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Spot the difference: A new player experience

christinewupp

Two new players have come my way (due to the flashing graphics feature, which made me delete the app on two devices, and then redownload the app to play a new non-flashing account).

One started last Sunday, the other Monday morning.

Both played up to level 99.

Let's play Spot the Difference!

Check out these weekly contests:

Same players, different graphics…..how exciting! Not sure what they are testing here… but well.

iPhone had two spins on the booster wheel this morning, iPad had three spins this morning. These are the winnings:

These are the chocolate boxes right now (They started yesterday for me when I reached the required level, but I've been set back to the bronze box on both of them today)

But here comes the main difference:

iPad has the old system of additional moves.

iPhone has the 🤬Wheel!

This puts me in a nice position to run a test just on what test it is that King are running with this Wheel? And of course the old question I've been trying to crack: Are the basic level algorithms the same for all players? What determines level difficulty? How does the app achieve the required outcome?

The easy levels I ignore. Basically if you play the suggested moves you will pass these.

I decided to play the skull levels methodically, so I follow the suggested moves, which follow specific and easy principles of play and are probably the method King use to test out level difficulty. The hinted moves will give the best opportunities to pass in these early levels because these are essentially "training" levels.

First attempt at Hard level 98:

Spot the difference:

(If you didn't spot it because the image is too dark: both players had two frostings left)

Second attempt :

iphone: 3 blockers left to clear, the Wheel offer: +35 moves + UFO

ipad: 3 blockers left to clear, normal offer: +15 moves

To all intents and purposes these offers are identical, since both will lead to a pass. So all this is really testing is the psychology. Will a more obvious, more generous offer make us more likely to pay?

Third attempt:

iPhone: 1 blocker left if you are stupid, or pass if you see the obvious winning move (I pretended to be stupid) Wheel offer: +20 moves +UFO

iPad: 11 blockers left, offer: +25 moves +UFO

Fourth attempt, again following the hinted moves up to the point when there are 4 moves left to play:

Spot the difference?

Answer: iPad had to play one (not hinted) move to pass

iPhone had to play two (not hinted) moves to pass,

Onwards we go and test out the skull levels up to 200.

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christinewupp

This is my last instalment, as the two accounts are diverging now. I'm sure you can't wait to hear what happened next with our favourite level, level 114!

So this is what happened after I was stuck for almost 24 hours on this level.

I was NOT going to give up and pay for 45 moves and a UFO when I knew I only needed one or two moves.

The app was NOT going to give me the lucky board needed to pass.

Stalemate!

So I tried a different method: I paid gold bars for 5 more lives (rather than waiting, or cheating, to get 5 more lives) when I ran out, yet again.

On the other device I was part of the winning Team Quest group (Flowers allowed this non-flower member to join), so I could claim 40 minutes infinite lives on the iPad at the same time:

So: This is what happened next.

And it's interesting.

The player who paid gold for five extra moves got a lucky board on their second attempt after paying:

Yeah!

The player who got the extra lives for free got this:

and this:

Near miss after near miss. Nothing attempt after attempt.

So eventually I got fed up. Started to wonder if maybe I should create a fake community account via the app and complain in Support and see if a magic wand gets wafted, but I'm logged into the community on this device, so I tried something different:

I spent all my gold bars ! On party poppers:

I know for a fact that party poppers won't help pass level 114, so I'm not going to use them. I just wondered if the game registers that I now don't have enough gold to spend on extra moves and if it therefore lets me pass.

It took four more attempts, but finally I got this:

This colour bomb plus wrap combo looks like it's going to be the one (even though Yeti is hiding his face, I guess he doesn't know the game as well as I do).

The lesson learned: Yes, (this week) level 114 is indeed a pay-to-pass level. But it doesn't seem to matter how: Buy the extra moves, buy some boosters, or buy some more lives, it doesn't seem to matter how you pay. The app registers you've paid and lets you pass if you do (and probably would do so also if you've run out of gold and can't pay).

This will be the end of the story.

Thanks for joining my little test.

