I win every episode race. Why? How?

christinewupp

This is true. On my latest login, the one in which I play a completely honest game without any cheats, I have reached episode race streak 50, on level 830. Am I just a great player? Am I just lucky? Or do I have a secret method I won't share with others?

The answer to the first question is "I doubt it, as it's not a game of skill", the second question is " No way!" , the third question is "No, but I'm trying hard to figure it out and then I will share my findings. "

Watch this space. Now is a good time to be experimenting as the levels are easy (they 'll probably get harder by Friday when the Gold Rush starts in earnest), and I will get to the bottom of it. What's the secret knack to winning the episode race?

Anyone already know and want to share?

Arrowflinger

I've won all 400 races I've played so far on my other game that's taken me to just over level 6000 I got to a much higher win streak on my Facebook game before abandoning that game to concentrate on my new game. I don't know what the secret is but I have noticted varying degrees of difficulty when playing a race. Sometimes one of the other players is chasing me to the winning line and even in front with a couple of levels left in the race before I overtake them and win, other times the other players barely move from the starting line before I've won. It could be that they are time based where the game gives you a certain amount of time to win the race, and if you're under that time then you get the win. It may be an hour on really hard or days if its on super easy. I always complete the episode race in one go and it's always taken me less than 45 minutes to complete.

christinewupp

Thanks for you input @Arrowflinger . That is very valuable as it's almost exactly what I have experienced. I am pretty sure you are right about the fact that you have a certain amount of time allocated, real time as measured by your device internally, and I think the number of tries you take at any one level is irrelevant.

The important aspect of the episode race is to always bear in mind is that it is not a live event and you are racing against recordings or previous players. King have millions of players to choose from, so they can pretty much predetermine how long you will have for the entire episode to win it. I have never lost an episode race, even up to level 15,000, when I played the entire episode in one sitting. That method is certain to win you the gold. Unfortunately knowing this isn't much help to player stuck at higher levels without any gold.

But for anyone at lower levels my advice would be to not let the game panic you into buying your way out just because one player seems to overtake you suddenly. It's meant to scare you into making a purchase or spend your gold, but chances are you'll still win it.

So here is an episode race like many I've come across. There is a player that suddenly starts to overtake you and gets to the last level before you. I've seen it so many times and yet this one player seems to stay stuck at the last level forever. Certainly this applies at the early levels. It still seems to be the case here at level 830. Watch that frog.

I started playing at 08.59h. By 9.08h I had a nice lead.

I'm playing at a good speed here, but the the frog is starting to overtake me. By 9.30 I've been overtaken!

I take a pause and play my other game, but keep the game open to check up on the frog and it slowly moves to the right. By 9.44h it has got to the last level. I haven't moved as I'm pausing, confident I'll still win it.....I take my time.

The frog is still there at 11.16h

At this point I decide to play again a bit more quickly, and by 11.25h have caught him up and then win the episode race.

So, always bear in mind, those other players aren't real players. It's not over until one of them is past the finish line.

nekocat

Thank you very much for your post @christinewupp .

At last, I get an explanation about that pattern I noticed in the Episode race I joined; not exactly the same as yours, but always the same from one race to the other: one player taking a lead after the first 2-3 levels, and then moving ahead fast untill only 3-4 levels remain before the end. It used to stress me a lot, until I identified the pattern and realised that I could win if I played in one go. But I couldn't understand why that player was so kindly waiting for me: I thought it was jolly friendly of them!!! 😂

Now I know why thanks to your post 🙏👌 (well, a bit sad to realise that they did not act out of friendliness, but there you go: 'Real Life"! 😅)

I"ve had the hunch that Candy Race was not a live race, but not this one.

Alienscar

To be honest @christinewupp I have no idea what the secret is. 50 is my longest Win Streak, but that was a long time ago and before the introduction of the Champions Race.

Back then I had just started my game so the levels where easy (203 levels in one week) and I completed each Episode in one sitting.

Nowadays I currently have a Win Streak of three, but I win them over the course of a week. The last one I won this week took me from Mon-Weds to win.

As you say quite often I mysteriously get left behind even if I have just completed five levels one after the other. I think you forgot about one of the more obvious tricks that King tries and it is the one in the screenshot below.

In the scenario you see above the game tells me that I am in second place. The aim is childishly obvious.

christinewupp

https://community.king.com/en/candy-crush-saga/discussion/comment/2821857#Comment_2821857

Thanks for your tips @Alienscar and that is really interesting that you win episode races over such a long time period! Once question: Do you repeatedly fail the first level of the episode race? I just wonder if this method might then give you easier competitors. I am working on the theory that maybe trying to keep your win streak and keeping your candy necklace full into a new episode will get you harder competition. Also do you keep the game open and running the entire time? That is another theory I have.

