Slow early isn't the problem ... it's those creepy eyeballs that follow your every move, that's the problem!!!
Trying to get past Level 10 does seem to be the magic number here.
But I may have a solution for folks with color blindness (or for the rest of us who finds it too distracting) ... set your monitor to B/W or greyscale, so that you are only noticing the outlines of the groups of 3 or more, as they light up when you pass over them with your mouse.