Level 268/Dreamworld

Difficulty

 * There are 5 colours compared to 4 in its counterpart in Reality.
 * All the single icings in its Reality counterpart are removed.
 * Once the candy bombs come out, it is very difficult to remove them as there are only five moves of their timers.
 * There are only 25 moves to bring down both ingredients which is 5 fewer moves compared to its Reality counterpart.
 * Also, the moon scale is fairly unstable in this level. With the limited board space at the start, the player is forced to make matches which causes Odus to fall over.
 * Overall, this level is much harder than its Reality counterpart, although the only thing which makes it easier is the decently long moon struck. However, the moon struck may likely be wasted due to insufficient two layer icings cleared during regular moves.
 * The ingredients are worth 20,000 points, which is equal to the one star target score.

Moon Struck

 * Start: moves left.
 * End: moves left.

Strategy

 * Clear the icings to open up the board as much as possible, but do not clear the icings below the bomb dispensers before the moon struck.
 * This level is not as difficult as it may appear from an initial playing. Once you are given a board that allows moves that clear lower icings and leave the bomb dispensers blocked for several moves, the cascades and special candies you are likely able to make during the moon struck should allow for a good chance of passing the level.
 * The icings are only two-layered, and combinations of special candies (especially striped/wrapped, striped/bomb, or wrapped/wrapped) during the moon struck will clear a good amount of it. Striped/bomb combinations. It is especially useful if there are candies in the column above the ingredients to be dropped.

Difficulty

 * Even though the presence of five colours should cause fewer moves to be spent to create special candies, the Reality counterpart to this level has four colours for all the moves available. Hence, it is harder to create special candies in this level, as compared to its Reality counterpart.
 * The ingredients are worth 20,000 points. Hence, additional 150,000 points for two stars and additional 200,000 points have to be earned through matching of candies.
 * Even though the two and three star score requirements are the same as its Reality counterpart, the extra colour, five fewer moves and the relatively unstable moon scale makes them hard to reach.
 * The player is required to earn an additional 6,000 points per move for two stars and an additional 8,000 points per move for three stars. Those amount are higher than the maximum amount of points a striped candy during sugar crush can provide which in this case is 3,540 points. Both requirements can be met via colour bomb + candy bomb combinations.
 * Like its Reality counterpart, the two layer icings are the only problem because they reduce available board space. Once they are cleared, it is much easier to create special candies and cascades especially with four colours and increased available board space. However, the relatively unstable moon scale can make the activation of special candy combinations and the use of huge cascades slightly risky during regular moves, increasing the difficulty of clearing the two layer icings.
 * There are candy bombs which will drop from the dispensers once the two layer icings below them are cleared. Moreover, the dispensers endlessly dispense candy bombs, giving the player many opportunities to create colour bomb + candy bomb combinations.
 * Moon struck removes candies matching the colour on the left side of the moon scale and lasts for ten moves. This makes it much easier to create special candies. However, considering that its Reality counterpart has four colours for 30 moves, the moon struck duration is much too low to boost the score as only 33.33% of the Reality counterpart has four colours in the counterpart in Dreamworld. Moreover, the moon struck may likely be wasted due to insufficient two layer icings cleared during regular moves.
 * Overall, the moon struck may not be enough due to its short duration.
 * Even after the moon struck ends, it is not much harder to create special candies. However, the extra colour and the relatively unstable moon scale negate this advantage.