Level 182

You will think you have a real chance at getting this, and will fall short many times before actually completing it. First you've got the bombs in the upper left quadrant. Either you will lucky enough to be able to get rid of them quickly or you won't. Don't waste time agonizing to find ways to match them - time is too precious in this one. Also, don't worry about the chocolate either - ignore that quadrant and just let it fill up - it won't expand beyond there or put the game in danger.

The key here is to be looking for matches as quickly as you can, especially when it runs out of matches and has to shuffle - use that time to prepare looking for other matches. The other thing to look for is +5s - you will need the extra time they provide so match them before you lose them. Because the bottom right quadrant will fill with chocolate, most of the activity is on the left side, and that's OK. The sooner you can break through the cupcakes the better because it opens up more board and gives you more chances for matches, but again, don't agonize over that as a goal; just match as quickly as you can and it will happen.

Scores
Difficulty: 9
Frustration: 8
Tease: 8

General Hints

Here are some really useful hints that can help you in a lot of games

1. You don't have to play. In some games (not timed ones of course), you can have a look at the board layout and then exit without playing and you won't lose a life. It's worth looking ahead sometimes at the moves available to you that can get you a good head start. Particularly when you have to smash the stuff that needs 5 shots to destroy, look for opportunities to match 3s against a row of them.

2. Look at the big picture. Sometimes it's better to focus less on the specific tasks you need to complete, but rather on the sorts of things you need to do that will get those tasks complete. It's not one piece of jelly or fruit but the moves that will obliterate lots of them, and cause cascading moves.

3. Work the bottom of the screen. Matching candies at the bottom increases the chance of cascading falls that lead to more matches, which lead to more matches, etc etc. Look for opportunities to do whenever you can.

4. Know a hard level before you start. If you have lots of Facebook friends playing (assuming a reasonable number are ahead of you), seeing the ladder before you start a level is very useful. If the top scores are a lot higher than the target score, it's often a situation that once you complete the goal, it will go nuts matching and boosting. On the other hand, if they are all in a cluster not that much higher than the target, then you know it's going to be a very difficult one (e.g. 97 and 182).

Level 97

This is a very difficult level - you have to reach the target number of points in just 25 moves. The original target is 100,000 points - this image shows a higher number because I already completed it. I noticed before starting that my friends had barely exceeded this total - a good indicator of how hard this is.

You really have to look out for the bombs because they can easily get stuck up in the top corner, so make sure you work matches in all parts of the board. Sometimes a bomb will be hidden and appear with barely any moves left, or you will just not have the opportunities to get rid of them. Don't fret - just start again. As usual, matching at the bottom will get cascades and more stripes etc which is what you need to boost the points.

Scores
Difficulty: 9
Frustration: 8
Tease: 6

Level 173

This one is deceptive - you make a start and think this should be straightforward and then get bogged and. Then you think - "I was that close; this should be easy to complete", and so on.

30 stripes in 40 moves sounds reasonable, but you cannot complete this by doing them one at a time. The way to win this is to match a sprinkle and a stripe, which will typically convert into 10-20 stripes and then obliterate them.

How to do that? Break down the locked candy as quickly as you can because that increases the chances of getting stripes and other combos. Don't sweat too much on the bombs - they are best removed by either a stripe going through them or a rainbow (and if they are the same colour, that's a great way to get rid of them).

Remember: the goal is not to unlock all the pieces, so don't fret over that. Also, wrappers are only useful if you can match them with a stripe for extra wanton destruction that leads to lots of cascading candies and more opportunities for matching.

Scores
Difficulty: 7
Frustration: 6
Tease: 8

Level 169

This level is a complete bastard - demoralising in every way. You will do it over and over and wonder what on earth you need to do differently to get it. The answer is: nothing! Completing it relies on luck a lot more than anything else.

These sorts of games where you have to combine stripes, wrapped and cookies are always difficult. It's hard enough to get them at the best of times, but to get them together?!

Destroying the sides quickly helps as it opens up the board and increases the chances of getting the stripes, wrapped and cookies. Getting a game that already has some match opportunities around the side is a good start.

The way you will complete this is to get a cookie early. Then create as much destruction around it as you can, and hope to get a stripe next to it. The others are a lot easier once you have that complete. Don't get bogged down. If you don't get one of the orders complete early (and the cookie+stripe is the hardest), then it's going to be very hard to complete.

Scores
Difficulty: 9
Frustration: 9
Tease: 6

Introduction

My name is David, and I'm a Candy Crush addict.

There are way too many blogs about Candy Crush out there - what's the point of yet another one?

It's quite simple. Most of the others are full of junk. What help is it to watch a video of some smart-ass completing a level? You will never be able to replicate it. How many times did they record themselves before this successful effort? Those things are a waste of time and all they will do is make you feel inadequate.

So what will you get different here? Strategies and tactics. The tools that will help you complete levels, with specific posts about some of the really difficult ones and how to approach them.

As of right now, I'm stuck on Level 169, which is a killer.

Enjoy!