Why does the counter appear to pause near 400?

The gate is waiting for the first dark-purple, lime, green and orange wave to return; keep a hole free so the lock route can be exposed.

What remains after the purple lock opens?

The orange-peach shell panels, pink seams, purple lower band and green field break into separate short fragments that still need to be routed.

Colony Flow! level guide

hard 9 colors

Open the dark-purple 45 and four 35-count shell routes, protect the cyan lock, and work the 400 gate down before clearing the orange-peach seashell.

If the player asks you to sign in, open the video on YouTube instead.

Start dark-purple 45, then use returning holes for lime 35, green 35, orange 35 and lime 36 in order.
Let the opening streams return before adding another long card while the 400 counter begins to fall.
Take purple 23 and pale-cyan 12, then route green 40 after the first purple stream is back.
Feed the cyan lock when its matching route is exposed; do not pair it with a fresh 40-count card in the only open hole.
Through the 353-to-291 phase, alternate green 35, orange 38, purple 37 and orange 35 with the short returns.
At the 214 checkpoint, use pale-cyan 40 and the shorter 25-to-35 cards to strip the lime background before another long purple stack.
As the gate approaches 95, clear the orange scallops and pink seams with the exposed yellow, white and short green pieces.
After the purple lock opens, route the 9, 12 and 27-count fragments before taking another 35 or 40.
Clear the final orange-peach shell panels, purple lower ribbon and green outline.
Wait for the last purple and green cards to leave and confirm the Colony Flow win screen.

Colors in this level:

Orange, Peach, Pink, Dark purple, Lime, Green, Pale cyan, White, Yellow

Starting several 35-to-46 cards before the cyan lock route appears fills the buffer and stalls the shell.
Treating the 400 counter as a dead end causes the short purple 23 and pale-cyan 12 cards to be skipped.

Start dark-purple 45, but do not dump every 35-count card into the five holes.
Keep one hole free for the cyan lock and its matching route.
Use the short 9, 12 and 27-count fragments after the 95 checkpoint before another long purple stack.

Board notes 5 details

Layout: A large orange-peach seashell with pink inner seams and a dark-purple lower band sits in a lime-green field. The brown gate begins at 400, a purple lock shows 20, and the opening row is dark-purple 45, lime 35, green 35, orange 35 and lime 36.
Goal: Lower the 400 gate, release the purple lock, then clear the lime field, orange shell panels, pink seams and purple lower ribbon.
Opening: Tap dark-purple 45 first, then lime 35, green 35, orange 35 and lime 36 in the displayed order as holes return. Follow with purple 23, pale-cyan 12 and green 40 only when a buffer hole is available.
Danger Zone: The 400 gate and purple 20 lock make the first 35-count wave look stalled. Launching every 35-to-46 card together hides the cyan key route and strands the short shell cards.
Mechanics: The protected counter steps through 400, 353, 291, 214 and 95. After the lock opens, the shell separates into short orange, pink, white, green and purple fragments instead of clearing at once.

Why does the counter appear to pause near 400?
The gate is waiting for the first dark-purple, lime, green and orange wave to return; keep a hole free so the lock route can be exposed.
What remains after the purple lock opens?
The orange-peach shell panels, pink seams, purple lower band and green field break into separate short fragments that still need to be routed.