Candy Crush Saga Tips and Tricks

Candy Crush is an incredibly addicting game by King.com available for free download on smartphones and available on Facebook. I am nowhere near beating the game, but as I progress, I plan on updating this page with more Candy Crush tips and tricks I've learned along the way. And just so you know, I don't plan on spending any money on this game nor do I want to connect it to Facebook. Lastly, I don't care about getting high scores for each level. I only want to pass it and move on! Now for the tips:

Beginner Tips:

1. Understand Special Candy
   The striped candy can be vertical or horizontal. It will wipe out an entire row (if horizlontally striped) or column (if vertically striped). Get these by forming 4 same colored candies in a row.
   The wrapped candy wipes out surrounding eight candies, and this happens twice. Get this by forming either a T or L formation with the same colored candies.
   The sprinkle candy wipes out all candies of the color it matches against. You get a sprinkle candy by forming 5 same colored candies in a row.
2. Combo Special Candies
   The Striped Candy + Striped Candy will regardless of strip color wipe out candies vertically and horizontally.
   The Wrapped Candy + Wrapped Candy will wipe out all candies in a massive 5x5 grid around the matched wrapped candies.
   The Sprinkle Candy + Sprinkle Candy will wipe out every single candy on the board. This one is nearly impossible position together. Depending on the board and timing of the game, it might be better to use them individually without any combo.
   The Striped Candy + Wrapped Candy will wipe out three rows horizontally and three columns vertically worth of candies. This is a favorite of mine. Great at wiping out jellies and for tons of points.
   The Striped Candy + Sprinkle Candy will randomly select chance all candies (same color as striped candy) into either a vertical or horizontal striped candy. The newly formed striped candies then automatically activate in the direct of their stripes. This is one of my favorite combos. Before activating, I carefully try to fill the board with more candies (same as the striped color) to enhance the effect.
   The Wrapped Candy + Sprinkle Candy will activate the Wrapped Candy twice. The second wrapped candy is a random color. I don't like this combo very much and it isn't very effective.
3. Ignore Candy Crushes Move Suggestion
   The suggested move is not always the best option. This of course depends on the situation. Always double check for other moves.
4. Re-Examine the Board After Each Move
   If you are having difficulties beating a level, slow down! After each move, re-examine the entire board and check if a Special Candy can be formed after each move. In most cases (not all), it's better to create invest moves to create a Special Candy. If you are really stuck, matching candies at the bottom of the board provides opportunities at the bottom, middle, and top for special candies. The mistake of making moves only at the top limits matching opportunities to the top of the board.

Advanced Tips:

1. Chocolate Square Levels
   If the level starts with plenty of lives, focus first on removing all chocolate squares. Every move that does not result in removal of at least one chocolate square, a new chocolate square will form and spread. This presents a challenge to planning ahead. So, eliminate chocolate squares ASAP. If the Chocolate squares trapped, focus your first moves on forming Special Candy so all chocolate can be wiped out in a single shot.
2. Jelly Levels
   I have the tendency to simple match candy colors. If the match doesn't remove a jelly, find a move that will, or sets you up for one that will. You can get three stars worth in points, but not clear all the jelly and still not win. Focus on the goal of removing jellys.
3. Ingredient Levels
   The early ingredient levels are simple, since ingredients can be dropped in any location at the bottom. As you progress through the levels, you are forced to drop ingredients in certain locations. In these levels, understand where ingredients slide for an easier time. The worst situation is to have your ingredient stuck at the wrong bottom spot, and you have no choice but to wait for a chance to slide the ingredient left or right. In these cases, try matching candies only in columns that accept ingredients. By doing this, ingredients can properly slide into the correct columns.
4. Licorice
   The best medicine against licorice are Wrapped Candy, or any other combination that causes an explosion. A wrapped candy can break through multiple licorice candies in a single shot. Striped jellies can only wipe out one licorice at a time.

Free Candy Crush Lives Without Facebook
A common trick to obtaining for free Candy Crush lives without registering with Facebook on smart phones is to move the phone clock forward. This allows efficient gameplay because you can utilize the lives you otherwise spent sleeping the night away (if you do this, you might be borderline addicted to the game).

1. I move the clock forward by two hours to get 4 more lives (30 minutes each). I'll move the clock forward and only switch it back when done playing. Switching the clock format to 24 hour format makes it easier to manipulate. Note that even if you turn the time back, the game remembers the future time it last granted to lives and you may end up waiting 1000's of minutes.
2. After winning each quest, move the clock forward 1 day to activate the next quest. After beating the third and final quest, change the system clock back to the present time and both the Lives Clock and the Quest Clock will be reset!

Play Candy Crush Now
Ultimately, remember that Candy Crush is just a game! Though it has an insanely addictive characteristic, know that a huge aspect of the game is simply luck. Even if you make all the right moves, it's possible that version of the level is impossible to beat. With that, I leave you to play Candy Crush. Good luck!

Difficult Candy Crush Level Tips

1. How to Beat Level 165
   Clear the following orders: 49 yellow candiess, 96 blue candies, and 24 green candiess in 60 moves. Despite this, the real goal is to clear 96 blues. In doing so, the 49 yellows and 24 greens will happen naturally. The biggest challenge with this level is there never seem to be enough blue candies (within the 60 moves). What I've found that helps is instead of focusing on removing blue candies, with each move, try to form combo candies and remove as many candies per move as possible. Any stripped candy combined with a Sprinkled Candy is best, followed by any stripped candy with a wrapper candy.
2. How to Beat Level 181
   The goal is to clear two ingredients, in seperated sections. To beat Candy Crush Level 181, try to use only horizontal striped candy (can clear 2 blocks), or any striped candy plus a wrapper candy (can potentially clear 6 blocks). If you get a Sprinkle candy, do not try to form a combo candy. Instead, use it to clear useless candy getting in the way of striped or wrapped candy.