Level 31 · Macaron Tower

Macaron Tower is level 31 of Crumb Colony. The pixel picture has 572 blocks in 10 colors, the tray holds 44 ant boxes, and the difficulty is Normal.

Difficulty

Normal

Pacing

Hard middle

Blocks

572

Colors

10

Ant boxes

44

Mechanics

Mystery boxes

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

Play level 31

About the dish

A stack of three French macarons in lavender, mint and pink, each a pair of almond shells sandwiching a cream filling.

How the picture comes apart

From the frame to the center the picture is 11 layers deep. The outer ring is mostly black and light blue, the middle band is mostly cream and pink, and the core is mostly green. 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, cream and lavender.

Reading the tray

The tray starts with 44 boxes in 4 columns. At the start 2 of the 4 front boxes can bite right away: light blue (bites now), deep pink (has to wait), cream (has to wait) and light blue (bites now).

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

Opening (taps 1–15): 34% of the blocks are eaten, with up to 2 of the 5 slots holding a box that is waiting.

Middle (taps 16–28): 37% of the blocks are eaten, with up to 2 of the 5 slots holding a box that is waiting.

Ending (taps 29–44): 29% 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 80% 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 middle.

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.

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.

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 31 questions