Samaria, a Stage 6 contestant back to report something. (Draft 2)
The next seet of pins has arrived after a two-week cooldown. It seems that the removal of free switches is not limited to Sweet Cinema, but across every event. Same applies to the Striped Brush.
On the other hand (pun not intended), we did not see any evidence that the Coconut Wheel and the Jelly Fish boosters has been updated, despite @QueenB's claim that the team is working on a simpler set of boosters with more obvious effects. In fact, her very statement contradicts what is suggested to happen to the striped brush
What to do if you are part of such test group?
The adage is: keep calm, slow down, switch to an alternate hobby. If convenient, thoroughly document the test feature, and contact Support to revert your inventory as if you have not been part of the test group. This will be the subject of another infamous limited test feature that has been cancelled.
I completed only three episodes during Jurassic Season, because the reduced availability of the free switch is a test feature. On the other hand, I completed over 24 Melting Season rounds (96 episodes), and another 107 episodes (76 from the three final knockout rounds) from All Stars 2026. The pin sets for both of these seasons included free switches and the rare free switch pass, and the Sweet Cinema board were reverted a few weeks before and during All Stars 2026 only.
The term "keyword" is particularly mentioned in resume crafting and research papers, and in this case, our keyword is "test" and this is precisely what convinces me to reduce the number of ads watched and levels completed. I decided to greatly reduce my progress with this game and all affected events, even if I hold a long level win streak (3530 at this point) and a positive inventory which I have gained through observation and not monetization.
Precedents
If you are in any of these test groups, then engaging in any of the affected features is contraindicated. If this materially affects future gameplay, I advise you to thoroughly document this and submit this to support.
Gold inventory (soft 200 gold limit)
There are only a few such posts in the official forums, Reddit, and Facebook groups. It is not mentioned anywhere in the wiki or Discord. There are also no known screenshots of boosters being converted or infinite gold bars unlocked.
You might have heard of the "gold inventory", the 200 GB limit which not only may destroy your earned gold bars, but also bombard you with popups and possibly provide completely irrelevant boosters as the ultimate effect of the limit.
Christine has already stated that performing a microtransaction to "enjoy infinite gold bars" is absolutely contraindicated.
Very bad Sweet Cinema boards
Source: Where oh where are the switches?
The first case of the free switch being removed that led to widespread concern comes from a test group that received a very bad Sweet Cinema board. Note the presence of a heart pass and more X's than usual.
Unable to reply old levels
Source: An upcoming test for Golden Pins & Old Levels in Soda ππ
We are fortunate that the gold inventory concluded negatively within a single quarter.
There is one test in Soda that will be of an even worse magnitude than what a small set of players have experienced late last year, and Soda is in no ways of becoming a "rival match-3" which players always have to focus forward since inception.
Conclusion
The fact that the reduced availability of the hand booster everywhere is a test, while also not materially demonstrating the revised booster system @QueenB conveyed to us is the rationale behind why progressing through new levels, watching Sweet Cinema and participating in these events is cautioned.
I am patiently waiting for the updated booster rehaul to roll out to see if the developers have kept their word, hopefully before the soccer season.
