Level 182

VOTE FOR THE DIFFICULTY OF THIS LEVEL IN THE POLL SECTION!

Level 182 is the twelfth level in Cupcake Circus and the nineteenth timed level. To pass this level, you must score at least 30,000 points within 2 minutes. When time runs out, Sugar Crush will first activate all special candies, and then turn any remaining +5 candies into wrapped candies and activate them.

It is an extremely hated level to earn three stars because the layout of the board prevents the creation of colour bombs and the sustaining of huge cascades (making it hard to spawn +5 second candies), plenty of blockers restricting available board space, continuous spawning of liquorice swirls and the high three star target score. It is available to be voted as the hardest level in Reality to earn three stars.

Difficulty

 * The board is made of four boxes, making it more complicated and also makes the creation of colour bombs impossible. Furthermore, colour bomb + candy bomb combinations are also impossible.
 * If the chocolate in the bottom-right box is not dealt with early on, it will become nearly impossible to clear it later, causing you to lose out on points which could be essential.
 * The candy bombs move count are low and are very difficult to be cleared.
 * Four-layer icing will block the flow of candies to the right-hand side of the board.
 * The liquorice swirls will continue to spawn as long as one liquorice swirl is not cleared, reducing available board space.
 * The presence of numerous kinds of blockers in each box can make it difficult for the player to decide which kind of blocker should be destroyed first.

Strategy

 * The first thing you have to do is to clear of the chocolate as soon as possible. If there are no more possible matches at the lower right quadrant, clear the candy bombs first.
 * From there, you can clear all 4 candy bombs, worth 12,000 points which means you only have to score 18,000 more points to clear the level. No additional candy bombs will appear, so there is no need to worry after destroying them. But that also means that you have to be quick and do lots of cascades.
 * The last thing is to get rid of the 4-layer icing. You do not want to play only on one side of the board, otherwise you will be unable to reach the score requirement, as you're missing half the board's potential.
 * Make sure you grab +5 candies on the way. They will really benefit you for this level.
 * If you are completely stressed by this level and cannot beat it, here is an easy way to pass it. If you have a colour bomb booster available, activate it and enter the level. Now, use the colour bomb on a colour that a candy bomb is, too. This will score you near if not over the required score.

Getting Three Stars (For Daring Players)

 * Difficulty: Insanely Hard
 * Five colours make it easy to create special candies (not too useful. Furthermore, colour bombs cannot be created due to the board layout).
 * The player is required to earn at least 460 points per second (55,000 points / 120 seconds = 458.33 points per second). Despite this, the layout of the board and the amount of blockers make it insanely hard to do so.
 * Due to the third point, a colour bomb + candy bomb combination is impossible. Furthermore, huge cascades are also insanely hard to achieve (this drastically reduces the spawning of +5 second candies).
 * Despite the presence of four candy bombs, there are no more candy bombs being spawned.
 * The chocolate and liquorice swirls will restrict the available board space to create special candies. Even if all the chocolates are cleared, the liquorice swirls are the biggest threat because they will keep spawning as long as one liquorice swirl is not destroyed. This also includes the situation where there are no liquorice swirls on the board.
 * The three star target score is high. Most runs of passing the level will end up with 30,000 - 35,000 points. In fact, some runs may end up with scores less than the one star target score.
 * Try to clear the chocolate first. If this is not possible, clear the candy bombs.
 * Once the above point is completed, destroy the icing to increase board space. If there is a match at the top right board, destroy the liquorice swirls if there is any.
 * Always keep the liquorice swirls away from the board where you want to make special candies or cascades.
 * Due to the third point, special candies and huge cascades are a must to compensate the time lost due to the clearing of blockers. Note: Activation of special candies consume time and that the player cannot make a match till the effect of the special candies end.
 * A striped candy gives 120 points per creation and 480 points per activation provided if no liquorice swirl is along the path of activation.
 * A wrapped candy gives 200 per creation and 1,080 points per activation even at the corners.

Trivia

 * This used to be the third level in Hell's Cluster.
 * This may be the only level in the game in which the player may wish there were more candy bombs (because of the amount of points they give).
 * This is the only timed quadrant level so far, and one of the hardest timed levels if not the hardest.
 * Both this level and its Dreamworld counterpart, an insanely hard Candy Order level requiring the collection of striped candies, may become much easier with a Color bomb booster, but for different reasons : this one can give many points due to Color bomb + candy bomb combination, its Dreamworld counterpart can cause many striped candies to be collected due to the colour bomb + striped candy combination.