Editing Free the Boys

{{IB-Level
 |image      = FreeTheBoys.png
 |id         = 131860273
 |creator    = pocke
 |created    = [[Update 2.2]]
 |difficulty = {{Hard}}
 |stars      = 5
 |diamonds   = 7
 |coins      = 1
 |length     = 1m 39s (Long)
 |objects    = 79,544
 |copytype   = No password
 |downloads  = 4.33M
 |likes      = 195.5K
 |rating     = Legendary
 |artist     = [https://greenytoaster.newgrounds.com/ GreenyToaster]
 |music      = [https://www.newgrounds.com/audio/listen/1340094 Toby Fox - Death By Glamour <nowiki>[Paper Mario Arrangement]</nowiki>]
 |musicid    = 1340094
 |previous   = [[zone pirate v]]<br>(Treasure Gauntlet)
 |next       = [[WEAVER]]
}}
'''Free the Boys''' is a [[Update 2.2|2.2]] Hard level by pocke, published on 21 January 2026. It is the first level of the [[Gauntlets|Spider Gauntlet]].

==Description==
Free the Boys is a heavily story-based level in which an unnamed human (henceforth referred to as 'the Captor') is kidnapping [[Geometry Dash]] spiders, colloquially referred to as 'the Boys', and imprisoning them in aquariums and under glasses in their house. All gameplay is exclusively spider unless otherwise indicated.
*'''0-14%:''' The first section of Free the Boys takes place in a dark brown corridor. The player must dodge Phillips-head screws driven into the floor and ceiling, tables, aquariums (except the second; the rest house an imprisoned spider), and glasses. Ants can be seen under glasses and near the vertical boundaries. At 13.5%, the player shrinks, and the Captor traps them under a large glass, ending the section.
*'''14-21%:''' The second section is the first of two without any gameplay; it is a cutscene. The player, still under the glass, is now atop a table inside the house with a window in the background. At 17.25%, the camera shifts to a nearby cup, under which is a black spider. The spider sheds a tear, then collapses at 18.25%. The player sheds a tear as the camera refocuses on them at 19.75%. At 20%, a gray spider with a hard hat suddenly drills a hole into the table underneath the player, dropping them into the underground and bringing the cutscene to an end.
*'''21-27.75%:''' The player lands in an underground dirt section with plumbing pipes in the foreground. Gameplay in this section is fairly simplistic, using just two orbs and one jump pad. The player reverts to their normal size at the end.
*'''27.75-42% (The Rec Room †):''' After leaving the underground, the player enters an underground rec room constructed from wood. The player must avoid mouse traps, small spiked bear traps, and hazardous green particles (implied to be acidic). Coins are placed as bait in each trap; if the player gets too close to a trap, it snaps shut, resulting in a fail. There are also televisions of various sizes in the background, each displaying one of eight options:
**The GDN news report shown in [[Space Invaders]] by [[Subwoofer]].
**A pink spider with yellow eyes holding a concert.
**Analogue white [[Wikipedia:Noise (video)|noise]].
**[[Wikipedia:SMPTE color bars|SMPTE colour bars]], usually used as a television test signal.
**Four monochromatic levels:
***Light purple: A Medium Demon icon hitting magenta orbs with crosses as spikes.
***Red: Cube gameplay, but the player icon is a spike, and single spikes are replaced with Cube 4.
***Yellow: Cube 4 hitting yellow orbs with spikes on the floor and ceiling.
***Plum: A 2D lane-switching game in which a heart must avoid crosses by moving up and down between a set of three lanes. Referred to as 'UT [https://undertale.fandom.com/wiki/Muffet/ Muffet] Gimmick' in the editor, hinting at a possible ''[[Wikipedia:Undertale|Undertale]]'' reference.
*'''42-55.5%:''' The player re-enters the house through a hole in the kitchen wall, landing on the countertop. Moving right-to-left, they must avoid thumbtacks, batteries, and paper clips thrown at them from the player's perspective. Crosshairs appear to help the player avoid all hazards. After the crossing is complete, the player teleports to a shelf directly above the counter, turns around, and then repeats the process of avoiding hazards using the crosshairs. To leave the section, the player must pass through four cupboard compartments as their speed changes; the speed portals indicate the entrance and exit of each cabinet.