Alienscar

I very rarely fail the first level of an Episode Race @christinewupp and my opinion is that this is just another deliberate attempt to encourage players into playing.

I haven't given it too much thought, but I think King want player's to keep their Win Streak. That is, they want people to become so attached to their Win Streak that they will want to use boosters and gold to keep it. Therefore I don't think King make the competition harder for people with a good Win Streak, but they will tinker with the levels to make them need the use of boosters and gold.

I must admit reading your post makes me think of other common complaints and I wonder when you complete level 3000 when your first Oops level will be.

I always close my game when I am not playing.

You might be interested in a previous thread on the Episode Race

https://community.king.com/en/candy-crush-saga/discussion/387503/episode-race-definitely-fixed/p2

**my reply got sent for approval twice until I figured out why**

christinewupp

Thanks for the link @Alienscar . Interesting to see this phenomenon of a player running away with it and then stopping goes back to last year. Also your answer saves me a lot of testing out. I just managed to (deliberately) fail an episode race. I had been on a win streak of 72 races, but with landscape mode gone I enjoy testing theories out more than I enjoy playing the game, so I don't care sacrificing a win streak. I was way in the lead but stopped at the last level overnight keeping the game open. This morning after 24 hours I was still first place , but just now I checked and found someone had come from behind and won it. I too normally close the game when I am not playing. I'll test that one out next.

christinewupp

A little update.

I have tried out how long it takes me to lose my episode race. Just over 24 hours seems to be it, this is what happened twice anyway. Whether I stay in the game or close it seems to make no difference. It's clearly the internal clock on our device which determines how long we have. As other players seem to get longer than me I guess we are all in different test groups (no surprise here....) . I'll try a few more things out but for now will play a few episodes to get my Champions Race back and see what changes levels 3000 and up bring!

MitzRatu

It's all in the programming and the bots that king has..not a fun game ,just a money maker for king

christinewupp

Here is my latest update:

It's starting to get spooky as this was supposed to be just a test game when I started playing it. I was testing how far the game would let a player advance without spending money or wasting time watching adverts, and I am really surprised I got this far and STILL win every episode race:

I haven't figured out the winning formula, but it must have something to do with my playing strategy. So I'll share it with you:

I treat each episode as one entity and play it through quite quickly, I can do this in 30-45 minutes, but could spread it out over a day. The algorithms are quite predictable and I guess I can sense the patterns as I have so much playing experience: There are levels that will let us pass easily, levels that are meant to be failed first time unless you play a booster near the end, levels that you will pass with win streak and starting boosters. The game creates an illusion of being a game of skill, sets us up by helping us to get on a win streak and then tries to trip us up with levels set to block that win streak.

I avoid playing starting boosters for unmarked levels, the game just doesn't give us enough boosters now to do that. Once or twice I even had to buy some fish boosters and coconut wheels (!) with gold. I usually play starting boosters for legendary and super hard levels, especially when I've had a surprisingly easy ride for a few levels. I pause to assess the board before I start moving candies. Sometimes it's possible to tell if the game will let us win by seeing where our win streak boosters are placed and what starting boards we are given. The first move is quite important, but then I play quite quickly and practically never use any boosters mid level (such a waste!), and then pause if I only have 2 or 3 moves left, to see if the game will leave me just one move or jelly short. If it does, I may go along with it, as this is how the game is meant to be played now: using boosters to clear the board or paying 10 gold for extra moves. If I am on a top win streak it's worth the price for not losing it. But if it looks hopeless or if I've already lost my win streak I'll quit. Some levels are meant to be failed and it's best to go along with this as well. Then I replay the level again and again quickly in succession until it either lets me win or offers me enough extra moves for 10 gold. A big thank you to all of my friends who have made this possible with gifting lives so generously! I could not have done it without you.

It's a simple maths calculation: If I spend less gold on buying extra moves or boosters in an episode than I earn through winning the race then I will make a profit. That is how I measure success in my game. I find it satisfying to play for fake gold profit, but every player is different of course and if you play to win leaderboard events or make the top win streak, then you will play quite differently.

The most surprising finding of my experiment is this: Despite knowing how manipulative and rigged the game is, I actually do find it enjoyable, relaxing and fun! I guess I wouldn't be playing it if it wasn't.