Level 23 · Sprinkle Cupcake

Sprinkle Cupcake is level 23 of Crumb Colony. The pixel picture has 624 blocks in 12 colors, the tray holds 49 ant boxes, and the difficulty is Advanced.

Difficulty

Advanced

Pacing

Hard opening

Blocks

624

Colors

12

Ant boxes

49

Mechanics

3 chained pair(s) · Mystery boxes

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

Play level 23

About the dish

A cupcake with a tall swirl of pink frosting, rainbow sprinkles and a cherry on top, in a ridged paper case.

How the picture comes apart

From the frame to the center the picture is 12 layers deep. The outer ring is mostly grey and mint, the middle band is mostly deep pink and orange, and the core is mostly deep pink and white. 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 deep pink, orange and mint.

Reading the tray

The tray starts with 49 boxes in 4 columns. At the start 3 of the 4 front boxes can bite right away: deep pink (has to wait), black (bites now), blue (bites now) and blue (bites now).

Chained pairs start in column 1–2, row 2, column 1–2, row 4 and column 2–3, 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 46 taps. The chart shows how many boxes were still parked in the 5 slots, waiting for their color, just before each tap.

Opening (taps 1–17): 36% of the blocks are eaten, with up to 4 of the 5 slots holding a box that is waiting.

Middle (taps 18–32): 31% of the blocks are eaten, with up to 1 of the 5 slots holding a box that is waiting.

Ending (taps 33–46): 33% of the blocks are eaten, with up to 3 of the 5 slots holding a box that is waiting.

Chained pairs are taken at taps 6, 7 and 16.

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 13% of the time, and a look-ahead one that tries each option before committing cleared it 70% 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.

The opening is the hardest part here: the outer ring needs several colors at once and the front rows are scrambled. Only send colors that can bite right away during the first taps, even if it feels slow.

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.

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 23 questions