{"id":51665,"date":"2013-09-28T13:05:16","date_gmt":"2013-09-28T11:05:16","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/onsoftware.en.softonic.com\/?p=51665"},"modified":"2025-07-02T01:08:02","modified_gmt":"2025-07-02T08:08:02","slug":"candy-crush-saga-whats-the-secret-behind-the-addiction","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/candy-crush-saga-whats-the-secret-behind-the-addiction\/","title":{"rendered":"Candy Crush Saga: What’s the secret behind the addiction?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Head down, brow furrowed and\u00a0a screenful of candy: Candy Crush Saga<\/a> addicts are all the same – totally hooked on the game that’s even beaten FarmVille <\/a>to rise to\u00a0the top spot.<\/p>\n

There are people who have spent hundreds of dollars on the game without batting an eyelid.\u00a0 In Hong Kong, where 15% of the population play the game<\/a>, the authorities are beginning to worry<\/a>.<\/p>\n

So, what is this obsession with popping pieces of candy<\/strong>?<\/p>\n

Candy Crush: the puzzle that gets you hooked<\/h2>\n

Millions of people<\/a> play it every day.\u00a0It has fan clubs<\/a> and its own Wiki<\/a>.\u00a0Candy Crush Saga has brought in huge profit<\/strong> for its creators at King.com: the game\u00a0alone rakes in $633,000 per day, and $230 million per year.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Its creators <\/strong>insist that there is nothing evil<\/a> about the game; it\u2019s simply an excellent way to relax and disconnect from the stresses of everyday life.\u00a0 Women especially enjoy playing it<\/a>, both on Facebook and on their cellphone.<\/p>\n

A varied and never-ending game<\/h2>\n

What a cool game. Lol. I love candy.\u00a0 It looks easy\u2026 Let\u2019s see what happens if I make a line of four\u2026 Hey! This is REALLY good fun!<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Candy Crush Saga is very similar to another puzzle game, Bejeweled<\/a>, <\/strong>where\u00a0you have to line up at least three of the same type of jewel\u00a0to make them disappear and continue on through the game.\u00a0The basic ingredients aren\u2019t original, but the particular way Candy Crush combines them certainly is.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Candy Crush is every bit as colorful and adorable as the classic by <\/em>Taito<\/em><\/a> <\/em>(<\/em>source<\/em><\/a>)<\/em><\/p>\n

Some levels are completed by reaching a certain score, while others are completed only when you have eliminated a\u00a0certain type of candy.\u00a0 Some also have a time limit, but these are few and far between; the game favors tactics over speed<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

I\u2019m making my way round the map.\u00a0 And I\u2019m already doing better than my buddy, Joe.\u00a0 How many levels do I have left? 350? Right, here goes.\u00a0 And they said this was difficult! Lol!<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Presently, there are more than 450 levels<\/a> in Candy Crush Saga<\/strong>, spread over the map of a fictional country whose place names refer to the world of candy.\u00a0 And each level has its own surprise obstacles, along with special types of candy.<\/p>\n

\"\"Who doesn\u2019t like candy? Even\u00a0Wreck-it Ralph<\/a> travels through a world of sugary goodness<\/em><\/p>\n

The frustration you can\u2019t get enough of<\/h2>\n

In Candy Crush Saga you have lives. Five lives <\/strong>to be exact.\u00a0 <\/strong>If you fail to complete a level, you lose one of them.\u00a0 When you reach the first few difficult levels, you start to run out of lives pretty quickly, and that\u2019s when Candy Crush starts to get stressful.<\/p>\n

Darn it, level 29 <\/a>is really hard.\u00a0 It\u2019s impossible.\u00a0 What? Am I hungry? No, thanks.\u00a0 I just want to complete this darn level.\u00a0 I\u2019m not going till I get it done!<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

If you run out of lives, you have to wait thirty minutes to get one back<\/strong>. Meanwhile, you watch your friends play.\u00a0Maybe you want to be better than them, catch up to them or even beat them.\u00a0Or maybe you just don\u2019t want to feel like a loser<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Spam, pay, play.\u00a0Again and again<\/h2>\n

There are only two ways to avoid waiting thirty minutes to get more lives: ask one of your Facebook friends<\/strong> to help you, or pay <\/strong>via microtransactions.\u00a0The amount of money some people spend is considerable.<\/p>\n

