Introduction
Candy Crush Saga has surely become one of the most iconic puzzle games ever. Entertaining millions of players from all over the world, it has built its own separate niche in this world. Basically, Candy Crush is somewhat simple: match three candies of the same color. However, while you go further into the game, it actually shows its depth, especially through the strategic usage of special candies.
Those special candies sometimes make all the difference between higher levels and high scores, often changing what seemed like an impossible-looking board into an easily won one.
They will be your way of cutting through those jellies, collecting those ingredients, and hitting those high points. In this in-depth guide, we’ll go deep into exactly how one unlocks special candies in Candy Crush, the strategy that goes into using them, and how to take it up a notch.
Most importantly, I’ll be sharing a tidbit about my personal interaction with the game that hopefully will touch your mind and give you an idea about bliss and irritation emanating from playing this game.
Table of Contents
Chapter 1: Candy Crush Basics
First of all, discussions need to get off track about special candies, how to unlock them, and all other basic discussions. But it is relevant to go through basic game mechanics. So if you have been a staunch Candy Crush player, probably the basics are already in your head, but to refresh it, let’s look at how this game can be played.
Candy Crush was done on a very simple premise: match three candies or more in the same color to remove them from the game board.
When candies have been matched and clear, new ones cascade down from the top. However, it is at this stage that things may get a lot more fun if you are able to make a match of four or more candies.
Each level sets goals: sometimes to clear the jellies, sometimes to collect the ingredients, and sometimes it puts a specified score. In using special candies at proper timing in all these levels, goals will be achieved much faster and more effectively.
Experience: Since Candy Crush was introduced, people went crazy playing it. I still remember the day I first played Candy Crush. Just about like any other amateur who had begun playing the game, I superficially thought it was a game people played to kill time.
Soon enough, though, I really got hooked, and sitting on the train was meant for thinking of how to clear the next level. And it was only when I kept getting stuck at certain levels that I realized actually one needed to fathom the power of special candies. When I did, everything suddenly came into place.
In fact, there was nothing that depended on luck at all- as far as I could see everything would revolve around strategy and timing.
Chapter 2: What Are Special Candies?
Special candies in Candy Crush are ranked among the most powerful game pieces. A special candy forms part of an advantage since a single candy can remove many candies, rows, and even columns in a single go.
Not all special candies have been acquired in the same manner because they are different types altogether. Let’s see what kind of special candies there are:
You get striped candies by matching four candies in either a row or column. Which direction the stripes go depends on which direction it will clear when activated-up or down for a column, and left or right for a row.
How to Unlock: Combine four candies in a straight line.
Effect: Clears a column or a row of candies depending on which direction the stripes go.
Personal Hint: Remember in which direction the candy is facing because it clears the column if vertically and will clear the row if horizontally. In ingredient levels, striped candies are quite useful in order to drop fruits through the board.
2. Wrapped Candy
These are amongst the most powerful candies in the game, clearing a row of 3×3 candies twice. These come in very handy on those levels with an overdose of jelly, chocolate, or licorice.
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How to get: You are able to create one by matching five candies in either an L or T shape.
Effect: This will make the wrapped candy explode and take out all candies in a 3×3 area; after that, this bomb will explode for a second time when the first explosion goes off.
Wrapped candies are saviors in those jelly levels of the game that require many layers to be cleared. I still remember when once in the game I got stuck at a level with triple-layered jellies barred my way.
And in one shot, after making just one wrapped candy, that double explosion cleared that hard-to-reach corner jelly and saved me from a bunch of failed attempts. In the hard levels, look for opportunities to make the wrapped candies; they could be game-changers.
3. Color Bomb
Probably the most powerful of all the special candies, this will remove all candies of one color from the board. Extremely effective when used in a combination with other special candies.
How to Unlock: Five candies matched up in a row.
Effect: When swapped with any candy, this will remove all candies of that color off the board.
Personal hint: don’t use your color bomb, but connect that to another special candy because then you get bigger moves. I once combined a color bomb with striped candy and after that made all candies of that particular color striped candies. There was such an explosion that ‘blew up’ nearly the whole board when otherwise I think I was out of moves.
4. Fish Candy
The fish candies are a big help in the jelly clearance levels-particularly pains in the corners. Upon activation, they will “swim” to certain objectives.
How to Unlock: Match four candies in a 2×2 square.
Effect: The fish swims to an obstacle-like jelly or chocolate and clears it upon activation.
Personal Hint: One mustn’t underestimate the fish candies. I was able to make one in an earlier level, and behind blockers, a couple of jellies had been hidden. It went right in the direction of where the problem areas had been. That is to say, the fish candies will go toward more objective areas; it does get very critical in clearing those last problem spots if you run out of moves.
5. Coconut Wheel
The wheels of coconut appear in several levels especially in ingredient dropping levels. It activates a power-up which will change the next three candies in a row or column into striped candies.
How to Get: These coconut wheels usually just get given as free boosters at the start of a level; others just pop up on the board at random times.
Effect: The three candies become striped candies and subsequently clear the rows and columns.
Personal Hint: The coconut wheels are quite handy at the ingredient levels. I still remember that level when a few cherries did not fall down to the bottom. But with strategic usage of a coconut wheel, I changed a load of candies around into striped ones hence tilling the path for dropping the cherries without much hassle.
Chapter 3: Special Candy Combinations
But the coolest thing with Candy Crush is how one can combine special candies to amplify the effect of candies. Some can make huge explosions, clearing big parts of the board and giving one a clear path to victory. Some of the strongest ones include:.
