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!