Level 280 · Fireside Night

Fireside Night is level 280 of Crumb Colony. The pixel picture has 1288 blocks in 13 colors, the tray holds 116 ant boxes, and the difficulty is Expert.

Difficulty

Expert

Pacing

All the way

Blocks

1288

Colors

13

Ant boxes

116

Mechanics

2 golden key(s) · Ice · Spider web (50 bites) · Mystery boxes · 1 noodle(s)

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

Play level 280

About the dish

A snowy night around the stove: the kettle bubbling, oranges and peanuts roasting on the lid, a red paper-cut on the window, and the night slipping by as we talk.

How the picture comes apart

From the frame to the center the picture is 18 layers deep. The outer ring is mostly navy and dark brown, the middle band is mostly black, and the core is mostly grey and blue. 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, black and dark 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 core of the picture and needs 50 bites from soldier ants.

4% of the blocks are frozen and take two bites each.

1 noodle(s) run through the picture, 17 cells in all. They can only be slurped from their ends, so they act as walls until an end is free and as tunnels after that.

Reading the tray

The tray starts with 116 boxes in 4 columns. At the start 3 of the 4 front boxes can bite right away: black (bites now), black (bites now), red (has to wait) and black (bites now).

Locked boxes start in column 2, row 14.

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

5 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 115 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): 34% of the blocks are eaten, with up to 3 of the 5 slots holding a box that is waiting.

Middle (taps 36–79): 34% of the blocks are eaten, with up to 4 of the 5 slots holding a box that is waiting.

Ending (taps 80–115): 32% of the blocks are eaten, with up to 2 of the 5 slots holding a box that is waiting.

A key comes out before tap 14. A key comes out before tap 29. The web breaks before tap 48.

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.

Tight from start to finish. Only take boxes that can send ants immediately, watch the second and third rows of the tray, and plan the next tap ahead.

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.

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.

Noodles are eaten only from an end with a white dot, never from the middle. Look for ends that are already free or about to be: slurping one opens a tunnel straight into the picture and can uncover inner colours early. A noodle with both ends buried is a wall until you dig to one of its ends.

Strategy guide: reading the tray and keeping the nest clear · Locks and golden keys · Ice blocks · Spider webs and soldier ants · Noodles · 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 280 questions