I need more lives.\u00a0 More lives.\u00a0 My buddy Joe is way ahead of me.\u00a0 He must be 50 levels in front.\u00a0 I bet he\u2019s paid.\u00a0 I\u2019ll ask my friends for help.<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The dilemma is agonizing<\/strong>: either you send requests to your Facebook friends, or you pay up.\u00a0 If not, you just have to wait.\u00a0 Many people choose to sit it out, but others can\u2019t stand the suspense and are eager to continue.<\/p>\n

Six people have deleted me on Facebook for sending them help requests.\u00a0 They don\u2019t get it.\u00a0 If they played they\u2019d understand.\u00a0 Maybe I\u2019ll pay\u2026 Yeah, that\u2019s what I\u2019ll do\u2026 I have to finish this level\u2026<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

This is how a worrier, who just wanted to relax and play a game for a while, ends up finding something else to obsess over and worry about.\u00a0 And it can be quite an expensive obsession<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The eight secrets of Candy Crush Saga<\/h2>\n
    \n
  1. It\u2019s easy to learn: there\u2019s only a handful of rules<\/li>\n
  2. It\u2019s everywhere: cellphones, Facebook, tablets<\/li>\n
  3. It rewards you at random, like a slot machine<\/li>\n
  4. It gives you goals, which encourage you to struggle on through each level<\/li>\n
  5. It gives you a sense of progress: you don\u2019t have to \u201cstart again\u201d when you lose<\/li>\n
  6. It appeals to your competitive nature and\u00a0your desire to avoid negative outcomes<\/li>\n
  7. You suffer withdrawal symptoms whenever you put it down<\/li>\n
  8. The difficulty increases in sudden leaps, and pushes you to do whatever it takes<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    What game will knock Candy Crush Saga off the top spot?<\/h2>\n

    Tiffy and Mr. Toffee look on smugly while I play level 294.\u00a0 I don\u2019t know how to complete it. I scratch my two-day old stubble and decide to pay.\u00a0 But someday I\u2019ll get sick of this game. <\/strong>And then I\u2019ll have to wait for another game to come along.<\/p>\n

    \"\"Tiffy and Mr. Toffee, the \u201cadorable\u201d Candy Crush Saga characters<\/em><\/p>\n

    It isn\u2019t easy to find a substitute.\u00a0Candy Crush is like a shot of digital sweetness.\u00a0Everything in it is positive.\u00a0And positivity is addictive.\u00a0Candy Crush Saga is like a modern placebo. <\/strong>It gives you a buzz you can\u2019t get enough of.<\/p>\n

    Game developers have noticed this recipe for success and have started to apply it to their own creations.\u00a0 But what\u2019s the alternative? You can try downloading games which are just as difficult, but aren\u2019t as addictive<\/strong>, such as Dots<\/a>.<\/p>\n

    \"\"Could the incredibly popular <\/em>Dots<\/em><\/a> help you give up Candy Crush? (<\/em>source<\/em><\/a>)<\/em><\/p>\n

    But don\u2019t be fooled: whichever game usurps Candy Crush Saga<\/strong> won\u2019t necessarily be the best one. Instead, it’ll be the that makes you feel the most insecure and useless after a few goes, a bit like a poker player who lets you win a hand, but one hand only…<\/p>\n

    What level are you on?<\/h3>\n

    Original article featured on Softonic ES.<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    Head down, brow furrowed and\u00a0a screenful of candy: Candy Crush Saga addicts are all the same – totally hooked on the game that’s even beaten FarmVille to rise to\u00a0the top spot. There are people who have spent hundreds of dollars on the game without batting an eyelid.\u00a0 In Hong Kong, where 15% of the population … Continue reading “Candy Crush Saga: What’s the secret behind the addiction?”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2040,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","wpcf-pageviews":1},"categories":[],"tags":[2801],"usertag":[],"vertical":[],"content-category":[],"class_list":["post-51665","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","tag-app-subdomain-redirectioncandy-crush-saga"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/51665","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2040"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=51665"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/51665\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":332106,"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/51665\/revisions\/332106"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=51665"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=51665"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=51665"},{"taxonomy":"usertag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/usertag?post=51665"},{"taxonomy":"vertical","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/vertical?post=51665"},{"taxonomy":"content-category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/content-category?post=51665"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}