In our nice little corner of the gaming world, King’s match-3 puzzle hybrid Candy Crush Saga has become the Grand Theft Auto V, the Beyoncé, and The New York Yankees all rolled up into one. Simply put, the game is huge. And when a new game manages to take the entire industry by storm like Candy Crush did, well you know what that means: tons of clones from other developers begin popping up to try and recapture the magic of the original.
You’ve probably already played a game or two that was somewhat “like” Candy Crush Saga before, and so we thought it’d only be fitting to gather a list of some of the best like-minded experiences we’ve seen in one convenient place for you right here. And if you’re ever planning on making your own match-3 game that plays like Candy Crush Saga, you’ll want to include candy, jewels, or fruit, and throw in the word “mania” at the end of your title!
In our nice little corner of the gaming world, King’s match-3 puzzle hybrid Candy Crush Saga has become the Grand Theft Auto V, the Beyoncé, and The New York Yankees all rolled up into one. Simply put, the game is huge. And when a new game manages to take the entire industry by storm like Candy Crush did, well you know what that means: tons of clones from other developers begin popping up to try and recapture the magic of the original.
You’ve probably already played a game or two that was somewhat “like” Candy Crush Saga before, and so we thought it’d only be fitting to gather a list of some of the best like-minded experiences we’ve seen in one convenient place for you right here. And if you’re ever planning on making your own match-3 game that plays like Candy Crush Saga, you’ll want to include candy, jewels, or fruit, and throw in the word “mania” at the end of your title!
Who better to build upon the hugely successful match-3 and puzzle gameplay formula than Candy Crush Saga‘s own developer, King? Pepper Panic Saga replaces those cavity-inducing candies with some hot and spicy peppers, and ties it all together with a unique and clever “growing” twist.
Not to be outdone by King’s runaway hit, Rovio Stars decided to take a stab at the genre with Juice Cubes this year, a game that features the most delicious and adorable-looking juice creatures in match-3 history. With a fun and lighthearted tropical theme, not to mention tons of yummy fruit to squish, this one will leave you hankering for a nice crisp apple to bite into while you play!
Proving that lightning can not only strike twice but three fantastic times, King takes their Candy Crush formula to the farmlands in Farm Heroes Saga, where players can grow all sorts of delicious fruits and veggies by making some strategic matches. Guaranteed to be 100% healthier than shoveling down all of those sweets!
There once was a time when Jewel Quest was the king of the match-3 scene (pun intended), but with the game’s latest mobile revamp in 2013, they’ve taken a few pages out of the Candy Crush rule book. You’ve still got the same old temple jewels to be matching, but now with lots of power-ups and challenging move limits thrown in as well.
Frozen Free Fall is Disney’s latest take on the Candy Crush phenomenon and a mobile tie-in of sorts to their recent animated movie hit, Frozen. With a twinkling match-3 game board filled with lots of glittering gems and, of course, lots of snow and ice to trap them all in, fans of the movie or just the genre in general are sure to find a lot to love here!
I think that wooga’s Jelly Splash will always hold a special place in my match-3 heart for having jelly creatures that are so cute and adorable that I don’t even want to clear them from the board half of the time. But you’ll need to be doing that a lot if you want to save their happy jelly world from the evil purple mushrooms!
Jewels? Check. Mania? Double check. Addictive puzzle-based gameplay that makes Candy Crush fans feel right at home? I think you know the drill by now. Jewel Mania is a shimmering puzzle game from Team Lava that blends the best parts of Bejeweled and Candy Crush to a glorious effect.
I bet you thought you’d strictly be matching kiwis in this one, right? Well Kiwi & Me from Beeline Interactive actually has you matching neat elemental tiles in a puzzle environment, as you attempt to help your new little bird friend Kiwi traverse through the forest. Spoiler alert: Kiwi is all kinds of cute.
Team Lava’s Candy Blast Mania doesn’t even try to hide its Candy Crush inspiration; rather, it strives to give us another fun-infused alternative to a match-3 puzzle game where delicious candies take the center stage! If anything, this is probably the closest you’ll get to playing Candy Crush Saga without actually playing the real thing.
When you’ve had your fill of candy, jewels, and fruit-related things, why not dive into a match-3 puzzler that has you swapping tiles to hatch dragon eggs! In addition to the tried and true Candy Crush formula, Dragon Academy lets players build up their very own dragon collection as they watch the little tykes grow into the giant fire-breathers we all want them to be.
If you’re looking for a loose and innovative take on the traditional match-3 puzzler, then look no further: Cavemania is the game for you. By matching various resources on each colorful game board, you’ll be able to craft various structures and weapons to help your Chieftan take down vicious dinosaurs and sabertooth tigers: all within that challenging move limit!
Sometimes it’s not about the treasure, but rather the journey you take to acquire said treasure. Well Treasure Epic from 6waves makes treasure hunting a blast on the Facebook platform, as you’ll match dozens of colorful rune cubes to reveal some of the shiniest artifacts to be hidden away in the match-3 world at large.
Fairy tales and match-3 games just seem to go hand-in-hand, don’t you think? Zynga’s Fairy Tale Twist will have you matching everything from frog princes and witch hats, to golden eggs and pumpkin carriages in this wonderfully whimsical take on a Candy Crush game with a bit of a magical flair.
If you’ve been reading through to the very end of this list, then it should be pretty clear right now that gamers love matching all sorts of various food products. Jelly Glutton is probably the most comparable to King’s own Farm Heroes Saga, with tons of smiley-faced fruits and vegetables to match, and then unabashedly eat for dinner.
