Like millions of other gamers around the world, you probably play (or have played) Candy Crush Saga. And like said millions of other gamers, you’ve likely been in danger of sending your phone sailing through a window or into the ground because of its frustrating sets of levels that can sometimes seem absolutely insurmountable. Check out these tips and tricks to implement the next time you feel like you just can’t make it through one more level. Chances are you can, and chances are you’re going to rock it out with our help!
Get by with a little help from your friends. If you get stuck, try the power-ups allocated to you for each level. They can turn the tide in your favor in no time.
Play smart. You have a limited number of moves you can make before it’s game over. Try to make the best out of the candy you have. Get the most you can from each swap. Just because the game suggests you should move a specific tile, that doesn’t mean you should always take its advice — you need to think ahead in order to make sure you always have a move at your disposal.
Work from the bottom up: This is the case with many match-3 puzzlers, not just Candy Crush Saga in general, because candies fall from the top of the screen, and if you clear out those at the bottom, you leave more room at the top for new pieces to work with.
When in doubt, go for the combo: If you ever have two special candies like stripes and rainbow together at once, go ahead and ignite them, since they can take out over half the board if you need a quick save. This can also help you get to places which are off the board or otherwise difficult to reach. Don’t use combos willy-nilly, though — save them for when you really need them!
Hold off on buying or using additional power-ups: It’s possible to get past the first few dozens of levels without ever purchasing a power-up. But you’ll have to be clever about it if you want to save some money, so make sure you try out all of the different strategies and pathways presented to you before
Restart levels that don’t appeal to you: If you start a level that’s lacking a cluster of similarly-colored candies or a setup that doesn’t look conducive to victory, just close out the game without completing the level and go back into it. Since each level is random, this will work to your advantage. Eventually, you’ll get a board where you can create some easy combo candies with minimal effort. Clear out candies on wrappers near the edges: Every so often, you’ll find candies still on their wrappers.
Instead of just trying to clear the inner candies, which will fall into place as you clear out pieces from the bottom, focus your attention to the corners and bottom of the board. Clearing out the edges will summarily ensure you clear out the center, too!
Seek out patterns where you can find them and act on them. Sometimes you can simply spot patterns that will make your life easier. For instance, you’ll see a line of five candies or a combination that will spawn a special candy. Learn to recognize these right away and seek them out for maximum board-clearing and you’ll find yourself absolutely slaying.
Pay attention to the direction of the stripes on the candy. If you’re having trouble utilizing striped candy in order to clear out entire lines, make sure you look at the direction the lines are running in on the candies. If it’s vertical, expect the vertical column to be cleared. If it’s horizontal, vice versa.
Now that you’ve had a chance to take in all of these tips and tricks, it’s time to head out into the world and conquer. And remember: These tips are quite universal, as many puzzlers tend to share these same base rules. So if you’re having problems in a match-three puzzler like Cookie Jam, you can likely apply these same strategies. Most importantly, you now have a leg up on the competition (read: your friends). Happy crushing!
