Why does the cyan lock need a reserved hole?

It opens while brown 39, red 37 and dark 16 are competing for space, and delaying it holds the center-counter route.

What happens after the large counters open?

The route changes to short cyan, red, dark and lime fragments across the rider, horse and lower trim.

Colony Flow! level guide

hard 7 colors

Pace two lime opening waves around a locked cyan card, then clear the rider and horse through one short counter and five delayed counter releases.

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Launch lime 10, lime 11 and lime 32 into three holes.
Use returned holes for lime 21, lime 22 and lime 43; add lime 9 only when an earlier green stream is nearly home.
Preserve a hole for the cyan unlock, then route brown 39, red 37 and dark 16 while the 115 counter reaches zero.
Start cyan 40 after the lock opens, followed by red 47 and red 31; wait for cyan before taking red 20.
Alternate cyan 40/39/34 with red 43/20/13 and peach 25/18/5 as the large counters pass through the 300s and 200s.
Near 100, clear cyan 17/7, red 51/16 and lime 27/30 instead of opening another long dark stack.
After the counters release, route cyan 3, red 38, dark 9 and lime 21 through the rider and horse fragments.
Clear lime 40/30/35, then work red 30/22/17 and dark 40/13 as the picture separates.
Finish red 12/11/7, lime 8/19/34/33 and dark 10/19/15; take white 48 and green 50 only after a hole returns.

Colors in this level:

Lime, Red, Cyan, Brown, Peach, White, Dark purple

Loading every lime opener leaves no hole for the locked cyan card.
Stopping after the five fence counters open leaves the rider, horse and lower green trim active.

Board notes 5 details

Layout: A red-haired rider sits on a red horse beneath a lime field with cyan clothing, peach skin, a brown fence and dark outlines. Six counters divide the picture: one is at 115, one at 515 and four at 415 in the first review frame. Five holes face lime 10, lime 11 and lime 32 above a cyan lock, brown 39, red 37 and dark 16.
Goal: Drain all six counters, strip the lime background and brown fence, then clear the rider, horse, cyan clothing, peach face and dark outline.
Opening: Start lime 10, lime 11 and lime 32, use returned holes for lime 21/22/43/9, and protect one hole for the locked cyan card.
Danger Zone: The 115 counter opens well before the five large blocks; filling every hole with lime routes can strand the cyan unlock and center release.
Mechanics: One short counter and five large counters create separate face-and-shirt and lower-trim releases.

Why does the cyan lock need a reserved hole?
It opens while brown 39, red 37 and dark 16 are competing for space, and delaying it holds the center-counter route.
What happens after the large counters open?
The route changes to short cyan, red, dark and lime fragments across the rider, horse and lower trim.