Level 16 · Rainbow Lollipop

Rainbow Lollipop is level 16 of Crumb Colony. The pixel picture has 612 blocks in 8 colors, the tray holds 28 ant boxes, and the difficulty is Normal.

Difficulty

Normal

Blocks

612

Colors

8

Ant boxes

28

Mechanics

1 golden key(s) · Ice · Mystery boxes

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

Play level 16

About the dish

A swirl lollipop of red, white and yellow candy on a wooden stick, finished with a purple ribbon. The spiral means each color appears in every ring.

How the picture comes apart

From the frame to the center the picture is 11 layers deep. The outer ring is mostly light blue and lime green, the middle band is mostly white and gold, and the core is mostly deep pink and gold. 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, lime green and gold.

The 1 golden key(s) are buried in the outer ring of the picture, so the locks they open come into play early.

24% of the blocks are frozen and take two bites each.

Reading the tray

The tray starts with 28 boxes in 4 columns. At the start 4 of the 4 front boxes can bite right away: light blue (bites now), lime green (bites now), lime green (bites now) and light blue (bites now).

Locked boxes start in column 4, row 3.

1 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 28 taps. The chart shows how many boxes were still parked in the 5 slots, waiting for their color, just before each tap.

Opening (taps 1–9): 34% of the blocks are eaten, with up to 0 of the 5 slots holding a box that is waiting.

Middle (taps 10–19): 35% of the blocks are eaten, with up to 2 of the 5 slots holding a box that is waiting.

Ending (taps 20–28): 30% of the blocks are eaten, with up to 0 of the 5 slots holding a box that is waiting.

A key comes out before tap 4.

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 97% of the time, and a look-ahead one that tries each option before committing cleared it 100% of the time. Most of their failed attempts jammed in the ending.

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.

Keys are buried in the picture and must be dug out to open the locks in the tray. Prioritize colors that eat around the keys so locked boxes don't block the front row for long.

Ice blocks take two bites, so one block uses two ants. Icy areas are eaten slowly and the matching boxes stay in their slots a little longer.

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.

Locks and golden keys · Ice blocks

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 16 questions