Level 268 · Snowman Cake

Snowman Cake is level 268 of Crumb Colony. The pixel picture has 1296 blocks in 10 colors, the tray holds 86 ant boxes, and the difficulty is Hard.

Difficulty

Hard

Pacing

Hard middle

Blocks

1296

Colors

10

Ant boxes

86

Mechanics

Number blocks · Mystery boxes

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

Play level 268

About the dish

A snowman of two cream balls in a little top hat and a red scarf, with a sugar carrot for a nose; I could never bring myself to cut the head first.

How the picture comes apart

From the frame to the center the picture is 18 layers deep. The outer ring is mostly navy and yellow, the middle band is mostly navy and white, and the core is mostly white and 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 navy, white and black.

1 number block(s) take 32 bites in total.

Reading the tray

The tray starts with 86 boxes in 4 columns. At the start 1 of the 4 front boxes can bite right away: black (has to wait), white (has to wait), navy (bites now) and white (has to wait).

19 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 86 taps. The chart shows how many boxes were still parked in the 5 slots, waiting for their color, just before each tap.

Opening (taps 1–35): 40% of the blocks are eaten, with up to 4 of the 5 slots holding a box that is waiting.

Middle (taps 36–57): 27% of the blocks are eaten, with up to 3 of the 5 slots holding a box that is waiting.

Ending (taps 58–86): 33% of the blocks are eaten, with up to 1 of the 5 slots holding a box that is waiting.

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 start is easy and the pressure builds in the middle. Use the calm opening to sort out the back rows and try to have two slots free before the middle phase.

Number blocks take many bites; the number is how many remain. They can be bitten as soon as any side is exposed, and several boxes of that color can work on one at once.

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 · Number 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 268 questions