Candy Crush Saga

-1.41
Slightly Bad
Price: Free
Ads: No
In App Purchases: Yes

iOS App Store
Google Play App Store

Temporal Dark PatternsTemporal Dark Patterns

This game has 349 reported Temporal Dark Patterns. There are 427 votes indicating the absence of a dark pattern.

-1.06

114 votes
5 votes
Grinding -
114 / 5 votes
Being required to perform repetitive and tedious tasks to advance.

128 votes
1 votes
Infinite Treadmill -
128 / 1 votes
Impossible to win or complete the game.

76 votes
4 votes
Wait To Play -
76 / 4 votes
In-game timers that make you arbitrarily wait for something.

16 votes
108 votes
Daily Rewards -
16 / 108 votes
Encourages return visits every day and punishes you for missing a day.

4 votes
85 votes
Playing by Appointment -
4 / 85 votes
Being forced to play according to the game's schedule instead of yours.

6 votes
118 votes
Advertisements -
6 / 118 votes
Forced to watch ads or given rewards for watching ads.

5 votes
106 votes
Can't Pause or Save -
5 / 106 votes
The game does not allow you to stop playing whenever you want.

Monetary Dark PatternsMonetary Dark Patterns

This game has 674 reported Monetary Dark Patterns. There are 522 votes indicating the absence of a dark pattern.

-1.86

112 votes
Premium Currency -
112 / 0 votes
Exchange rate between real money and in-game currency disguises the real price of items.

136 votes
Pay to Win -
136 / 0 votes
A player can spend real money to purchase something that gives them an advantage in the game.

107 votes
1 votes
Pay to Skip -
107 / 1 votes
Spend money to avoid waiting for a timer to expire.

113 votes
2 votes
Anchoring Tricks -
113 / 2 votes
Placing a cheap item next to an expensive item to make it look more affordable.

76 votes
13 votes
Waste Aversion -
76 / 13 votes
Capped inventory forces you to destroy items or upgrade inventory. Also, having small amounts of left over premium currency.

95 votes
17 votes
Pay Wall -
95 / 17 votes
The game becomes impossible to continue playing without payment.

15 votes
98 votes
Artificial Scarcity -
15 / 98 votes
Limited time offers with unnecessary urgency.

7 votes
121 votes
Accidental Purchases -
7 / 121 votes
Making it easy to accidentally spend money with no confirmation or ability to undo or refund the action.

7 votes
107 votes
Gambling / Loot Boxes -
7 / 107 votes
Spending real money to play a game of chance for a reward.

5 votes
84 votes
Power Creep -
5 / 84 votes
A permanently purchased item in the game becomes less valuable over time.

1 votes
79 votes
Recurring Fee -
1 / 79 votes
Encourages players to play as much as possible to get their money's worth.

Social Dark PatternsSocial Dark Patterns

This game has 166 reported Social Dark Patterns. There are 551 votes indicating the absence of a dark pattern.

1.18

124 votes
3 votes
Reciprocity -
124 / 3 votes
Feeling obligated to return a favor, share resources, trade an item, etc.

18 votes
65 votes
Competition -
18 / 65 votes
The game makes you compete against other players.

11 votes
122 votes
Social Pyramid Scheme -
11 / 122 votes
You get a bonus for inviting your friends and then they have to invite their friends.

7 votes
69 votes
Social Obligation / Guilds -
7 / 69 votes
To avoid letting down your friends, you are obligated to play when you don't want to.

2 votes
89 votes
Friend Spam / Impersonation -
2 / 89 votes
The game sends spam to your contact list or social media account.

4 votes
86 votes
Fear of Missing Out -
4 / 86 votes
If you stop playing you'll miss out on something or be left behind and unable to catch up.

117 votes
Encourages Anti-Social Behavior -
0 / 117 votes
The game incentivizes players to lie, cheat, or backstab other players to get ahead.

Psychological Dark PatternsPsychological Dark Patterns

This game has 374 reported Psychological Dark Patterns. There are 377 votes indicating the absence of a dark pattern.

-1.38

123 votes
5 votes
Invested / Endowed Value -
123 / 5 votes
Having already spent time and money to improve your status in the game, it's difficult to throw it away.

105 votes
3 votes
Aesthetic Manipulations -
105 / 3 votes
Trick questions or toying with emotions or our subconscious desires.

114 votes
7 votes
Illusion of Control -
114 / 7 votes
The game cheats or hides information to make you think you're better than you actually are.

