How to Play Candy Crush Saga

Getting Started

Download the app. If you're playing Candy Crush Saga on an iPhone or Android, you can download the app for free: iPhone - Open the App Store, tap Search, search for "candy crush saga", tap GET next to the "Candy Crush Saga" heading, and enter your password or Touch ID when prompted. Android - Open the Google Play Store, search for "candy crush saga", select Candy Crush Saga, tap INSTALL, and tap ACCEPT when prompted. If you're playing Candy Crush Saga on desktop, skip this step.

Open Candy Crush Saga. Tap the Candy Crush Saga app icon, which resembles a cluster of candy, to do so. If you're playing Candy Crush Saga on desktop, go to https://www.facebook.com/games/candycrush/?fbs=-1 in your computer's browser and click Play Now on the right side of the page. You may first have to log into Facebook.

Adjust the game's settings. If you want to mute the game or its sound track, you can click or tap the Settings gear in the lower-left corner of the screen and then click or tap your preferred options. When playing a level, opening the Settings menu and then selecting the door-shaped icon will exit your game.

Tap Play!. It's at the bottom of the screen. Doing so opens the Candy Crush Saga level view, at which point you're free to play. On desktop, select a level (e.g., the circle below 1) and then click Play! at the bottom of the pop-up window. You may be prompted to allow notifications if you're playing on mobile.

Gameplay

Understand the objective. Usually, your goal in Candy Crush Saga is to clear as many rows and columns as possible in as few moves as possible. You can clear candy pieces from the board by lining up three (or more) in a row, which is accomplished by swapping pieces of candy in order to create three of a kind. The initial objective of Candy Crush Saga is to earn a certain number of points within a certain number of moves. As you proceed through Candy Crush Saga, other objectives (such as reaching a certain score within a time limit or clearing all of a type of candy from the board) will become more common.

Review the Candy Crush Saga game board. There are a few key components that you'll want to pay attention to here: The number at the top of the screen is the number of moves remaining. The progress bar in the upper-left corner of the screen displays your current score. The "Target" number in the upper-right corner of the screen determines your current level's objective.

Know the consequences of winning and losing. Like any game, both winning a level and losing a level have repercussions: Winning a game in Candy Crush Saga unlocks the next level. It can also make available some perks and boosters for your completed levels. Losing a Candy Crush Saga game causes the level to reset, and you'll also lose a life. While lives automatically regenerate once every ~30 minutes or so, you can only have 5 lives at a time without paying for extra.

Match sets of 3 or more candies. The game is played by swiping candies, in any direction (so long as it is not blocked), to create sets of 3 or more matching candies. When matched, the candies will crush and shift the candies above them, allowing you to accomplish a series of different goals.

Match more than 3 candies to create combos. While matching 3 candies in a row will clear them from the board, matching more will both clear the candies from the board and create a special candy that can be used to clear additional candies: If you match 4 candies, a special candy will be created which will burst an entire row if matched as part of another set of 3 or more. If you match 5 or more candies in a T or L shape, you will create a wrapped candy. These explode the square of candies surrounding that tile (when matched) and then explode a subsequent 3x3 block wherever they settle. If you match 5 candies in a single row, you’ll a color bomb which resembles a chocolate with sprinkles. When swapped with another candy, color bombs remove all instances of the swapped candy from the board.

Use your boosters. You can earn a few of the boosters in the beginning of the game. You can also purchase most boosters within the game using actual money. These can help you win a level when you’re too frustrated or unable to continue. Be careful how you use them, however, as you never know when you’ll need one. There are boosters which add moves—such as the lollipop hammer (which crushes the desired candy on the board) and the shuffle candy (which will rearrange the board)—among a number of other boosters. They should be explained as you earn them, though almost all you will have to buy.

Reach the set goal in the game. Each level will have a "target" score or objective in the upper-right corner of the game board. This can be reaching a specific number of points, destroying a specific set of tiles, or other goals like forcing items to fall to the bottom.

Pay attention to level tutorials. When Candy Crush Saga levels introduce new concepts, they will provide walkthroughs to explain how the new concepts or conventions work. If you don't know how a level works, the tutorial will most likely explain it. You can always skip the tutorials by clicking or tapping Skip when they appear.

Progress through the levels. You will play a series of games, each with a different game board and many with different goals, which will progress you across the levels. Beating a level will result in the next level becoming unlocked.

Winning Strategies

Eliminate complicated or dangerous candies from the board first. There are some tiles, like bombs or chocolate, which should always be eliminated first if they exist on the board. These will inhibit your progress or cause you to lose. Bombs end the game if not eliminated in the move limit specified on their face, while chocolate will multiply if not destroyed.

Look at the whole board before making a move. Like chess, you'll need to think several moves ahead in Candy Crush Saga. Unless the level is timed, spend a few minutes looking for potential combinations and considering the results of making certain matches. This may take a while at first, but the more you play, the quicker you'll recognize patterns and opportunities.

Pay attention to the edges of the game board. You will have many levels where the game board is not a perfect rectangle, or includes a number of gaps in the board. You will need to plan around these gaps, and they can make it incredibly difficult to make paired sets.

Reshuffle the board if it looks too challenging. Once you become better acquainted with the game, you will be able to tell when a game board will be too difficult to complete. You can reshuffle the board using boosters or by exiting the game before you perform any moves.

Ignore the suggestions the game makes. The game will make move suggestions if you idle for too long. These suggestions are random and it will usually be in your best interest to ignore them. If you don’t have a time limit, take the time to find out if there is a better move available. If you are only trying to increase points before a time limit runs out, take the game’s suggestion.