Just for Fun – Life lessons by way of Candy Crush

Yes, I’m one of those people. The ones who are addicted to crushing candy on my smart phone. I get sucked into this tasty app when I need to decompress, or to clear my mind so my thoughts can flow freely.

 

In a recent game I started thinking about how this strangely addictive game is slowly rotting away precious minutes of my time, like a cavity gone neglected. But then I realized how many life lessons are crammed into this supposedly mind-numbing game.

 

1. Boom

You’re in complete concentration mode, just a few moves away from clearing the last few squares of sticky jelly. It’s a board you’ve been trying to clear for days (let’s face it, probably weeks) and you are excited because you can see the end and then—BOOM! That sneaky bomb hiding in the upper part of the board, where the jelly has already been cleared, takes you down.

Life lesson: Always look at the big picture before making your next move.

 

2. Evil

If you’ve made it far enough in the Candy Crush boards to get to the chocolate then you know it’s evil. It keeps growing, making you focus on taking it out and distracting you from your goal.

Life lesson: Chocolate is evil, but you can never fully get away from it. Don’t ignore it and let it take control, but also try not to let it distract you from your goal.

 

3. Numbers

You only get so many moves, or a limited amount of time, to complete your goal. Some take the approach of just making random moves with no strategy—if they run out of moves then at least they quickly get to the next life to try again. Others are nothing but strategy. They stare at the board for several seconds, contemplating their next move. They look at the new opportunities each move would provide.

Life lesson: This is sort of like the tortoise and the hare analogy. Eventually they will both end up in the same place. The tortoise may successfully clear the board quicker, using time and strategy to maximize his or her number of moves. However, the hare is probably going to have a lot more fun along the way. Life needs both types of people to function properly, so recognize who you are and be happy with it.

 

4. A little help

You’ve run out of moves, but you only need one more to clear the board. URG! Or you’re out of lives but you really want to keep playing. There are several options you can use to move forward:

a. bankroll King by purchasing the extra moves/boosters

b. ask your Facebook friends for help

c. suck it up and wait

Life lesson: Everything comes with a price. Option (a) takes actual money out of your pocket. If you’re not careful, this can add up. Option (b) might impact your social status. If you ask for lives all the time, people will start to ignore the request. Then you run the risk of no one being there to listen when you really need some help. Option (c) costs you frustration. It’s supposed to be fun, right? Right.

 

5. Lollipop hammers

My seven year old summed it up nicely one night. “If I had an infinite amount of lollipop hammers, I could clear this board easy.” Oh, my astute child, yes you could. But that’s not how it’s supposed to work.

Life lesson: You can get through most obstacles quickly and easily by having something in hand to smash it to bits. But where’s the fun in that? Where’s the learning from mistakes along the way? It’s the journey that makes you stronger.

 

6. You failed

At the end of each board you don’t complete, you get this nice little message telling you that you failed. This is genius—no one likes to fail or be told that they are a failure. Defenses rise and self-preservation kicks-in. Some might say, “I’ll show you, I’m not a failure!” But what does King hear? “Cha-ching!”

Life lesson: People will find your weakness and try to exploit it to their benefit. If you fall into their trap, you let them win—thereby proving that you are indeed the failure in the overall war. I’m not one to believe that you can eliminate your weaknesses. You are who you are. But you can recognize them, which doesn’t allow anyone to use them against you.

 

So the next time you find yourself feeling guilty about spending so much time crushing candy, just  remember that you’re actually learning valuable life lessons 🙂