A Common Query

One query we’re asked all the time goes something like this: “What if I have just one tile (or a couple tiles) left to win the game and the dice rolls colors I can’t play?”

Well, the simple answer is, you just have to wait for the next roll.

Do you recall years ago — before Candy Land introduced the final “rainbow” square — when you almost beat everyone to the finish but needed the “exact” color to skip your Gingerbread Character to the Candy Castle? Remember how frustrated you got waiting to draw a purple card while you watched everyone around you catch up?

Well, it’s kind of like that with Candygrams, BUT with one huge exception. Candy Land is a game involving no skill. Just chance. The outcome is decided by the shuffle. There are no decisions since every move is dictated by the cards. The outcome of the game is set in stone even before the first card is drawn.

Candygrams, however, involves strategy. After years of play testing, we’ve learned that if you want to increase your chances of being the first player to use all your tiles, take a few early strategic steps as you set up your winning crossword.

As you play down your 25 randomly-selected letters, try to keep at least two colors available to finish out the game. That way, you’ll have twice the chance that the color combination rolled will give you a pathway to win. It also helps to start thinking about the last word you’d like to play well ahead of your final move. Good chess players will know exactly what we mean.

Also, don’t forget that you can rearrange your crossword on each and every round. Candygrams’ rules give you the opportunity to remove and reuse letters from any word in your anagram as long as what remains is still a valid word. Therefore, as you plan out your crossword, try to build words that are plurals, compounds, or words that have a prefix or suffix. That strategy allows you to grab letters off the front and back of your words and then use them somewhere else on your crossword. It’s kind of like having your own personal Candy Jar!