About this picture
Inside an open-front wooden workshop, an elderly craftsman sits cross-legged on a raised timber floor, carefully shaping a noh theater mask from pale wood. Golden late-afternoon sunlight pours across his weathered face, dark work apron, and the delicate curls of wood shavings gathered around him. Behind his workbench, several finished theatrical masks hang from cedar boards, including demons with horns and an aged sage. Outside the stall, the sunset sky glows amber above traditional tiled roofs and a distant five-story pagoda.
The story so far
This photo is part of The Mender of Lantern Street, a story told one torn photograph at a time. In western Kyoto, Mira pieced together rain-soaked moss gardens and silent stone paths. In the dark reflection of a puddle by the temple gate, she spotted Ada's lost lens cap beside a familiar grey coat.
How to play
Drag a piece onto another square to swap them, or tap a piece and then tap where it should go. Hold Preview for a faded glimpse of the photo: enough to see where the sky and the street go, not the details. Pieces that belong together join up and move as one, and turn green once they are in the right place. You have 3:00 for these 25 pieces, and the clock keeps running if you leave the page. Each photo has three stars: one for restoring it, one for finishing with1:12 still on the clock without taking extra time, and one for doing it in 32 moves or fewer. Each episode starts with 2 hints and earns more along the way; unused hints carry over to later photos. Playing needs a free account, which keeps your stars and stamps on every device. Restoring photos earns stamps (more for more stars, and extra for whole episodes), which buy more time or more hints. Once the photo is restored, turn it over and look for the clue hidden in it. Photos open one after another and episodes in order; each new chapter opens once you have enough stars from the chapters before it.