King.com goes for social gamers' sweet tooth with Candy Crush Saga

Is there an award for the most adorable match-three game? Well, we're making one right now, because King.com's newest social game, Candy Crush Saga on Facebook, is a downright saccharine marriage of match-three and Candy Land. The sixth "Saga" Facebook game to come from London-based casual games portal is available now for all to play.

Candy Crush Saga is actually a social version of a game that already exists on King.com proper, but with a new lot of social features that demand it be on Facebook. For instance, as players match identical pieces of candy in each of the game's 65 levels at launch, they'll progress along a game board much like they would in Bubble Witch Saga. As they press on, players will be able to compare how far along they are with their friends' positions on the same game board.

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Of course, players can unlock more levels by inviting their friends and purchase in-game boosts with Facebook Credits. But what seems to set Candy Crush Saga apart from the established match-three games on Facebook--namely Diamond Dash and Bejeweled Blitz--is the levels themselves. The two latter games present the same level every time with a constant stream of gems and new power-ups, while Candy Crush Saga's 65 levels are predetermined with a limited number of moves.

This game also provides players with a number of play modes, like timed sessions, limited moves, a collecting objects mode and more are promised to come as King.com updates Candy Crush Saga with more levels. King.com CMO Alex Dale also took the chance to announce yet another milestone for the developer when speaking with us: King.com has outpaced EA as the third most popular Facebook game maker in terms of daily players. But how did the company do it in such a short amount of time?

"What happened with Bubble Saga was a number of years of trying out different approaches to Facebook, and it was the Saga formula that we had success with," Dale tells us. "This was marrying the basic game mechanic from successful games on King.com with the social layer, but also focusing on a more relaxed gameplay experience ... which works well for the Facebook audience. There's a secular trend, as the Facebook games audience has broadened, toward casual social games. We've kind of ridden that wave, if you like."

Dale goes on to say that the popularity of the simulator-style Facebook game (i.e. your 'Villes) has dwindled and that casual social games are on the up and up. King.com is laser-focused on this trend, so expect plenty more puzzle-style Facebook games where Candy Crush Saga came from.

Click here to play Candy Crush Saga on Facebook Now >

Are you interested in checking out Candy Crush Saga? Do you see the same trends that King.com sees on Facebook? Sound off in the comments. Add Comment.