Are there multiple solutions to Alchemist's Lair 08?

Question

In Professor Layton and the Miracle Mask, are there multiple solutions to the Alchemist's Lair 08 downloadable puzzle?

I find that the four flasks in the bottom right corner should be able to be connected in 3 different ways. But when I tried another one, the flasks turned red even though the number of tubes was correct. :S

(spoiler) Solution: http://professorlayton5walkthrough.blogspot.se/2012/09/dailypuzzle063.html

Explanation of the puzzle:

1. Touch a flask and slide to another flask in a direct horizontal or vertical line to connect the two flasks with a glass tube.

2. You can use up to two tubes to connect a pair of flasks. No tubes can cross each other. Touch a tube to remove it.

3. Each flask is numbered to show how many tubes it needs. Once you have enough, the number and flask will turn blue. Too many, and they will turn red.

4. The alchemy experiment will succeed when all the flasks turn blue and are connected with glass tubes.

Answer 1

That particular puzzle appears to be a game more commonly known under the name of "Hashiwokakero", or "Bridges" in the West.

Although you can play this game with different rules, such as the ability to create diagonal bridges, or being allowed to connect two islands using more than 2 bridges, there are a few rules that always apply to Bridges.

• Bridges are straight and must connect 2 islands with one another.
• Bridges cannot cross islands or other bridges.
• The number on each island shows how many bridges must connect to it.
• Every island must be connected to all other islands, directly or indirectly. I.e. they must form a single graph. You cannot have multiple groups of islands.

The bolded rule appears to be missing from your list. With it, the puzzle has only one solution. Without it, it could easily have multiple solutions.

By the way: from my experience with playing Bridges, I have never encountered a single game featuring multiple solutions. It is not impossible, however. A simple puzzle with 4 islands with value 3 can have multiple solutions:

3=3       3-3
| |  and  ǁ ǁ
3=3       3-3

Answer 2

It seems like all the flasks have to be connected in a single cluster.

I guess that is what they are trying to say in the 4th statement.

Answer 3

No simply, like all professor Layton games they are all very straight forward and most if not all only have one solution.