I Reached a Milestone... in Candy Crush

I wish I was this industrious in real life.

I’m not too proud to admit this but a few months ago I reached level 1,000 in Candy Crush. But I don't know where I stand in terms of achievement; whether this is common, since the so-called achievement was reached in roughly over a year. So far, I have managed without Facebook or buying lives. And if you're wondering, but of course why wouldn't you, I haven't been playing daily; I've had days when I was fed up with the game and didn't feel like playing.

Childish?

I guess if a game is colourful, cartoony, apparently doesn't require much brain activity and deals with candies as opposed to dark, strategy-laden, monster-fighting, gun-blasting games, then yes, no manly man will admit to playing this. 

Childish or not, from the point of view of the person behind the player, intentionally or not, games like these take our minds off things. This reminds me of when I was out having coffee, and saw a lady in a dark business suit; coffee on table, cigarette in hand, iPad in front, playing one of the childish games I ever saw. The stark contrast was quite funny. The game was not Candy Crush but I guess she just wanted a break from 'life' and just... play.

Stress-Reliever?

The goal of games like Candy Crush is simple, but you need focus to maximise success but you can also play on auto mode and achieve some form of success due to its simplicity. I'm the kind of person who's always in my head and it's not as instinctive to simply stop thinking and be in the moment. Too much of a good thing is not good for you and thinking may or may not be one of them; they say ignorance is bliss. And then there are those little achievements after completing a level - I call them pseudo-happiness, little pseudo-happiness.

However, I think Candy Crush can be a stress-inducer as well. I find that my heart rate goes up whenever I'm stuck at a level and games like these are [I think] programmed for the player to lose and to entice you to play further; you lose with just one more - in the case of Candy Crush - jelly to go.

Addictive?

It can be. Just think that you can bring this everywhere. And when you're having problems in real life a little pseudo-happiness helps, and then you come back to the real world after a brief simulated happiness, realise you still have all of your problems staring at you, you can potentially plunge right back into the game rather than deal with reality.

I once went without my tablet and Candy Crush for about a few weeks. The things I missed the most were of course Internet connection [because I use my tablet to connect to the Internet] and second, was my games.

At the time of writing, I am at level 1,053. I don't know if I can or need to wean myself off Candy Crush; I managed to do so with coffee, so I'm pretty sure I can with this one. But then, I'm not even sure if I'm addicted to this; no apparent withdrawal symptoms when I wasn't able to play.

Is there a game you can't seem to put down?