Candy Crush Saga: You'll never work again

You've probably seen posts on your Facebook feed asking for help with this game. It's everywhere, and it seems everyone is playing it. I held out for a while because, frankly, I'm not a games person. After downloading it, though, I can see why it's so addictive. It's like Bejeweled, but with candy. The game: Candy Crush Saga. The objective: Match three pieces or more of candy to crush it, get high scores and meet your objectives. Here's the breakdown of this impossible-to-put-down puzzle game.

Let me start off by saying that the font choice in the game is hard on the eyes. I know; most people don't care about the font. But seriously, could it be harder to read? Screens on iPhones are small, after all. Anyway, the gameplay is almost identical to Bejeweled. I'll confess now that back in the day, I was slightly addicted to Bejeweled. I've since successfully recovered.

To play, you swap pieces of candy to get three or more identical pieces in a row. Each level (there are more than 100) has an objective, like clearing away all the jelly. There are also objectives similar to Bejeweled, like scoring a certain number of points. For most levels, the number of moves to reach your goal is restricted. If you don't meet the objective within the allotted number of moves, you can purchase more moves or start over.

Boosters can be purchased at the beginning of each level. In the Yeti Shop, you can purchase charms that will give you a permanent boost. Some of these boosts can be rather pricey, but if not moving forward drives you crazy enough, you may just find yourself shelling out the cash to advance in the game.

One unfortunate and most unexpected twist in this game is that you have "lives." Once you run out of them, you must wait for up to 30 minutes to continue, pay to keep playing, or post messages on Facebook asking your friends for help. After a certain number of levels (I've read 35 is the first place), you'll have to pay $0.99 for more levels or spam your Facebook wall, giving them free advertising.

Candy Crush Saga is free for iOS and Android devices.

Have you been playing Candy Crush Saga? What level have you reached?

Photo courtesy author, via in-app screenshot.