14 votes
63 votes
Variable Rewards -
14 / 63 votes
Unpredictable or random rewards are more addictive than a predictable schedule.

9 votes
111 votes
Badges / Endowed Progress -
9 / 111 votes
Reluctancy to abandon a partially completed goal, even one forced upon the player.

4 votes
81 votes
Complete the Collection -
4 / 81 votes
The urge to collect all the items, achievements or secrets in a game.

5 votes
107 votes
Optimism and Frequency Biases -
5 / 107 votes
Overestimating the frequency of something because we’ve seen it recently or memorably.

App Store Ratings

iOS:  (4.50) with 1,805,145 votes.
Google Play:  (4.46) with 25,499,663 votes.



Recent Dark Pattern Reviews

Grinding reported on Sep 3, 2023
I think that some of the levels are intentionally designed to be impossible to complete in the allotted amount of moves. This meant I'd play the same level over and over again trying to beat it without spending money, and I'd eventually give in and buy the in-game currency because I just wanted to move onto the next level.
Artificial Scarcity reported on Apr 16, 2023
There are a lot of limited time events that pit you against other players for booster prizes/in-game currency.
Daily Rewards reported on Apr 16, 2023
You get rewards that can help you pass levels every day you log in
Premium Currency reported on Jan 12, 2023
You can buy "gold bars", which can be used for many things such as boosters.
Artificial Scarcity reported on Jan 12, 2023
Limited time offers such as sales on lives and boosters, and there are events of which you are reminded at every completed level.
Gambling / Loot Boxes reported on Jan 12, 2023
The booster roulette, which requires gold bars.
Wait To Play reported on Jan 12, 2023
Life regeneration system and events.
Aesthetic Manipulations reported on Jan 12, 2023
When you lose a level, you are prompted to either buy more moves or "give up". In this dialog, a character will appear desperate and you'll be told you're "So Close!". After giving up, a character will appear crying.
Playing by Appointment reported on Jan 12, 2023
Life regeneration system makes it impossible to play if you don't have lives.
Invested / Endowed Value reported on Jan 12, 2023
Back when I still played, I was about 1800 levels in.


Report a Dark Pattern

Screenshot Start playing Candy Crush Saga today  a legendary puzzle game loved by millions of players around the world.

With over a trillion levels played, this sweet match 3 puzzle game is one of the most popular mobile games of all time!

Switch and match Candies in this tasty puzzle adventure to progress to the next level for that sweet winning feeling! Solve puzzles with quick thinking and smart moves, and be rewarded with delicious rainbow-colored cascades and tasty candy combos!

Plan your moves by matching 3 or more candies in a row, using boosters wisely in order to overcome those extra sticky puzzles! Blast the chocolate and collect sweet candy across thousands of levels, guaranteed to have you craving more!

Candy Crush Saga features:

 THE GAME THAT KEEPS YOU CRAVING MORE
Thousands of the best levels and puzzles in the Candy Kingdom and with more added every 2 weeks your sugar fix is never far away! 

 MANY WAYS TO WIN REWARDS
Check back daily and spin the Daily Booster Wheel to receive free tasty rewards, and take part in time limited challenges to earn boosters to help you level up! 

 VARIETY OF SUGAR-COATED CHALLENGES
Sweet ways to play: Game modes including Target Score, Clear the Jelly, Collect the Ingredients and Order Mode

 PLAY ALONE OR WITH FRIENDS
Get to the top of the leaderboard events and compare scores with friends and competitors!

Levels range from easy to hard for all adults to enjoy accessible on-the-go, offline and online.

It's easy to sync the game between devices and unlock full game features when connected to the Internet or Wifi.

Follow us to get news and updates; facebook.com/CandyCrushSaga, Twitter @CandyCrushSaga, Youtube https://www.youtube.com/user/CandyCrushOfficial
Visit https://community.king.com/en/candy-crush-saga to access the Community and competitions!

Candy Crush Saga is completely free to play but some optional in-game items will require payment.

You can turn off the payment feature by disabling in-app purchases in your devices settings.

By downloading this game you are agreeing to our terms of service; http://about.king.com/consumer-terms/terms

Have fun playing Candy Crush Saga the sweetest match 3 puzzle game around! 
If you enjoy playing Candy Crush Saga, you may also enjoy its sister puzzle games; Candy Crush Soda Saga, Candy Crush Jelly Saga and Candy Crush Friends Saga!