Crumb Colony › How to play & tips

How to play & tips

Crumb Colony is a free ant pixel puzzle game: tap color boxes in the tray to release ants of that color, and they eat the pixel picture from the outside in and carry it back to the nest. Here are all the rules and the best strategies.

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The basics

Send ants Tap a colored box in the front row of the tray. It drops into a nest slot and that many ants of its color set off, one after another.

Outside in Ants can only bite blocks that are exposed: on the edge of the picture, or next to a cell that has already been eaten. Inner colors appear only after the outer layers are gone.

Don't jam the nest There are only 5 slots. A color that can't be eaten yet keeps its slot busy. If every slot is full and nothing can move, the level is lost.

In-depth guides

Strategy guide: reading the tray and keeping the nest clearThe core strategy for Crumb Colony: read the picture from the outside in, plan by columns, keep a slot free, and know when a level gets tight.Chained boxesHow chained boxes work in Crumb Colony: both halves must be at the front, they need two free slots, and they leave the nest together. Plus how to plan around them.Locks and golden keysHow locks and golden keys work in Crumb Colony, which lock a key opens, why the depth of a key matters, and how to play levels with locked boxes.Ice blocksHow ice works in Crumb Colony: frozen blocks need two bites, which slows down their area and keeps the matching boxes in the nest longer.Spider webs and soldier antsHow spider webs work in Crumb Colony: nothing under the web can be eaten until soldier ants bite through it. When to send the leafy soldier box and how many bites you need.Number blocksHow number blocks work in Crumb Colony: one big block spread over several cells, with a number showing how many bites it still needs.Conveyor trayHow the conveyor tray works in Crumb Colony chapter 3: every few taps the front row shifts right. Rules, what it changes and how to use the turns.Gift wrappingHow gift wrapping works in Crumb Colony chapter 4: every picture starts wrapped in paper and ribbon, which tear from the edges inward and reveal the dish underneath.NoodlesHow noodles work in Crumb Colony chapter 5: long strands can only be eaten from an end, which turns them into walls and tunnels through the picture.BoostersWhat each booster in Crumb Colony does, how to get more, how they affect your stars, and which one to use in which kind of jam.Difficulty curvesFrom chapter 2 on, every Crumb Colony level puts its pressure in a different phase. What the five difficulty curves mean and how to play each one.

Tips to win

FAQ

Do I need to download Crumb Colony?

No. It is a web game: open it in any phone or computer browser and play. Progress is saved in your browser.

Is it free?

Yes, it is free and needs no account.

How many levels are there?

240 levels in twelve chapters: Snack Street, Night Market, World Tour, Festival Table, Chinese Classics, Meadow Feast, Autumn Fields, By the Creek, The Farmyard, The Corner Shop by the School, Summer Nights and Halloween Night, 20 levels each, with a tougher level about every five. World Tour adds a conveyor tray, Festival Table adds gift wrapping and Chinese Classics adds noodles; in Meadow Feast the key box is often buried deep in the tray where you can't see it, so sometimes you have to gamble on which column to dig. Autumn Fields, By the Creek, The Farmyard, The Corner Shop by the School and Summer Nights are the hardest chapters so far: every Autumn Fields level is about as tough as level 116, with the key box often buried deep in the tray; By the Creek is harder still, with fewer clues, more hidden boxes and more chained boxes; and in The Farmyard many pictures have long strands, like ropes, tails, clotheslines and smoke, that can only be eaten from their ends, just like noodles. The Corner Shop by the School and Summer Nights have no chained boxes; the hard part is that the deciding box is buried deep in the tray, so you can't tell from the front rows which column to dig. Halloween Night is played in the dark: you can only see around the parts already eaten, and clearing a buried jack-o'-lantern lights up a wide area and reveals the colors of every mystery box in the tray.

Can every level be beaten?

Yes. Every level was played through in the real game by a script before release, and each level guide includes a verified solution.

Why did I lose?

The nest jams when all 5 slots hold colors that can't be eaten yet and no box can be taken. Sending colors that can bite right away and keeping one slot free avoids most losses.

What kind of game is Crumb Colony?

A color sort puzzle built on pixel art: every picture is made of colored blocks, and you decide which color of ants to send next. It plays like a calm, satisfying ASMR-style puzzle at first and turns into real planning in the harder levels.