colonyflow Level 45

Overview

Level 45 is a Normal five-color stage whose target picture is a pixel-art storefront: a red awning (about 41% of tiles), a pink facade (about 35%), a black window frame (about 11%), purple accents (about 9%), and gray trim (about 5%), with tiny brown, blue and cyan trace details. 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 black frame must leave first, then the pink facade, with the red awning, purple accents and gray trim finishing as the inner layers.

• Difficulty: Regular (Normal)
• Estimated moves: 25–40 taps

Step-by-Step Solution

1. Start by tapping the black tile. Black is the window frame of the storefront and sits on the outermost layer, so it is reachable immediately. Clear it first so it never gets buried under the facade.
2. Next, tap the pink tile. Pink is the facade of the storefront and sits on the same upper layer. Clear it in one push so the front opens up.
3. While the pink carry is running, clear the tiny brown, blue and cyan trace tiles opportunistically. They become reachable as the facade comes off; tapping them whenever a slot opens keeps the ants busy without blocking a slot.
4. When black and pink are mostly gone, tap the red tile. Red is the awning above the window and was covered by the facade, so it only becomes reachable now. 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.
5. Next, tap the purple tile. Purple forms small accents on the storefront and is exposed only after red finishes. Sweep purple in a moderate push, keeping spare slots free.
6. Finish with the gray tile. Gray is the trim around the storefront — the bottom layer — so it is the last color to be exposed. Because it is final, the queue can safely be filled with gray 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 black, pink, red, purple, gray, which matches the geometry of the storefront. Clearing the black frame before the pink facade matters because it sits on top; tapping pink first would leave that frame buried. The queue is the bottleneck — five main colors plus trace accents share only five slots, and the worst mistake is pushing black and red at the same time, which leaves no room for the small traces and forces waiting. The efficient play is to alternate the large red awning carry with the small black, pink and trace colors so the ants are almost never idle. The 2x speed-up button should be active for the long red awning 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 red awning before the black frame and pink facade are gone is the classic mistake. The awning tiles are still covered, so the ants have no path to them; always clear the frame and facade first.
• Running black and red at the same time jams the five-slot queue and strands the small traces. Finish black completely before starting red.
• Ignoring the tiny brown, blue 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