Woodoku Journey Level 66

Overview

Level 66 is a two-color gem collection level on a 9×9 board, starting with 18 blue gems and 18 gray gems. The gems are scattered across every row and column, with a few pre-placed light blocks near the center. The primary recording for this level barely starts (still showing 18/18 when it cuts off at 63 seconds), so this walkthrough uses the successful fallback recording, which runs about 6 minutes. The strategy is the standard two-color sweep: alternate between colors, clear corners early, and keep a buffer row open.

• Difficulty: Hard
• Estimated moves: ~40 placements

Step-by-Step Solution

1. At the opening frame (t=10), the board shows 36 gems (18 blue, 18 gray) spread across the grid. The tray offers a horizontal 4-bar and two L-pieces. Start by placing the horizontal 4-bar across the top row, covering the two corner gems there.

1. Place the first L-piece on the left edge, covering two gems at rows 3–4 column 1.

1. Place the second L-piece on the right edge, covering two gems at rows 3–4 column 9.

1. Continue alternating between blue and gray gems. By t=180, the counters read 4 blue and 6 gray — you have drained blue faster than gray, so the next several moves should focus on gray gems.

1. At t=240, counters read 3 blue and 6 gray. The board is crowded, with dark gaps scattered. Every placement must now cover a remaining gem AND extend a nearly-complete row.

1. At t=320, counters read 1 blue and 3 gray. The board is nearly full. Place small L-pieces into the remaining gaps.

1. At t=350, the gray counter has hit 0 (checkmark), but 1 blue gem remains at row 5 column 5. The tray offers a small T-piece. Place the T so its center block lands on that blue gem.

1. As soon as the block touches the last gem, both counters flip to 0, three big gems pop up on screen, and "WELL DONE!" appears (t=365).

Strategy & Reasoning

This level is harder than the earlier gem levels because there are 36 gems packed onto a 9×9 board — nearly half the cells have a gem on them. You cannot waste space; every placement must cover at least one gem. The opening horizontal bar on the top row is valuable because it covers two corner gems in one move.

The mid-game imbalance (4 blue vs 6 gray at t=180) is normal. The winning recording spends the next minute catching up on gray gems, which means deliberately choosing tray pieces that land on gray cells even if they are slightly less efficient geometrically. If you ignore the counters and just place pieces wherever they fit, you will drain one color to zero and then be stuck with 5 gems of the other color and no space.

The final gem (row 5 column 5) is deep in the board. The recording's last placement works because the tray happens to offer a small T that fits the 3-cell gap around it. With 1 gem left, you have to take whatever the tray gives you and make it fit.

Tips & Common Mistakes

• Mistake: Treating the two colors as interchangeable. Correct approach: Check the counters every few moves; if one color is more than 2 ahead, switch focus.
• Mistake: Wasting placements on cells without gems. Correct approach: With 36 gems on a 9×9 board, every placement should cover at least one gem; otherwise you run out of space.
• Mistake: Filling the center before the corners. Correct approach: Clear corner gems first; they become unreachable once the center fills.

Key Frames