( I need the devices: Now that there is hope that the horrible flashing graphics have gone I'd like to get back to my proper accounts)

christinewupp

This morning, more of the same. My treats from the Daily Treat Machine: (Spot the Difference)

Different, you say? I hardly think so. Neither is of any use for level 114. I got close a few times but wasted another five lives waiting for that luck that will actually pass in 15 moves. Interestingly a few times the last dragon didn't show up even on a nice final move cascade, at other times, when the other two dragons were still on the board it did show up and all three were visible. But the outcome is always the same:

Now: Spot the difference and paying special attention to my position in the episode race this morning.

Looks like I really do have all the time in the world….

The Candy Cup doesn't look lost either, seems that none of these people are playing much….

Don't be fooled by jom "playing now". He only played 10 levels since yesterday, before getting stuck again just now. These leaderboards remind me of this guy: 🐌

Out of interest (and not quite on topic, but never mind) here is Jom's player card:

They've paired me up with a child at the end of the map! Moreover it's a kid who only took two years to get there. Impressive!

And here am I, hopelessly stuck at level 114 and beaten by this child!

christinewupp

The notorious level 114 is up next. Love this one. So much fun! Just follow the suggested moves and wait and see what happens. If you want to proceed with your game you pay 10 gold bars, but if you just want to have fun and test this one out, hey, what fun! No brain needed.

So after a brief interlude with the tapping game a few weeks ago, which got enough move to pass this one, we're back to 15 moves for all.

First attempt I'll skip. Obviously both failed.

Second attempt:

So this one is the player with the normal offer of +15 moves for 10 gold. She sees that elusive dragon drop on move 0 and knows for sure she will pass if she pays. (If she has a brain)

Here the Wheel player on her second attempt:

She landed on the +40 moves on the Wheel. So even though she can't see that the last dragon is going to drop, she also will know for sure that she will pass this if she pays 10 gold (and if she has a brain).

So, not surprisingly, I didn't pay because I wanted to see what happens next. So the offer from the Wheel was: +15, then +20 +UFO, then +30+UFO, then +30. Then I was out of lives, on both accounts.

Spot the difference:

Ah well, I'll take a break then and see if this app really will let me lose another episode race.

I know there is a "pass" lucky algorithm in there, and that the app can lead me there with the hints, because I've done that before. So I'll wait this one out…..

https://youtu.be/V6OF_5eU6zs?si=j_kggcc-0ICCs7Ug

christinewupp

Day two:

I stopped playing at level 100 overnight, because I don't really care. Level 100 was impossible to pass in five lives without boosters, so I gave up and waited for more lives and a lucky board.

Both accounts lost the episode race as a result.

Both are playing the Candy Cup, but different multiplier groups. Both joined exactly the same time as each other, (and to make it more informative, also at the same time as my Cornflower account) They passed one level to join but then didn't play for hours. Here the standings after I finished the lost episode:

The opponents are believable.

Both games got ten minutes timed boosters for the lost episode race, which - as we know - are of no use for the first skull level 114, so I'm letting those expire.

Interestingly hard and super hard levels 106 and 107: both players passed these easily with no boosters. Perhaps a response of the app to me losing the episode race overnight? Even more oddly: One of the two accounts skipped super hard level 110, a really tough one at the end of the episode. The episode finished after level 109! The other account passed on the third attempt, with no boosters.

I cannot help wondering if the app is trying to nudge me along after my failure in the episode race. A lot of player drop out early, so the app is perhaps trying to keep me interested by letting me skip a level. I wouldn't have noticed if I hadn't played both accounts in tandem.

christinewupp

https://community.king.com/en/candy-crush-saga/discussion/comment/3583295#Comment_3583295

I often get the impression that specifically for "Hard" levels the split between those who will pass easily on a first attempt and those who will find it impossible to pass on a first attempt (without extra moves/ boosters) is 50%. Could this be correct? It would take a lot of testing to verify and I cannot do this.

__mulliganaceous__

I believe there is at least three test groups for skull levels.