Candy Crush Saga and How It’s Satisfied My Sweet Tooth

<p>People who play video games have a tough time in the summer&period;  The summer season in the video game industry is analogous to a desert—a barren wasteland with a spattering of oases to hold off complete dehydration&period;  I too have been thirsty for quite a while&comma; and am eagerly anticipating the fall and winter season&comma; where games like <em>Grand Theft Auto V<&sol;em> and the next generation of consoles will hit us like a thunderous rainstorm&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>But that’s not to say I’ve been avoiding games all throughout this hot and dry season&period;  In fact&comma; there’s one game in particular that has probably eaten more of my time than any other game during these summer doldrums&period;  It’s a game on my iPhone&period;  A free game on my iPhone&period;  A free match 3 puzzle game on my iPhone that involves delicious sweet treats&period;  Yes&comma; that’s right&comma; <em>Candy Crush Saga<&sol;em>&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<figure id&equals;"attachment&lowbar;51191" aria-describedby&equals;"caption-attachment-51191" style&equals;"width&colon; 300px" class&equals;"wp-caption alignnone"><a href&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;cdn&period;bagogames&period;com&sol;wp-content&sol;uploads&sol;2013&sol;08&sol;05174330&sol;Candy-Crush-Saga&period;png"><img class&equals;"size-medium wp-image-51191" title&equals;"Candy Crush Saga and How It’s Satisfying My Sweet Tooth screenshot 1" alt&equals;"Candy Crush Saga and How It’s Satisfying My Sweet Tooth screenshot 1" src&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;cdn&period;bagogames&period;com&sol;wp-content&sol;uploads&sol;2013&sol;08&sol;05174330&sol;Candy-Crush-Saga-300x167&period;png" width&equals;"300" height&equals;"167" &sol;><&sol;a><figcaption id&equals;"caption-attachment-51191" class&equals;"wp-caption-text">Look at these delicious candies&period; Look at it&excl;<&sol;figcaption><&sol;figure>&NewLine;<p>But I’m not ashamed to admit it&period;  Well&comma; maybe a little&comma; but there’s no denying the genius behind this seemingly simple puzzle game&period;  It’s a game that’s ridiculously easy to stop at a moment’s notice&comma; quick to pick up and play&comma; and doesn’t require a great deal of thought and brainpower&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>And even though it’s only a match 3 puzzle game&comma; I was legitimately shocked to see that a new gameplay mechanic is introduced for every set of levels&period;  Whether it’s the regenerating chocolate blocking certain pieces&comma; or the &OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;orders” specifying which candies to match&comma; I was pleasantly surprised to see that not all levels boil down to getting a certain amount of points&period;  I almost feel silly discussing &OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;gameplay mechanics” for a match 3 puzzle game&comma; but for all the time I spent playing <em>Candy Crush Saga<&sol;em>&comma; it feels almost warranted&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<figure id&equals;"attachment&lowbar;51192" aria-describedby&equals;"caption-attachment-51192" style&equals;"width&colon; 300px" class&equals;"wp-caption alignnone"><a href&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;cdn&period;bagogames&period;com&sol;wp-content&sol;uploads&sol;2013&sol;08&sol;05174313&sol;candy&lowbar;crush&lowbar;saga2&period;jpg"><img class&equals;"size-medium wp-image-51192" title&equals;"Candy Crush Saga and How It’s Satisfying My Sweet Tooth screenshot 2" alt&equals;"Candy Crush Saga and How It’s Satisfying My Sweet Tooth screenshot 2" src&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;cdn&period;bagogames&period;com&sol;wp-content&sol;uploads&sol;2013&sol;08&sol;05174313&sol;candy&lowbar;crush&lowbar;saga2-300x225&period;jpg" width&equals;"300" height&equals;"225" &sol;><&sol;a><figcaption id&equals;"caption-attachment-51192" class&equals;"wp-caption-text">I think there about 350 levels&period; Holy cow&period;<&sol;figcaption><&sol;figure>&NewLine;<p>I’m proud to say I haven’t dropped a single dollar on this game&period;  I have enough patience to wait a set period of time instead of splurging money to get another set of lives&period;  I’ve also managed to avoid logging into Facebook and annoying all of my friends with inane notices and requests&period;  Every time I complete a set of levels&comma; I beat the 3 quests&comma; all while waiting 24 hours between them to move on&period;  Yes&comma; it’s a ridiculous obstacle that set in front of you to try to lure you into simply buying the next set of levels&comma; but I have enforced a strict rule on myself that I will not spend any money on this game&period;  It helps me sleep better at night&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>I’m current at level 155 right now&comma; and I have no intention of stopping any time soon&period;  The summer drought of video games is slowly coming to an end with the month of August&period;  This month will have some huge releases&comma; like <em>Saints Row IV<&sol;em>&comma; <em>Pikmin 3<&sol;em>&comma; <em>Splinter Cell&colon; Blacklist<&sol;em>&comma; and other big titles&period;  But if there is no doubt that if I have 5 random minutes in my day in which I have nothing to do&comma; I’ll probably spend those 5 minutes fulfilling my sweet tooth with Candy Crush Saga&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;