Barrier Types and How to Pass Them
Learn how chain, heavy chain, glass, stone, key-lock, and balloon barriers work, and how to open them without losing track control.
Barriers are functional locks, not decorative obstacles. They can prevent marked trays from moving upward or receiving progress. Each barrier has a target color and a required power value. Completing progress with that color weakens the barrier until the locked area opens.
Chain and heavy chain
Standard chains open after enough progress is created with the indicated color. Heavy chains follow the same rule but may require more progress. Prioritize visible trays of the target color, and use the multiplier only when the track has room for the resulting group.
Glass barrier
Glass remains a real lock even though you can see through it. Do not assume the tray behind it is usable. Check the lock state before releasing a large color group. If the target color is accumulating, clear other accessible trays first to create track space.
Stone wall
Stone barriers can represent a heavier requirement. Balls intended for trays behind the wall may have nowhere to go until it collapses. Keep two or three accessible colors in balance instead of filling the track with one blocked color.
Key lock
The key-lock area and the color used to open it are not necessarily the same visual region. Follow the barrier’s color indicator rather than guessing from the trays it covers.
Balloon barrier
The balloon is dynamic. It grows over time and can cover more cells. Progress with its target color deflates it; enough progress opens the area safely. If the balloon expands over all accessible targets of its own color, the level can become difficult to recover. Identify its color early and keep producing steady progress.
Safe play against balloons
- Prioritize visible trays matching the balloon color.
- Avoid large unrelated releases during growth warnings.
- Consider Shuffle when the required color is absent from the sources.
- Do not waste Hand Clear on trays protected by an active barrier.
A general barrier plan
- Identify the target color and required progress.
- Locate accessible trays of that color.
- Reserve controlled track space for it.
- Avoid overproducing colors trapped behind the barrier.
- Prepare for the tray shift that follows the opening animation.
Barrier levels are won through steady, measured progress. Opening the barrier is only half the task; being ready for the new tray order is what keeps the track stable afterward.