Level 104 · Caterpillar

Caterpillar is level 104 of Crumb Colony. The pixel picture has 1296 blocks in 9 colors, the tray holds 59 ant boxes, and the difficulty is Hard.

Difficulty

Hard

Pacing

Waves

Blocks

1296

Colors

9

Ant boxes

59

Mechanics

4 chained pair(s) · Mystery boxes

Like this pixel picture? BitBead can turn it into a printable fuse bead pattern.

Play level 104

About the dish

A caterpillar munching away on a leaf. Once it has eaten enough it spins a cocoon and turns into a butterfly.

How the picture comes apart

From the frame to the center the picture is 18 layers deep. The outer ring is mostly light blue and green, the middle band is mostly light blue and green, and the core is mostly lime green and light blue. Ants can only reach the next layer once the one around it is gone, so the core colors are the last to become useful.

By block count the biggest colors are light blue, green and lime green.

Reading the tray

The tray starts with 59 boxes in 4 columns. At the start 4 of the 4 front boxes can bite right away: green (bites now), black (bites now), light blue (bites now) and light blue (bites now).

Chained pairs start in column 2–3, row 11, column 3–4, row 5, column 3–4, row 6 and column 3–4, row 12.

10 mystery box(es) only show their color when they reach the front.

How the verified run plays out

The solution further down was played to the end in the real game, with ants walking and real timing. It takes 55 taps. The chart shows how many boxes were still parked in the 5 slots, waiting for their color, just before each tap.

Opening (taps 1–21): 35% of the blocks are eaten, with up to 3 of the 5 slots holding a box that is waiting.

Middle (taps 22–43): 35% of the blocks are eaten, with up to 4 of the 5 slots holding a box that is waiting.

Ending (taps 44–55): 30% of the blocks are eaten, with up to 0 of the 5 slots holding a box that is waiting.

Chained pairs are taken at taps 18, 19, 43 and 47.

How hard is it?

Two test players attempted this level many times: a cautious one that only sends colors it can use right away cleared it 39% of the time, and a look-ahead one that tries each option before committing cleared it 80% of the time. Most of their failed attempts jammed in the middle.

Strategy

Check the colors of the first three boxes in each column and compare them with the colors exposed on the outer ring of the picture. Always keep one slot free to catch a color that can't be eaten yet.

Pressure comes in waves: the opening and the ending are tight, the middle is a breather. Use the middle to clear slots and bring chained or locked boxes to the front.

Chained boxes need both halves in the front row and two free slots. Take the boxes in front of them first and free two neighboring slots in advance.

Mystery boxes show their color only when they reach the front. When you see one coming, don't fill every slot; leave room for it.

Strategy guide: reading the tray and keeping the nest clear · Chained boxes · Difficulty curves

Step-by-step solution

This order of taps is verified to clear the level. Columns are numbered 1–4 from the left; after each tap, wait until the ants are out before the next one. Two boxes shown together are a chained pair taken in one tap.

Level 104 questions