I win every episode race. Why? How?

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.

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!

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.