*'''55.5-62%:''' After falling out of the last cabinet, the player lands on the chequered kitchen floor, passing more captured spiders and ants crawling on the ground. One maroon spider attempts to flee, but runs into one of the legs of the table, knocking it out. Meanwhile, the Captor makes several attempts to capture and squish the player; first, the player must hit a toggle orb to pull the camera back, dodging the Captor's foot. The Captor then drops orbs and books on the floor, which the player must use to escape the kitchen. Lightbulbs are also present overhead and flash with the beat; one lightbulb, however, is shattered on the floor, requiring the player to use four cyan orbs and a yellow orb to avoid landing on its debris. 
*'''62-69.75%:''' A golden brown spider wielding a fire extinguisher puts out the flames in a fireplace located in the kitchen, allowing the player to escape by climbing the inside of the chimney. As the player crawls upward, three knives are thrown up the chimney; each knife is thrown separately and aimed at either the left or right side. Though the sides that the knives target are randomized every time, they are indicated by flashing red bars with arrows pointing to the safe side.
*'''69.75-80%:''' The player emerges from the chimney and lands in a forest outside the Captor's house, beginning the second section without any gameplay. All clicks before 76% will trigger an invisible yellow orb that follows the player. At 76%, a thought bubble appears above the player as they remember one of the spiders trapped in a cup on the table (shown during the kitchen escape). Deciding to return to free the captured spiders, the player teams up with a blue-and-black silkworm they met in the forest before returning to the window shown in the first cutscene. While on the windowsill, the silkworm creates a makeshift harness for the player as a monarch butterfly flies overhead and drops a mallet for the player to use.
*'''80-96.5% (The Rescue †):''' The player uses the mallet to smash one of the window panes as the screen fades to black. The phrase 'FREE THE BOYS!' appears, alongside two spider icons that rotate into ship icons. In the final section, the player hangs from the silkworm's harness, with their mallet hanging beneath. The butterfly sits atop a floating disco ball. 10 captured spiders (five under glasses and five inside empty aquariums) are trapped in this section; if the player is within proximity of a spider's approach circle, they will automatically swing their mallet to break the aquarium or knock over the glass. This action frees the spider inside, which will follow the player on the ground for the rest of the level. The floor is made of light-up dance panels, and several gray spiders in the foreground cheer on the player with red and blue foam hands. The player's icon remains a spider, but their controls resemble those of the ship game-mode. It is impossible to crash in this section, regardless of how many spiders are freed.
*'''96.5-100% (Ending):''' The player hits a normal-speed portal as they detach from the silkworm's threads, entering a narrow and empty corridor with no gameplay. As the audience throws roses towards the player, the concert spider plays an electric guitar in sync with the final riff of the music track before the level ends. On the end screen, five webs are shown; any freed spiders will be placed in the webs alongside the player, who has a looped animation throwing the mallet to the left side of the screen before it boomerangs back. The message 'GG' is shown at the midpoint of the mallet's trajectory.
''<sup>†</sup> Section name is not official and only used for convenience when referring to it''

==User coins==
Free the Boys contains only one user coin.

During the Rescue at 80%, the player must free all 10 captive spiders by flying within proximity of their approach circles. Once successful, the cheering spiders will throw the coin; it is unskippable.

==Gameplay==
{{VC|eQ6NkWZwhD0}}

==Trivia==
*It is possible to collect the gold coins from the last two mouse traps in the Rec Room without being caught.
*Landing on the head of any of the screws will push them down, similar to This Side Up by [[Knots]].
**Pushing screws or collecting gold coins will not benefit the player in any way.
*Every spider that is not freed during the Rescue sheds a tear as the player passes it.
*If the player fails to free any spiders during the Rescue, the audience of spiders will throw tomatoes at the player instead of roses.
*pocke planned to make 10 different displays to use on the televisions in the Rec Room; he only managed to make eight, leaving a note in the editor that said he 'didn't hav time [sic]'.
[[Category:Gauntlet levels]]