Happy Life GamesCandy Match Strategy Guide: Special Candies, Jelly, Frosting and Cherries
Candy Match is a classic match-three game: swap two neighboring candies, line up three or more of the same color, and watch them burst. What keeps it interesting is the move counter. Each level gives you a fixed number of swaps and a specific goal, so the best move is not always the biggest match on the board. It's the one that brings you closer to the goal.
This guide covers the exact rules of our game, how each special candy is made and what it does, and how to approach the jelly, frosting and cherry levels that appear as you progress.
Rules and controls
- Swap two neighboring candies by dragging one toward the other, or by tapping one and then tapping a neighbor. Only up, down, left and right count, not diagonals.
- A swap must make a match of three or more in a row or column. If it doesn't, the candies slide back and no move is used.
- Matched candies clear, the candies above fall down, and new ones drop in from the top. If the falling candies make new matches, they clear too. These chains are free.
- Complete the level goal shown at the top before the moves counter reaches zero. Goals can be collecting a number of candies of one color, clearing all the jelly, breaking all the frosting, or bringing cherries to the bottom. Some levels combine two goals.
If the board ever runs out of possible matches, the game reshuffles the candies for you automatically, without using a move. There is a hint button that highlights a good swap toward your goal, and a skip button. There is no undo, so it pays to look before you swap.
Special candies
| How to make it | What you get | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| Four in a horizontal line | Striped candy | Clears its entire row when it's matched or hit |
| Four in a vertical line | Striped candy | Clears its entire column |
| An L or T shape (a row and a column meeting) | Striped candy | Clears its row |
| Five in a line | Color bomb | Swap it with a candy to clear every candy of that color |
The special candy appears where you made the swap, so you can often choose where it lands. A color bomb set off by another special (rather than swapped) clears the most common color on the board.
Combos
Swapping two specials into each other creates a bigger effect, and these swaps work even without a normal match:
- Striped + striped: clears a full row and a full column in a cross.
- Color bomb + striped: turns every candy of that color into a striped candy, and they all fire.
- Color bomb + color bomb: clears the whole board.
- Color bomb + normal candy: clears every candy of that color.
Beginner strategy
- Read the goal first. If the goal is 12 red candies, a red match is worth more than a bigger blue one.
- Look low on the board. Matches near the bottom make everything above fall, which often sets up free chain reactions. Matches near the top rarely do.
- Scan for fours and fives before taking a three. Spend a few seconds looking for a swap that lines up four candies. A striped candy can clear eight cells for the price of one move.
- Save specials for the right spot. A striped candy sitting next to the goal area is worth keeping until you can fire it where it helps.
Advanced techniques
Jelly levels
Jelly sits underneath candies. To clear it, you have to match a candy that is on top of a jelly cell. Jelly in the middle is easy to hit, but jelly in corners and along edges takes planning, because fewer matches pass through those cells. Striped candies are your best tool here: a vertical striped candy fired down a column of jelly clears all of it in one go. In later levels, some jelly has two layers and needs to be hit twice.
Frosting levels
Frosting is a block that sits in a fixed cell. It can't be swapped and it doesn't fall. A layer of frosting cracks when a candy right next to it is cleared, or when a special candy's blast passes through it. Each piece loses at most one layer per clearing step, so two-layer frosting needs two separate hits.
Frosting also stops candies from falling past it, which splits the board into pockets. Candies below a frosting block are refilled from just beneath it. Clear the frosting that blocks the most columns first, so the board flows normally again and your chains get bigger.
Cherry levels
Cherries can't be matched. You win them by bringing them to the bottom row, where they are collected. A cherry falls whenever the candies below it are cleared, so the trick is to make matches directly under the cherry, in its column. Vertical matches in that column drop it several rows at once, and a vertical striped candy in the same column can drop it all the way. You can also swap a cherry sideways with a candy if that swap makes a match, which is handy for steering it out from behind frosting.
Don't chase fireworks
From level 11 on, levels are designed so that simply taking the biggest, flashiest match every turn tends to run out of moves. It's still smart to make specials, but aim them at the goal. A plain three-match that drops a cherry two rows is often the better move.
Common mistakes
- Using a color bomb on a random color. Swap it with the goal color, or with the color that has the most candies on jelly.
- Matching at the top of a cherry column. That doesn't move the cherry at all.
- Ignoring the frosting pocket. Candies trapped under frosting don't refill normally, so matches in those pockets give fewer chains.
- Rushing the last moves. With no undo, take a moment to check every swap when you're down to your final few.
What changes in later levels
The first levels use a six by six board with four colors and a simple color goal. Jelly is introduced at level 3, frosting at level 6, and cherries at level 9. Boards grow to seven by seven and then to eight by eight from level 11. Two-layer frosting appears from level 13 and two-layer jelly from level 16. From level 30, a sixth candy color is added, which makes random matches rarer and planned ones more important.
Every tenth level after level 10 is a boss level with cherries, frosting and jelly together and a tight move count. The level right after a boss is a gentler relief level.
FAQ
Does a swap that doesn't match cost a move?
No. The candies slide back and your move count stays the same. Special-candy combos are the exception: swapping two specials always works.
What happens if there are no matches left?
The game shuffles the candies automatically. Frosting and cherries stay where they are.
How do I make a color bomb?
Line up five candies of the same color in a straight row or column with a single swap.
Can I undo a swap?
No, Candy Match has no undo, because new candies drop in after every move. Use the hint button if you're unsure.