colonyflow Level 144

Overview

Level 144 is a Regular six-color stage whose picture is a pixel-art cat head: a dark blue-purple cat face sitting on a large orange backdrop, with a green outline across the top and small red, brown and gray accent details. The tiles are stacked in layers, so the clearing order follows the picture from the outside in: green leaves first as the outer top layer, then red, orange and blue are exposed in the middle, and brown and gray finish as the bottom layer. With six main colors competing for only five queue slots, the whole level is paced around never starting two large colors at the same time.

• Difficulty: Regular (Normal)
• Estimated moves: 45–55 taps

Step-by-Step Solution

1. Tap green first. Green forms the outer top outline of the picture, sitting on the very top layer, so the ants cannot reach anything beneath it until it is carried away. Clear the whole green strip first.
2. Move to red next. Red is the next middle layer exposed after green; sweep the red patches in a continuous push so the ants stay on one color.
3. Now tap orange. Orange is the largest single color (the backdrop around the cat face), so this is the long stretch of the level. Tap it in patches, turn on the 2x speed-up button, and do not start another big color at the same time.
4. Tap blue next. Blue is the dark cat face itself, which was covered by the orange backdrop; it only becomes reachable once orange is mostly gone. Clear blue in one continuous push.
5. Sweep brown next. Brown is a small lower-layer detail; it clears quickly and exposes the final gray outline.
6. Finish with gray. Gray is the bottom accent layer, the last color to be exposed. Sweep it in bulk at the end; with only small tiles left, the queue can safely be filled to speed up the finish.
7. Use spare queue slots on the trace colors (pink, yellow, purple, black, cyan) whenever they become visible. A tile marked with a "?" hides its count until tapped — open it only when a queue slot is free. If the queue jams, use the Magnet tool to pull the offending color, the Lightning tool for a small cluster, and reserve the Eraser for a single stuck tile.

Strategy & Reasoning

The level follows the layered-stacking rule: a color that covers others must be carried away first, and the removal order measured in the solution video is green, red, orange, blue, brown, gray, which matches the geometry of the cat picture. Starting with green matters because it is the outermost top layer; tapping the orange backdrop early would waste ants on tiles still covered. With six colors and only five slots, the queue is the bottleneck, and the worst mistake is pushing orange and blue at once, which fills every slot and leaves no room for the small accents. The efficient play is to alternate the long orange carry with quick trace colors, so a free slot is always ready. Tools like Magnet and Lightning are rescue-only, and the speed-up button should stay active through the orange and blue stretches, the two longest idle periods.

Tips & Common Mistakes

• Running orange and blue at the same time fills the five-slot queue and stalls the board. Finish one big color before starting the next.
• Tapping inner colors (blue, brown) before the outer green and red are gone wastes ants on covered tiles. Work strictly outside in.
• Ignoring the "?" tiles until the queue is full leaves you with an unknown color that may not be removable. Open a "?" tile only when a slot is free.

Key Frames