By Leandra Mangin

Thanks to Apple Pay, I progressed through 500 levels, surpassing the most challenging levels with two clicks. The motivating factor was the endless gifts for spending so much money! The endorsements would stop, but at that point, I was ready to spend more cash for gold anyway. In the process, I became addicted to Candy Crush Saga. In which, leisure and non-leisure time was occupied with the three-match game. My time was dedicated to playing during class, homework time, family events, and right before bed. Even at one point, I got my boyfriend involved, calling me every night—telling me his next move. 

The proposed challenge to create “the best three-match game ever” by Riccardo Zacconi established a game that has been downloaded more than three billion times and is known as the most downloaded game. The Candy Crush Saga set a new playing ground for adults available on smartphones, tablets, PCs, and Facebook. The three-match concept is to form groups of three or more with the same elements. The cheap thrill with each level lasts long enough for the player to return to the game. The success at each level is an asset for returning players competing for first place among friends. The best reward is the forty gold bars after the completion of every chapter of levels—which is the force that drives the competition. If the player is lucky enough to win a ‘pot of gold,’ there are 150 gold bars at stake. 

The Candy Crush Saga attained my attention by providing a competitive nature at each level, with more difficulty than the last. At each level, mastering a new skill: saving a baby dinosaur, collecting a packaged candy, or popping a clear bubble provided a compelling force to complete the task. The rewards of winning previous games, such as unlimited lives, unlimited chocolate drops, and ‘care packages’—the ultimate bundle pack— are usually enough to last for two or three games. As the difficulty in each game is advanced, the five lives are not sufficient, so I learned to jump time in my settings app. In each attempt to beat the computer, the number of moves awarded by Apple Pay—comes in handy, paying the dollar-ninety-nine for the ten gold bars for the extra moves.

The chemical enforcement—dopamine—has the same effect as eating and having sex. In an article, a medical doctor, Ananya Mandal, explains that dopamine aids attention span. The chemical dopamine can produce pleasure in the brain—the stimulation of dopamine sought through pleasurable activity, hence the recurrence of playing. The Wall Street Journal identifies the diverse availability of access to Candy Crush as a factor in the addiction among 15 million people. The accessibility to play morning or night feeds the craving for casual play, providing a thrill throughout a regular work or school day. The drive to compete against the computer—and successfully win without the purchase of gold bars, is always a goal. In addition to the simple concept and consistent reward system lingering in the player’s face, the ability to match three and win is simplified. Switching devices and returning to the same game progress with the same rewards is a pleasing reward. 

The addictive returning force in Candy Crush Saga can be compared to the three-match slot matches. The joy of beating a level drives a player to continue the successful streak. Candy Crush Saga provides the same thrill as the casino through the Daily Treat Machine, Chocolate Box, Booster Wheel, Daily Wins, and Hungry Hatchling. The everlasting rewards are the constant ambassadors in beating the opponents in the first attempt, though not always possible. The ultimate dread in watching the chocolate gumdrop and wrapped candy placed–an ultimate bundle– next to one another after the last move is the forcing power to purchase the extra moves. Unless the player is a serial gamer—willing to wait twenty minutes for a new life, the secret to accomplishing 500 levels in two weeks besides ‘jumping the time’ in the clock app—is buying the gold. The lost cost of a dollar-ninety-nine adds up, constantly reminded by Apple Pay and my family.