Level 98 · Chongqing Hot and Sour Noodles

Chongqing Hot and Sour Noodles is level 98 of Crumb Colony. The pixel picture has 576 blocks in 10 colors, the tray holds 41 ant boxes, and the difficulty is Hard.

Difficulty

Hard

Pacing

Hard ending

Blocks

576

Colors

10

Ant boxes

41

Mechanics

4 chained pair(s) · Spider web (24 bites) · Mystery boxes · 2 noodle(s)

Play level 98

About the dish

Chongqing suanlafen: chewy sweet potato noodles in a sour, spicy broth with peanuts, pickles and cilantro.

How the picture comes apart

From the frame to the center the picture is 12 layers deep. The outer ring is mostly cream and teal, the middle band is mostly light blue and red, and the core is mostly light blue 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 light blue, red and cream.

The spider web covers 12 cells in the core of the picture and needs 24 bites from soldier ants.

2 noodle(s) run through the picture, 150 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 41 boxes in 4 columns. At the start 2 of the 4 front boxes can bite right away: black (bites now), brown (has to wait), cream (bites now) and navy (has to wait).

Chained pairs start in column 1–2, row 10, column 2–3, row 8, column 2–3, row 9 and column 3–4, row 10.

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

3 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 37 taps. The chart shows how many boxes were still parked in the 5 slots, waiting for their color, just before each tap.

Opening (taps 1–13): 39% of the blocks are eaten, with up to 1 of the 5 slots holding a box that is waiting.

Middle (taps 14–20): 28% of the blocks are eaten, with up to 0 of the 5 slots holding a box that is waiting.

Ending (taps 21–37): 33% of the blocks are eaten, with up to 3 of the 5 slots holding a box that is waiting.

The web breaks before tap 36. Chained pairs are taken at taps 30, 34, 35 and 36.

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 14% of the time, and a look-ahead one that tries each option before committing cleared it 53% 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.

This level tightens toward the end and the last third jams most easily. Don't fill all five slots early; keep room for the inner colors that appear layer by layer at the finish.

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.

Chained boxes need both halves in the front row and two free slots. Take the boxes in front of them first and free two neighboring slots in advance.

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 · Chained boxes · 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 98 questions