[DB044] Tangled Ropes

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043 - Board Splitter 2

044 - Tangled Ropes

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Tangled Ropes
Game	Professor Layton and the Diabolical Box
Number	044
Type	Circle Answer
Location	Mansion Road
Given by	Remy
Solved by	Professor Layton
Picarats	25
Mandatory	No
Reward	None
In other languages
日本語	からんだロープ karan da rōpu
Deutsch	Wirrungen
Español	Lío de cuerdas
Français	Entremêlés
Italiano	Groviglio di corde
한국의	얽혀 있는 고리

Tangled Ropes is a puzzle in Professor Layton and the Diabolical Box.

Puzzle

US Version

Three rope loops are tangled together with a single red rope. If you were to pull ends of the red rope, a single knot would form in the middle. Can you figure out how many of the rope loops would get caught in this knot when it forms?

Remember, even if a loop appears to have been pulled into the knot, you shouldn't count it in your answer if you can pull the loop free of the red rope with a tug.

UK Version

Three loops of rope are tangled together with a single red rope that has been tied in a very loose knot. Can you work out how many of the smaller loops of rope would get caught in this knot when the red rope is pulled tight from both ends?

Remember, even if a loop passes through the knotted part of the red rope now, it might fall away when the red rope is tightened.

Hints

• →
• Hint 1
• Hint 2
• Hint 3

Click a Tab to reveal the Hint.

US Version

Carefully study how the ropes are wrapped around each other. In at least a few places, the rapes may appear entangled but can actually be removed easily from the pile with a single tug.

You've probably experienced this phenomenon before when untangling a mess of appliance wires at home.

UK Version

Look carefully at the places where different loops overlap the red rope. Even if they appear to be wrapped around each other, they may only be piled on top of each other.

You've probably experienced this phenomenon before when untangling a mess of cables at home.

US Version

Pay special attention to the length of red rope forming a loop, as this portion of the rope will form a knot when pulled and is the key to solving this puzzle. Remember, any loops that aren't caught within the knot that forms don't count toward your answer.

UK Version

Pay special attention to the big loop in the red rope, since this is the part that will form a knot and and is the key to solving this puzzle.

Try using the Memo Function to trace which small loops of rope could become caught in the knot in the red rope when it its tightened.

US Version

Do you see the yellow loop of rope? It may look tangled in with the other, but it turns out that when it's pulled, this rope will slip free of all the other ones in the pile.

Now, what about those other two ropes?

UK Version

Do you see the yellow loop of rope? It may look tangled in with the others, but it turns out that when the red rope is pulled to make a tight knot, this loop will slip free.

Now, is there anything different about the other two smaller loops?

Solution

Incorrect

Too bad!

Make sure you examine every detail of the picture carefully!

Correct

Good thinking!

US Version

Not a single loop will become truly entangled in the knot that forms. When you pull the red rope and form a knot, one loop will fall away, and the other two will hang from the red rope, free of the knot.

UK Version

Not a single loop will become truly entangled in the knot that forms. When you pull the red rope and form a knot, one loop will fall away and the other two will hang from the red rope, free of the knot.