Brain Blow Level 74

Overview

A round orange hamster stands in front of a bushy clump with a dark round opening behind it, its cheeks stuffed wide and its body puffed out. The prompt asks you to help the hamster squeeze into its hole. The animal looks too plump for the opening at first, but the extra bulk is not its actual body shape: its cheek pouches are crammed full of food. Once you rub those cheeks to empty the pouches, the hamster slims down enough to back into the hole.

• Difficulty: Easy
• Estimated moves: 1

Step-by-Step Solution

1. Read the prompt asking you to help the hamster squeeze into its hole, and look at the animal in front of the dark opening in the bush. Notice how swollen both cheeks are, giving the hamster a very wide, round face.

1. Do not try to push the hamster backward into the hole directly, and do not drag the bush or the opening around. The hole itself is fine; the problem is how full the hamster's cheeks are.

1. Place a finger on one stuffed cheek and rub it repeatedly in a circular or back-and-forth motion. Repeat the same rubbing on the other cheek so both pouches are emptied.

1. As the rubbing continues, the puffed cheeks deflate and the hamster's face and body narrow. The hamster loses the extra width that was blocking it from entering.

1. Once the hamster is slim enough, it backs into the dark opening behind the bush and the level shows the green checkmark with the completion screen.

1. Work both cheeks rather than just one, because each side holds its own pouch and leaving one filled keeps the animal too wide on that side. Watch the silhouette go from broad and round to narrow and relaxed; that change shows the pouches are clear and the real body width matches the entrance. Only when both sides have deflated should the hamster be allowed to back in, since pushing it earlier still catches on the remaining cheek bulk. The bush and hole stay untouched throughout, and the completed state shows the slimmed hamster seated inside the dark opening.

Strategy & Reasoning

The level plays on the hamster's famous cheek pouches: the animal stuffs food into them and looks much wider than its real frame. The obvious move of pushing it toward the hole fails because the bulging cheeks are still in the way, so the hidden step is to remove that stored bulk first. Rubbing the cheeks empties the pouches the way a hamster naturally pushes food out with its paws or tongue.

This is why the hole looks unchanged throughout the puzzle: there is no need to enlarge the entrance or move the bush. The variable that matters is the hamster's size, and that size drops only after the cheeks are rubbed. Watching the cheeks go from rounded and full to flatter and narrower gives a visible sign that the animal has become small enough to enter.

Tips & Common Mistakes

• Rub both stuffed cheeks rather than pushing the hamster toward the hole; the puffed pouches are what keep it too wide to enter.
• Keep rubbing until the cheeks visibly deflate; do not stop after a single swipe.
• Do not move the bush or enlarge the opening, since the hole is already large enough once the hamster's cheek bulk is gone.