This is because, at one point, I had reached such a level with the blockers of licorice, and even parts of the board couldn’t be reached. Combining two candies striped rescued me from that level. Just this cross-shaped explosion cleared the blockers and made me have a fighting chance to finish the level.
2. Striped Candy + Wrapped Candy
One interesting combination: This is triggered when it affects three rows and three columns upwards in a huge cross-shaped explosion. Very handy in case of multi-layered blockers or jelly in a level.
Personal Experience: I used to be stuck on one level for days. It was one of those boards where underneath the chocolate and blockers lay jellies. Well, by combining a striped candy with a wrapped candy, half of the board got wiped in one go and finally passed that level which had been the bane of my existence.
3. Color Bomb + Striped Candy
Combine one color bomb with a striped candy and all candies in that color now become striped candies; huge parts of the board may get cleaned up with just one chain reaction-and, in fact, quite powerful in the game.
Personal Hint: Save your color bomb for striped candies whenever you possibly can. I have used this in an ingredient level and I’ve cleared half the board out with it. It is good for those oddly laid out levels where a simple match just won’t cut it.
4. Color Bomb + Wrapped Candy
That would turn candies in the color of the wrapped candy into wrapped candies, which would explode twice thereafter. Which is, of course, a game-changer in levels with a load of blockers.
Personal Experience: It was in one of those stages where jellies were in layers; at one instance, I was about to give up when I used a wrapped candy with a color bomb. Then next came several explosions that cleaned the board and, in no time, showed me a three-star win. Not to say that during jelly levels, one should never be stingy with this combination-it is just powerful enough to break through an avalanche.
Board fully resets, taking all candies with it. Rarity: Very rarely happens while building; gives a clean slate for some of the sticker levels in the game.
Personal Anecdote: I have one level whereby, into the last couple of moves, it was an impossible-looking win. Then, through dumb luck, I combined two color bombs. The board came totally clean, and I finished the level with moves to spare. This combo does not come up very often but is super satisfying when it does.
6. Fish + Striped Candy
In doing so, the fish, along with several striped candies, would turn into striped fish. An active striped fish of this type would attack either jellies or obstacles and conduct striped explosions in order to clean the rows and columns.
Personal Hint: This combination on the jelly levels is fantastic because nine times out of ten, the fish will hit those fiddly areas and add to that the striped candy; you are guaranteed to remove rows and columns. That just makes it ideal for those levels that contain an awkward layout.
Chapter 4: Strategies to Unlock Special Candies Consistently
Now that we have an idea of the general types of special candies out there and approximately how they work, let’s go into the many ways of making them on a consistent basis. The ability to create special candies will mean success or failure in higher levels of Candy Crush. Following are some strategies that will no doubt help you in making special candies more often:
1. Think Two Moves in Advance The Candy Crush game requires just as much thinking ahead as it does luck. Instead of making the moves that presented themselves, stop for a second and survey the board-think two and three moves in advance. Always be alert for ways to line up four or five candies in a row, or match them up into an L or T shape.
Personal Hint: Early on when I played, I used to rush through the moves without thinking two or three moves in advance. And once I did that, then more special candies were created by me and with each combination, more often than not, it opened up. Really makes a difference when you slow down and take your time.
2. Work from the Bottom
The most effective strategies and policies will be those that take advantage of the bottom-to-top capability of the board where possible. Bottom cascades will so often create new matches at the top for you and give you so many special candies.
This once happened with me where one really hard jelly level wasn’t able to be made at all by decent moves, but then I worked from the bottom of the board. Because of the cascading effect, I got a color bomb due to which clearing level was possible for me. Working from the bottom is another of those subtle but powerful methods.
3. Make Special Candies
This, of course, might be rather tempting-just to make simple matches in view to clean the board up as soon as possible-but it is always worth waiting for those moves that may create special candies. On occasion, watch out for four or five matches; keep your eyes open for those L- and T-shaped ones that will unlock the wrapped candies.
Personal tip: When at ingredient levels, really try to make vertically striped candies as much as possible to drop those ingredients down the board. Making special candies rather than quick matches really sets you up for success.
When able, don’t use a special candy straight away. Sometimes it pays to be patient; those special candies drop into powerful combinations that clean up the board way better than moving them would.
One level, I had created a color bomb, but resisted the temptation of using it before having a striped candy in its neighborhood. Mating the two resulted in a tremendous board-clearing explosion and voila. I just sailed through. Patience is sometimes your best friend in Candy Crush.
5. Use Boosters Judiciously
Boosters on top-sometimes those levels become very tricky, so do not be such a Scrooge with boosters. A hammer, free switch, or even an extra move is just some of the boosters which in some crucial moments of time create or unlock special candies for you.
Personal Hint: I save my boosters for those levels where I’m one or two moves away from making a combination that gets me back in the game. For all intents and purposes, it may sound silly, but that free switch has saved me many times in shifting two candies together to form a color bomb.
Chapter 5: Beating the Obstacles
The farther you make it into Candy Crush, the more the game will begin to toss in a couple of extra elements into the mix in order to make it even trickier to make those special candies. Here’s how to conquer some of the most common things you may find blocking the way:
1. Chocolate
Chocolate is probably one of the most detested perils in Candy Crush. It spreads on the board barring your possibility of making any special candy, unless it is being licked. You should clean up chocolate as soon as possible.