, say, ten times) until you find someone who becomes thirsty

Clicking on someone in the Tea Break index will show you whether there's something you must have already done before that person will become thirsty (solve a puzzle, visit a location, etc)


Why do the letters I write keep turning into numbers?

Read the puzzle question again, the answer will be a number


Why is the Sweethearts' House locked after finishing the story?

After watching the end of the story, wait until the credits finish rolling then save when prompted to do so

You can see this in more detail here here


Why is the Puzzle Doctor's House locked after 150 puzzles?

The game's puzzle index only shows those puzzles that have been found, so if the last puzzle in the index is number 150, this doesn't necessarily mean that you've both found and solved 150 puzzles

Importantly, when you select the save slot to load, this needs to show 138/138 (the puzzles from the story) and all four other houses must say "Complete!" (for a total of 150 puzzles solved)

If the slot shows, for example, that you've solved/found 137/137 puzzles, then you have to very carefully look through the game's puzzle index to find the missing puzzle number

If you look through the game's puzzle index and don't find the missing puzzle, keep looking as some players have had to scroll through the index several times before they spot the missing number

Once you know which puzzle (or puzzles) you've missed, use the walkthrough's index to see where to find the puzzle (or puzzles)

If the walkthrough points out that the puzzle will only appear in its original location if you haven't already done something, then the puzzle will instead be found in Granny Riddleton's Shack




This free video game walkthrough is for the Nintendo DS
Professor Layton and the Diabolical Box Walkthrough
Professor Layton and Pandora's Box Walkthrough