colonyflow Level 5

Overview

Level 5 is a Normal nine-color stage whose target picture is a round concentric wreath (a donut shape) built from nested rings. From the outside in: a dark blue outer ring, a light blue second ring, a large orange middle ring (the biggest single area), cream and dark gray inner accents, and a small center flower made of pink, green and purple tiles. The goal is to clear every ring by tapping the number tiles at the bottom so ants carry each color away. Because the picture is built as concentric layers, the only correct way to clear it is to peel strictly from the outermost ring inward; jumping to an inner ring early does nothing because the outer rings are still covering it.

• Difficulty: Regular (Normal)
• Estimated moves: 40–60 taps

Step-by-Step Solution

1. Start by tapping the dark blue tile. Dark blue forms the outermost ring of the wreath and covers everything else, so it is the only color the ants can reach at the start. Tap it and let the ants march around the outer edge and begin carrying the dark blue squares away.
2. Next, tap the light blue tile. Light blue is the second outer ring and sits directly underneath dark blue; as soon as the dark blue arc clears, light blue becomes reachable. Clear it in one continuous push so the whole outer shell comes off together.
3. Now tap the orange tile. Orange is the large middle ring and the biggest area on the board, so this is the long stretch of the level. Tap it, let the ants run, and use the 2x speed-up button in the top-right corner to shorten the wait. Do not tap inner colors at the same time; running orange plus the small center colors together fills the queue.
4. While the orange carry is running, clear the cream and dark gray inner accents opportunistically. They become reachable as the orange ring opens up; tapping them whenever a slot opens keeps the ants busy without blocking a slot.
5. When the orange ring is mostly gone, tap the pink tile. Pink forms the center flower and was covered by the orange ring, so it only becomes reachable now. Clear pink in one push and keep an eye on the queue.
6. Next, tap the green tile. Green is the small inner part of the center flower and is exposed only after pink finishes. Sweep green in a short bulk push, keeping spare slots free.
7. Finish with the purple tile. Purple is the tiny center tile — the deepest layer of the whole wreath — so it is the very last color to be exposed. Because it is final, filling spare queue slots with purple is safe.
8. Keep the five-slot queue under active control: with nine colors competing for five slots, advance only one main color at a time, finish a ring before starting the next, and never jam all five slots with mixed colors.

Strategy & Reasoning

A concentric ring picture is the purest case of the layered-stacking rule: each ring physically covers the ring inside it, so the removal order measured in the solution video is dark blue, light blue, orange, cream and dark gray, then pink, green and purple at the center. Tapping the center flower at the start would waste ants on tiles that are buried under three whole rings. The queue is the real bottleneck here — nine colors share only five slots, and the worst mistake is pushing two rings at once, which leaves no room for the inner accents and forces waiting. The efficient pattern is to peel one ring completely before exposing the next, using spare slots for the small accents only while a large ring is being carried. The 2x speed-up button should be active for the long orange carry, since that ring represents the longest idle time in the level. 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 an inner ring (orange, pink, green or purple) before the outer blue rings are gone is the classic mistake. The inner tiles are still covered, so the ants have no path to them; always peel outside-in.
• Running two rings at the same time jams the five-slot queue and strands the small center colors. Finish dark blue and light blue completely before starting orange.
• Overfilling the queue with the large orange ring leaves no room for the cream and gray accents, which then stall. Clear the accents opportunistically whenever a slot is free.

Key Frames