Level 20 · Lotus Mooncake

Lotus Mooncake is level 20 of Crumb Colony. The pixel picture has 668 blocks in 7 colors, the tray holds 30 ant boxes, and the difficulty is Expert.

Difficulty

Expert

Blocks

668

Colors

7

Ant boxes

30

Mechanics

4 chained pair(s) · 2 golden key(s) · Ice · Spider web (40 bites) · Mystery boxes

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

Play level 20

About the dish

A Chinese mooncake with a scalloped edge and a stamped pattern, filled with lotus seed paste and eaten at the Mid-Autumn Festival.

How the picture comes apart

From the frame to the center the picture is 13 layers deep. The outer ring is mostly yellow and orange, the middle band is mostly orange and brown, and the core is mostly brown and orange. 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 orange, yellow and brown.

The 2 golden key(s) are buried in the middle band of the picture, so the locks they open come into play around the middle of the level.

The spider web covers 30 cells in the middle band of the picture and needs 40 bites from soldier ants.

21% of the blocks are frozen and take two bites each.

Reading the tray

The tray starts with 30 boxes in 4 columns. At the start 2 of the 4 front boxes can bite right away: red (has to wait), yellow (bites now), red (has to wait) and yellow (bites now).

Chained pairs start in column 1–2, row 4, column 2–3, row 3, column 2–3, row 5 and column 3–4, row 4.

Locked boxes start in column 2, row 7 and column 2, row 8.

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

4 soldier box(es) carry the bites for the web.

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

Opening (taps 1–12): 34% of the blocks are eaten, with up to 3 of the 5 slots holding a box that is waiting.

Middle (taps 13–16): 37% of the blocks are eaten, with up to 4 of the 5 slots holding a box that is waiting.

Ending (taps 17–26): 29% of the blocks are eaten, with up to 1 of the 5 slots holding a box that is waiting.

A key comes out before tap 11. A key comes out before tap 14. The web breaks before tap 18. Chained pairs are taken at taps 7, 10, 14 and 18.

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 5% of the time, and a look-ahead one that tries each option before committing cleared it 18% of the time. Most of their failed attempts jammed in the opening.

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.

Nothing under the spider web can be eaten. Wait until the edge of the web is exposed before sending the soldier box (the leafy green one), or it just occupies a slot.

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 · Locks and golden keys · Ice blocks · Spider webs and soldier ants

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 20 questions