Candy Crush Saga
The baseline. Swap two sweets, make a line of three, work through goals that change every handful of stages. Pieces differ in shape as well as colour, which is why it still reads cleanly on a small screen after all these years.
Index · Brisbane · August 2026
Four candy boards from the same studio — do they actually play differently?
Yes, and the differences are mechanical rather than cosmetic: one is about lines, one about volume, one about pushing a target down the board, and one about matching to a character's ability.
What this index measures
Not fun, which is personal, but the parts of a puzzle game that can be observed the same way twice.
01Board readabilityWhether pieces differ in shape as well as colour
02PacingHow long a stage takes from first tap to result screen
03Touch responseWhether a swap registers on the first attempt
04Interruption costWhat happens when you close the app mid-level
05Store factsPrice, age rating and what the listing declares
06ComfortOne-handed reach and how the board sits at night
Kryptoblipox is one person in Brisbane with too many opinions about falling sweets. The index started because reviews of this genre tend to describe the wrapping — the characters, the story, the map — and skip the thing you actually interact with, which is a grid of coloured pieces that has to be read in about a second.
Everything here is measured by playing on an ordinary phone over a couple of weeks, in the same way a person would normally play: short sessions, no purchases, no promotional accounts. Where a number appears in the table it comes from the Australian store listing on the date given, not from memory and not from a press kit.
The four titles below come from the same publisher and share a visual language, which makes them unusually good material for a comparison. If the boards were identical under the paint, this page would say so. They are not.
Nothing here is sponsored. The only commercial thing on the site is a pair of glasses, described further down, sold privately rather than through a shop.
The four entries
All four are free to download in Australia and all four carry optional in-app purchases.
Candy Crush Soda Saga
Same swap, different physics. Soda rises up the board and pieces float in it, so the grid you are reading changes shape as you play. It is the most spatially demanding of the four and the least suited to being played half-asleep.
Candy Crush Jelly Saga
Spreading jelly turns the board into a territory game: matches paint the squares underneath, and boss stages have an opponent painting them back. The most tactical of the group, and the one where a lazy move is punished most clearly.
Candy Crush Friends Saga
Each stage is played with a character whose ability fires on a specific match, so choosing the character is half the puzzle. Boards are larger and busier, and there is more animation between moves than the other three.
- Four boards, one family: what actually changes between them14 Aug 2026
- Touch latency, frame pacing and why a puzzle feels sluggish6 Aug 2026
- Evening play: screen settings that make a real difference29 Jul 2026
Terms, taxes and fees are shown at the next step on the store page.
Which entry answers which need
The same four boards, sorted by the question a reader actually arrives with. Store facts checked on the Australian listings in August 2026; all four are free with in-app purchases and rated 12+.
- A board that stays still while you think
- Candy Crush Saga — the grid does not move between moves, so a plan stays valid while you look away.
- Something that demands full attention
- Candy Crush Soda Saga — rising liquid changes which squares are adjacent, so you re-read the board after every clear.
- A puzzle that punishes a lazy move
- Candy Crush Jelly Saga — scoring is territorial, and a big match on ground you already own is worth almost nothing.
- Variety from one stage to the next
- Candy Crush Friends Saga — the character you pick before the board loads changes how the level plays.
- The least on screen at once
- Candy Crush Saga again, by a clear margin. Friends Saga is the busiest of the four.
- Playing with one thumb on a large phone
- None of them comfortably. All four are swap games, and a swap is a short precise drag — see the note on reach in the touch latency article.
Frequently asked
Is this site connected to the studio?
No. Kryptoblipox is independent, has no relationship with King or any other publisher, and receives nothing for the coverage. Store links carry no referral parameters.
Why only games from one publisher?
Because comparing four boards built by the same team isolates the mechanics from the art direction. Other publishers will get their own index entries later.
Do you measure frame rate with tools?
No. Observations here are made by hand on an ordinary phone, and the articles say so plainly. Anything presented as a measurement would need equipment this site does not have.
Are the glasses medical?
No. They are ordinary tinted lenses in a plastic frame. They are not a medical device, they do not treat anything, and the page describing them says the same.
Can I send a correction?
Please do. If something on this site is wrong, email the page and the error and it will be fixed with a note.
Sold from Brisbane
Kryptoblipox anti-blue-light glasses
from $34.00 AUD
A lightweight frame with a lightly tinted filter lens, made for people who play at night with the room lights off. They cut the harshest part of a bright white board and reduce the glare halo you get around high-contrast tiles in a dark room.
Sold privately by Ethan Hemsworth. This is not a medical device and no health claim is made for it. There is no checkout on this site: send the form and you will get an email with the total, postage and payment details.