Candy Crush Is Complicated–Even from a Mathematical Point of View

Have you wasted hours playing Candy Crush Saga? You’re not alone. Since its 2012 release, it has been one of the most popular games on Facebook and on mobile devices. The application was downloaded more than 106 million times in the first half of 2023, making it the second most downloaded game app during that period (after a game called Subway Surfers).

The principle of the game is simple: on a grid covered with variously colored candies, you try to form horizontal or vertical chains of at least three identical ones by swapping neighboring candies with each other. Once such a chain is…