Level 26 · Candied Hawthorns

Candied Hawthorns is level 26 of Crumb Colony. The pixel picture has 540 blocks in 8 colors, the tray holds 42 ant boxes, and the difficulty is Normal.

Difficulty

Normal

Pacing

Waves

Blocks

540

Colors

8

Ant boxes

42

Mechanics

Ice · Mystery boxes

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

Play level 26

About the dish

A skewer of hawthorn berries coated in a glassy shell of hardened sugar, a classic Beijing winter street snack.

How the picture comes apart

From the frame to the center the picture is 9 layers deep. The outer ring is mostly cream and white, the middle band is mostly black and white, and the core is mostly red and dark red. 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 white, cream and red.

10% of the blocks are frozen and take two bites each.

Reading the tray

The tray starts with 42 boxes in 4 columns. At the start 3 of the 4 front boxes can bite right away: cream (has to wait), cream (bites now), black (bites now) and white (bites now).

2 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 42 taps. The chart shows how many boxes were still parked in the 5 slots, waiting for their color, just before each tap.

Opening (taps 1–14): 35% of the blocks are eaten, with up to 4 of the 5 slots holding a box that is waiting.

Middle (taps 15–30): 32% of the blocks are eaten, with up to 4 of the 5 slots holding a box that is waiting.

Ending (taps 31–42): 33% of the blocks are eaten, with up to 1 of the 5 slots holding a box that is waiting.

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 81% 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.

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.

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.

Ice blocks · 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 26 questions