Why does Level 409 need a free hole after the gate starts moving?

The 500 gate is accompanied by red and cyan locks; the matching key card can be hidden if all five holes are committed to long green or cyan streams.

What is left after the main counter reaches zero?

The colored fence tools, a late purple 34 lock, dark-purple body fragments and pale-cyan pieces still need to be routed before the win screen.

Colony Flow! level guide

expert 9 colors

Open yellow 15, red 38 and green 35 around the lock cards, drain the 500 gate, and clear the dark-purple animal-like worker scene.

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On the successful Level 409 board, start yellow 15, red 38 and green 35 in that order.
Take the first cyan lock when its matching route opens, waiting before orange-yellow 24 or the second green 35.
Clear the early green and red panel with the short yellow and green returns while the 500 gate begins to fall.
Alternate the exposed 35-count green/purple cards with red 24 and shorter cyan cards; do not launch both cyan 45/50 stacks together.
Through the 318-to-107 phase, use green 35/38, yellow 24 and pale-cyan 45/50 only as opening streams return.
At the 80-to-zero phase, clear the red squares, brown fence and green strip before feeding another long dark-purple card.
Route the red-lock and remaining cyan-lock fragments as soon as their matching colors are visible, leaving one hole for the late purple lock.
When purple lock 34 appears, send its short companion route first, then clear the detached yellow, red, green and cyan fence pieces.
Strip the last dark-purple body and pale-cyan field fragments with the returning 34/38-count cards.
Wait for the final dark-purple pixels and cyan pieces to leave and confirm the Colony Flow win screen.

Colors in this level:

Dark purple, Yellow, Red, Green, Cyan, Pale cyan, Orange, Brown, Purple

Filling the holes with green 35 cards before yellow 15 and red 38 return hides the lock cards.
Starting both long cyan 45/50 stacks while the gate is above 100 leaves no route for the late purple 34 lock.

Use yellow 15 and red 38 to start the lock timing before committing to the long green wave.
Keep one hole open for the red-lock and cyan-lock routes through the 500-to-107 descent.
Reserve space for purple lock 34 after the main gate reaches zero.

Board notes 5 details

Layout: A dark-purple animal-like worker silhouette with a yellow center sits on a pale-cyan field. The green upper panel has red square marks, a purple key is at the upper right, and a brown fence with colored details runs along the bottom. The successful opening shows gate 500, yellow 15, red 38, green 35 and a cyan lock.
Goal: Drain the 500 gate, release the red and cyan locks, clear the green panel and brown fence, then remove the dark-purple body and pale-cyan field fragments.
Opening: After the loading segment, tap yellow 15, red 38 and green 35 in order. Take the first cyan lock when exposed, but wait for a return before orange-yellow 24, the second green 35 or the red-lock path.
Danger Zone: Two cyan locks and a red lock compete with 35-count green cards while the 500 gate is high. Launching the 45/50-count cyan cards before a lock route returns fills the buffer and strands the keys.
Mechanics: The successful gate falls from 500 through the 318-to-107 range, then reaches 80 and zero while the animal scene separates into green and red panel pieces, a brown fence, colored tools, dark-purple body and cyan fragments. A late purple lock marked 34 remains.

Why does Level 409 need a free hole after the gate starts moving?
The 500 gate is accompanied by red and cyan locks; the matching key card can be hidden if all five holes are committed to long green or cyan streams.
What is left after the main counter reaches zero?
The colored fence tools, a late purple 34 lock, dark-purple body fragments and pale-cyan pieces still need to be routed before the win screen.