Gates
The coverage a gate asks for, and what each close doesThe coverage meter
A gate judges one thing: its coverage meter. Each right answer fills part of it, +20% at Pallet down to +10% at the Champion, because later gates have more to cover. The meter belongs to this gate only and starts over at the next one.
Nothing is decided until the 5th poll is answered. Then the band the meter closes in decides what happens.
The bands
| Band | What happens |
|---|---|
| PERFECT | A full bar, 100%. The gate clears, its payout is multiplied ×1.5 and you win its swatch. |
| HEALTHY | At or over the gate's line. The gate clears and its payout is multiplied ×1.25. |
| OK | Under the line but above OK. The gate clears, except at the Champion, which only HEALTHY or PERFECT clears. |
| SHAKY | Above the floor. The gate holds you: pay the peel and retry, or refuse the gate and end the run. |
| DANGER | Under the floor. The run ends. |
Answering all 5 polls right never ends a run: at worst the gate holds you in SHAKY.
Every gate
Each gate's place, its demands, what a clear pays and its audits.spoiler
| Gate | Place | SHAKY from | OK from | HEALTHY from | A clear pays | A miss peels | Audits |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | Pallet | — | 52% | 64% | 32 KB | nothing | 0 |
| 1 | Pewter | 43% | 55% | 66% | 64 KB | 20% | 0 |
| 2 | Cerulean | 47% | 57% | 68% | 96 KB | 20% | 0 |
| 3 | Vermilion | 50% | 60% | 71% | 128 KB | 25% | 1 |
| 4 | Lavender | 53% | 63% | 73% | 160 KB | 25% | 1 |
| 5 | Celadon | 56% | 66% | 75% | 192 KB | 25% | 1 |
| 6 | Fuchsia | 60% | 68% | 77% | 224 KB | 25% | 1 |
| 7 | Saffron | 63% | 71% | 79% | 256 KB | 30% | 1 |
| 8 | Seafoam | 66% | 74% | 81% | 288 KB | 30% | 2 |
| 9 | Cinnabar | 69% | 77% | 84% | 320 KB | 30% | 2 |
| 10 | Viridian | 73% | 79% | 86% | 352 KB | 30% | 2 |
| 11 | Indigo Elite | 76% | 82% | 88% | 384 KB | 35% | 3 |
| 12 | Champion | 79% | 84% | 90% | 416 KB | 35% | 3 |
A clear pays 32 KB times the gate's number plus one, scaled by how many of the 5 polls you got right.
The peel
A gate held in SHAKY owes a peel before you retry: a share of the slots your build occupies, billed at 16 KB a slot. Drop configs to pay it, and let storage settle whatever the drops left owed.
Every retry at the same gate peels more: ×1.5 the first share on the second attempt, ×2 on the third. A retry also waits for tomorrow's polls.
If you cannot or will not pay, refuse the gate. The run ends and banks as if you had died there.
Overshooting
The meter caps at a full bar. Coverage past it pays 16 KB for every extra full bar, and 10% of it opens the next gate as a head start. A head start alone can never clear a gate.