colonyflow Level 36

Overview

Level 36 is a Normal five-color stage whose target picture is a pixel-art geometric diamond pattern: a gray and white diamond body (about 57% of tiles), an orange outline (about 21%), red accents (about 9%), blue trim (about 8%), and brown details (about 6%), with tiny pink, black, yellow and cyan trace accents. 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 diamond must leave first, then the blue trim, with the red accents, brown details and orange outline finishing as the inner layers.

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

Step-by-Step Solution

1. Start by tapping the gray tile. Gray is the diamond body and sits on the outermost layer, so it is reachable immediately. This is the largest single area on the board, so this is the long opening stretch. Keep the queue pointed at gray in batches and use the 2x speed-up button in the top-right corner to shorten the wait.
2. Next, tap the blue tile. Blue forms the trim around the diamond and sits on the same upper layer. Clear it in one push so the edge opens up.
3. While the blue carry is running, clear the tiny pink, black, yellow and cyan trace tiles opportunistically. They become reachable as the trim comes off; tapping them whenever a slot opens keeps the ants busy without blocking a slot.
4. When gray and blue are mostly gone, tap the red tile. Red is the small accent on the diamond and was covered by the body, so it only becomes reachable now. Keep the queue pointed at red in one continuous push and keep an eye on the queue.
5. Next, tap the brown tile. Brown forms the small detail at the center of the diamond and is exposed only after red finishes. Sweep brown in a moderate push, keeping spare slots free.
6. Finish with the orange tile. Orange is the outline around the diamond — 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.
7. Keep the five-slot queue under active control: with five main colors plus trace accents 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, blue, red, brown, orange, which matches the geometry of the diamond pattern. Clearing the gray body before the orange outline matters because it sits on top; tapping orange first would leave that body buried. The queue is the bottleneck — five main colors plus trace accents share only five slots, and the worst mistake is pushing gray and orange at the same time, which leaves no room for the small traces and forces waiting. The efficient play is to alternate the large gray body carry with the small blue, red and trace colors so the ants are almost never idle. The 2x speed-up button should be active for the long gray body 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 orange outline before the gray body and blue trim are gone is the classic mistake. The outline tiles are still covered, so the ants have no path to them; always clear the body first.
• Running gray and orange at the same time jams the five-slot queue and strands the small traces. Finish gray completely before starting orange.
• Ignoring the tiny pink, black, yellow and cyan traces leaves slots blocked for no reason. Clear them opportunistically whenever a slot is free, instead of saving them all to the end.

Key Frames