colonyflow Level 16

Overview

Level 16 is a Normal six-color stage whose target picture is a pixel-art white kitten with red ears, tail and accessories: red accents (about 48% of tiles), gray shading on the body (about 24%), blue outline (about 12%), pink cheeks (about 6%), black eyes and nose (about 5%), orange collar (about 5%), with a tiny cyan trace. The goal is to clear every tile by tapping the number tiles at the bottom so ants carry each color away. Because the tiles are stacked, the gray shading must leave first, then the red accents, with the blue outline and orange collar finishing as the bottom layers.

• Difficulty: Regular (Normal)
• Estimated moves: 20–35 taps

Step-by-Step Solution

1. Start by tapping the gray tile. Gray forms the shading on the kitten's body and sits on the outer layer, so it is reachable immediately. Tap it and let the ants march to the body and begin carrying the gray squares away.
2. Next, tap the red tile. Red is the kitten's ears, tail and accessories — the largest single area on the board — so this is the long stretch of the level. Keep the queue pointed at red in one continuous push and use the 2x speed-up button in the top-right corner to shorten the wait.
3. While the red carry is running, clear the tiny cyan trace tile opportunistically. It becomes reachable as the shading comes off; tapping it whenever a slot opens keeps the ants busy without blocking a slot.
4. When red is mostly gone, tap the pink tile. Pink is the kitten's cheeks and was covered by the upper colors, so it only becomes reachable now. Clear pink in one short push.
5. Next, tap the black tile. Black forms the eyes and nose of the kitten and is exposed only after pink finishes. Sweep black in small batches, keeping spare slots free.
6. Then tap the blue tile. Blue forms the outline of the kitten; it becomes reachable once the black features are gone. Clear blue in a moderate push.
7. Finish with the orange tile. Orange is the collar around the kitten's neck — the bottom layer — so it is the last color to be exposed. Because it is final, the queue can safely be filled with orange to speed up the finish.
8. Keep the five-slot queue under active control: with six main colors sharing five slots, push one main color plus at most one small color at a time, finish a color before starting the next, and never jam all five slots with mixed colors.

Strategy & Reasoning

The level is built around the layered-stacking rule: a color that covers others must be carried away first, and the removal order measured in the solution video is gray, red, pink, black, blue, orange, which matches the geometry of the kitten. Clearing gray before red matters because the shading sits on top; tapping red first would leave that small tile buried. The queue is the bottleneck — six main colors share only five slots, and the worst mistake is pushing red and blue at the same time, which leaves no room for the small traces and forces waiting. The efficient play is to alternate the large red carry with the small pink, black and trace colors so the ants are almost never idle. The 2x speed-up button should be active for the long red carry, since that single step accounts for most of the level's waiting time. If the queue jams, the Magnet tool pulls one whole color out of the line, while the Eraser is reserved for a single stuck tile.

Tips & Common Mistakes

• Tapping the blue outline before the gray shading and red accents are gone is the classic mistake. The outline tiles are still covered, so the ants have no path to them; always clear the upper colors first.
• Running red and blue at the same time jams the five-slot queue and strands the small traces. Finish red and pink completely before starting blue.
• Ignoring the tiny cyan trace leaves a slot blocked for no reason. Clear it opportunistically whenever a slot is free, instead of saving it all to the end.

Key Frames