Brain Out Level 31

Overview

A cluster of ants crawls across the ground beside a large rock, and the prompt asks how many ants there are. The visible ants are easy to count at first, but the rock is covering a second group of them, so the on-screen total is only part of the answer. The solution is to zoom in on the rock with two fingers, enlarging the area so the ants hidden underneath come into view. Once the hidden group is visible, you count all the ants together and enter the total, which is 17.

• Difficulty: Hard
• Estimated moves: 3

Step-by-Step Solution

1. Read the prompt and count the ants already walking in the open. These visible ones give you a partial total, but the large rock beside them suggests more creatures are concealed in that area.
2. Do not enter the visible count as your answer yet. The rock blocks part of the ground, and any ants beneath it cannot be counted from the normal view.
3. Place two fingers on or near the rock and spread them apart to zoom in, magnifying that section of the board. The enlarged view reveals ants that were hidden under or behind the stone.
4. Count the newly revealed ants together with the ones you already saw. Work through the cluster in small groups so no ant is counted twice or missed behind the rock edge.
5. The combined total of visible and hidden ants is 17. Set the answer field to 17, clearing any partial count entered earlier.
6. Tap OK to submit the number. The board accepts 17 and the success panel appears. If the count is rejected, zoom in again to check whether more ants are tucked beside the rock.

The level is a zoom-to-reveal counting puzzle. The rock hides a section of the ground, and a two-finger magnification brings that section into view so the real total can be measured.

Strategy & Reasoning

Counting puzzles in Brain Out routinely place part of the target group behind an object or outside the normal scale. Here the rock covers additional ants, and the visible cluster alone understates the true number. Zooming in changes what information is available, just like moving a cover or enlarging a hidden area in earlier levels.

Entering the visible count fails because it ignores the ants under the rock. Guessing a larger number fails if the hidden group was not actually inspected. Trying to drag the rock away fails because the level expects a magnification gesture rather than moving the stone. The intended order is zoom in on the rock, reveal the hidden ants, count everything together, then submit the total.

Tips & Common Mistakes

• Do not count only the ants walking in the open. The rock conceals a second group, and the accepted total includes those hidden ants as well.
• Use a two-finger spread on the rock area to zoom in. Dragging the stone itself will not expose the hidden ants; the magnification is what reveals them.
• Re-count after zooming so the visible and hidden groups are combined once. The accepted total for this level is 17, so check the cluster again if your submitted number is rejected.