Thanks for mentioning level 444. That's where the promise of Gridcosm's Golden Age is realized. The early exuberance has been refined. There is still some risk-taking, but less than in the very beginning.

Now I'll analyse levels 440 thru 449. Maybe I'll decipher the magic of the Golden Age. I'd love to steal it. Anything that's over three years old qualifies as retro on the net. I'd love to go through a retro phase on the Grid for awhile.

...gridcosm?level=440 SNY (440-a1) and ROZ (440-b1)! KYT (440-a2) and MKC (440-a3)! DGT (440-b3)! I miss ROZ, KYT and DGT. 440-a1 is cartoonlike--I envy SNY and ROZ's use of color.

...gridcosm?level=441 AAG (441-a1 441-c1 441-c3)! AAG and KYT do quite a thing down the c squares. The outer eight squares are very blendy, and b2 is also nicely blended, but the outer eight squares and b2 are not blended _together_. The result is an odd square mandala effect, with inner hub and outer rim.

...gridcosm?level=442 b2 is blended so seamlessly on level 442 that I can't tell where it ends and where the rest of the level begins. SNY has incorporated a dude from ABC World News Tonight into 442-a2.

...gridcosm?level=443 ODR (443-a1) and KYT (443-a2)! That solid orange in b2, c2, a3, b3, and c3 looks familiar--the same color has made an appearance in recent levels--notably levels 1139 and 1140. Yuck. ...gridcosm?level=1140

...gridcosm?level=444 SNY, did you draw that cartoon yourself? 444-a1 is nicely balanced with KYT's art from the previous level. DGT's saturated flowers in 444-c2 have a Sixties retro feel.

...gridcosm?level=445 Brooding darkness and bright solids--somehow it all fits together. A blendy patchwork, a study in harmonious contradictions. Whatever happened to Michael - Bill Goats aka MDI (445-a2)?

...gridcosm?level=446 MKC (446-b1 and c1) and ODR (446-c2)! Nature's tones and patterns. There are so many standout elements on this level. Yet it doesn't look crowded.

...gridcosm?level=447 ROZ (447-a3) and JBP (447-b3) and MKC (447-c2 and c3)! These squares are as good as the Grid gets. Wiggy perspective. Whatever happened to J. Peters aka JBP?

...gridcosm?level=448 ROZ (448-a3) and SNY (448-b3)! Every square is so powerful on this level, except for SNY's b1, c1 and c3, which are an ''interesting experiment'' that makes me want to shout BUH BUH BUH. Despite SNY's BUHness, level 448 kicks ass anyway.

...gridcosm?level=449 MKC (449-b1) and KYT (449-c1) pull SNY's coals from the fire. SNY helps out with a little levity in 449-c2. KYT's 449-a1 Puss 'N Boots is brilliant. I like AUS's use of color in 449-b3 and 449-c3.