Time crunch level

A time crunch level is a Chip's Challenge level theme where the primary puzzle is to identify and race through a valid path to the exit before the time runs out. In many cases, time crunches are made artificially difficult by the tight time limit and become trivial if additional time were to be granted. There are only a handful of time crunches in the original game, whereas the theme is significantly more common in Chip's Challenge 2.

In Chip's Challenge 2, more complex time crunches are possible due to time modifiers: the Time bonus, Time penalty and Time toggle tiles. These tiles add 10 seconds to the game clock, deduct 10 seconds to the game clock and pause or resume the game clock respectively.

Some hallmarks of time crunch levels include:

the level becomes unsolvable if a precisely timed path is not followed.
the player runs out of time attempting to figure out the puzzle.
Chip is killed by a monster or obstacle if the correct path is not followed at the correct pace. Missteps and player hesitation are often fatal mistakes.

CC1 Examples

Brushfire - 80 seconds to navigate through a maze and exit the level
Knot - 29 seconds to collect 118 chips and exit the level
Glut - 20 seconds to complete the level, multiple correct paths to exit exist
Problems - While Chip has 200 seconds to complete the overall level, there are two separate time races built into this level where you must collect a significant number of keys or chips before a wall of pink balls are released.
Nightmare - This level contains many very short time races where Chip releases a monster from a trap behind him and must race a short distance to safety. In the original Microsoft version of the game, the Controller and Boss Glitch prevents several traps from releasing monsters as intended. This glitch behavior is not present in the Steam edition of CC1.
Totally Unfair - 60 seconds to complete a complex, hidden puzzle

CCLP1 Examples

CCLP2 Examples

CCLP3 Examples

CCLP4 Examples

CC2 Examples

All Shook Up - 20 seconds to solve an ice and force floor puzzle
Tumblers - 33 seconds to solve an ice puzzle
Run-Around - 32 seconds to traverse from the southeast corner to the northwest corner and back while evading teeth
Quick Time - an introduction to time bonuses
Quick Time II - an introduction to time penalties
Quick Time III - an introduction to time toggles
Freeze Frame - a maze involving time modifiers
You Must Be Joking - 5 seconds to collect 5 chips (time modifiers available to extend level duration)
Quickchip - 25 seconds to solve a puzzle involving rovers
Quick Thinking - time modifiers are hidden under blocks
Feeding Time - a non-standard race where you must collect as many blue keys as possible before they are erased by walkers. You must collect 8 keys to reach the exit, but quick Chipsters who obtain 9 keys can grab a bonus flag before exiting
Grab Bag - 50 seconds to solve a well-rounded puzzle
Electric Trap - 40 seconds to solve a puzzle involving wired toggle doors and various monsters
Strict Process - as alluded to by the name, Chip must follow a strict path to reach the exit within 50 seconds
Avalanche - a 50-second puzzle involving ice block cloning
Scrambled Eggs - a non-standard maze using a wide variety of game tiles with a maximum of 20 seconds allocated
Closet - a compact 30-second puzzle
Monster Race - while the level grants 50 seconds to reach the exit, Chip must also beat all the monsters to the blue key toward the end of the level before it is erased by a monster
Apartments - Chip has 50 seconds to dodge four purple balls and snatch 15 chips from the level's four quadrants
Easy? - Chip must navigate a compact railway puzzle within 15 seconds
Wing and a Prayer - 50 seconds to dodge waves of gliders in various formations
Sdrawkcab - Chip must race through a maze of keys taking care not to pick up keys which will bar him from reaching the exit. In addition, while Chip has 75 seconds to beat the level, he must get to the exit before the wired counter tiles reach 99 otherwise a block is cloned to obstruct the path to the exit
Bowl to Freedom - 15 seconds to solve a puzzle involving thieves, railroad tracks and a bowling ball
Chaoslands - Chip has 50 seconds to dodge ice blocks and reach the exit before it becomes blocked
Yellow Brick Road - portions of this 12-second level are time races, but Melinda can step on time toggles at various points to pause or resume the game clock
Ice Threat - Chip must rush through this maze before too many ice blocks are cloned to get all three chips
On the Run - As the name implies, Chip must run through most of this 80-second level with monsters directly on his tail
Fish and Chips - 80 chips to be obtained in 50 seconds, while also solving a yellow teleport puzzle
Factory - Quick movements and monster dodging is required to reach the end of this 80-second level safely
Tank Rush - Chip must position yellow tanks over three black buttons within 50 seconds to unlock the exit
Rush - requires Chip to continuously pick up time bonuses while solving puzzles to extend the initial 10 seconds. Also has a built-in "practice route" that disables the timer, but does not allow access to the final part of the level
Pattern Buffers - a compact 35-second puzzle with opportunities to pick up time bonuses
Dodgeball - Chip must dodge purple balls while running toward the exit, with very little time available to pause between sections
Cross-Circuit - Chip must cross an ice path several times while dodging a steady stream of circulating gliders within 40 seconds
Mine Challenge - starting with 100 seconds, Chip must blow up walls, pick up time bonuses and collect 44 chips in the correct order to reach the exit in time
Deadmeat - several portions of this level could be considered time races, as there are very small margins of error between releasing monsters from traps and reaching safety
Island - a teeth monster must be lured through a water maze to clear a bomb obstructing the exit, with a very small error margin
Boiler Room - Chip must position ice blocks correctly before the level's 63 chips are destroyed, while also reaching the exit within 150 seconds
Spare Me - with 123 seconds available, Chip will struggle to grab all the bonus flags before running out of time
Chip Off the Block - Chip has limited time to uncover 44 chips from beneath blocks