Level 293 · Smoked Chicken

Smoked Chicken is level 293 of Crumb Colony. The pixel picture has 1292 blocks in 10 colors, the tray holds 93 ant boxes, and the difficulty is Expert.

Difficulty

Expert

Pacing

Hard opening

Blocks

1292

Colors

10

Ant boxes

93

Mechanics

1 golden key(s) · Ice · Mystery boxes · 1 noodle(s)

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

Play level 293

About the dish

A whole chicken braised and then smoked over sugar and tea until glossy red, legs still tied with string; a row of them at the New Year stall scents half the street.

How the picture comes apart

From the frame to the center the picture is 18 layers deep. The outer ring is mostly black and navy, the middle band is mostly black and dark red, and the core is mostly dark red and salmon. 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 black, dark red and tan.

The 1 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.

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 93 boxes in 4 columns. At the start 2 of the 4 front boxes can bite right away: black (bites now), salmon (has to wait), black (bites now) and dark red (has to wait).

Locked boxes start in column 1, row 15.

27 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 90 taps. The chart shows how many boxes were still parked in the 5 slots, waiting for their color, just before each tap.

Opening (taps 1–25): 33% of the blocks are eaten, with up to 3 of the 5 slots holding a box that is waiting.

Middle (taps 26–59): 34% of the blocks are eaten, with up to 4 of the 5 slots holding a box that is waiting.

Ending (taps 60–90): 33% 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 32.

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.

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.

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 · 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 293 questions