Candy Bomb


 * Not to be confused with Colour Bomb.

Candy Bomb (sometimes Time Bomb) is an element in Candy Crush Saga. It is, along with blockers, one of the most difficult obstacles in the game. It appears as a coloured bomb with a number beside it. The number normally varies (between 0 and 99), depending on the level. It can be as high as fifty or as low as three. For every move used, the number on the bomb will be reduced by one, as long as the bomb is not gotten rid of, until it reaches zero. When a candy bomb's timing reaches zero, it will explode the whole board and the player will lose the game. These candy bombs have move counts ranging from a generous 50 moves (Level 470) or 35 moves (levels 180, 258, 407 and 502) to a mere 3 (old Level 275) or 4 (Level 192/Dreamworld).

Candy Bombs can be broken by a normal candy match, or through any special candy's effects reaching the candy bomb. Each bomb is worth 3000 points when broken. Candies will take the place of the square once the candy bomb is broken.

The Candy Bomb is first seen as the item introduced for episode 8, Salty Canyon. It first appears in Level 96. Like Liquorice Swirl, they can be created out of dispensers, though this happens from Holiday Hut (episode 19, Level 261), onward.

The Candy Bomb's timing can be increased by 5 with the help of a booster, called the Bomb Cooler, which adds 5 to every bombs' timing on the board. It is unlocked when the player reaches Level 97.

Poll
This poll is about how difficult clearing candy bombs is to you. Please take some time to answer it.

Strategy

 * Expansion needed

It is vital to remove the bombs before the timer reaches zero, or else the bomb will explode and cause a Game Over.

However, removing Candy Bombs can be fairly difficult at times and can impact the difficulty of a level directly. Sometimes they can be isolated from the main part of the board, forcing the player to remove them using special candies. Depending on the bombs' position, it may be necessary to plan a few steps ahead to successfully remove them. On a open board, making matches in the middle of the board can decrease the chances of bombs spawning on the edges.

While candy bombs is threatening, it is also important to note that bombs provide benefits of boosting the score. Using a Colour Bomb on a candy bomb provides massive points, sometimes up to a hundred thousands points. This holds true for moves and timed levels, where getting enough points is the key to passing the level.

On timed levels, you can still lose after reaching the target score if a bomb explodes. Once the target score has been reached, you can stop and let the timer run out if moving would set off a bomb.

Candy Bomb behind Liquorice Locks (+)
This setup is seen quite rarely in Candy Crush Saga, but when it does make an appearance, it is very deadly. It is one of the most notorious setups in the game. Level 440 for example is a very difficult level due to the heavy use of this setup.

The reason this is so deadly is because Liquorice Locks can be tricky to remove, but when there's a bomb behind it, it becomes even harder, as no matter how you destroy the locked candy - using a colour bomb to destroy the colour of the candy bomb behind it, striped candies, or a simple match, only the liquorice will be destroyed, and the bomb will stay. The setup always takes two hits (the ONLY exceptions being if a Toffee Tornado lands on the square or by using the colour bomb + striped candy combo of that color), and as candy bombs explode after a certain number of moves, it is naturally very difficult to remove the bomb.

Some levels only have one use of this setup, and some feature it very heavily, but any level with this setup will inevitably bring an early end to an attempt or two at least.

Trivia

 * It is among the most hated elements in the game as it will explode if a player does not remove it in time.
 * It is one of the only two elements of the game (aside from the quit button) to cause a Game Over without using up all moves. The other element is Odus in Dreamworld.
 * Just as Liquorice Swirl can be generated from dispensers, the same could be said for candy bombs. However, the need to get rid of as many bombs before they explode may be overwhelming, especially if the initial number on the bomb is of a low value, like five or below.
 * When there is a shuffle, the candy bombs stay in place and will not count down.
 * The Candy Bombs' texture seems to be soda in an elliptical sphere.
 * The bomb will not activate a game over in the iOS version when you meet the objective (regarding timed levels) right when the bomb reads.
 * Not to be confused with Color Bomb. Noticeably, if a color bomb destroys the same color as some of the candy bombs onscreen, the player can receive massive points, which could be helpful.
 * This is the reason why players can earn millions of points on levels like 274 and 374.
 * A candy bomb's audio when destroyed is the same as the licorice swirl's and multilayered icing's audio when destroyed. (iOS and Android only)
 * These are one of the main reasons the past version of Levels 147 and 350 are the hardest levels in Candy Crush Saga.
 * When a candy bomb reaches 0, it explodes before any conveyor belts have a chance to move, even if doing so would defuse the bomb. Similarly, if a candy bomb reaches 0 at the same turn as the moon struck, it will explode and the moon struck will not remove it.
 * Candy Bombs eaten by Sweet Teeth or smashed by a Lollipop Hammer will not reward any points.
 * In the past, if on the turn which you complete a level and the bomb counts down to zero, it would not explode on the board, meaning you will still have finished the level without losing a life but the blast will prevent any Sugar Crush from occurring. Then after some redesigning, the player will would fail the level with Tiffi crying "Oh No!" and possibly a Game Over (on jelly levels only such as Levels 275 and 515). However, the original mechanism has been reverted for the newest version.
 * If the player runs out of moves and a bomb timer is supposed to reach 0, it will not reach 0. Instead it will remain 1 and the player will lose the level. Level 96 and Level 180 are sure examples of this.
 * The old version of Level 275 holds the lowest starting Candy Bomb count, at 3 moves. The current version increased it to 8. This record is now held by Level 192/Dreamworld with 4 moves.
 * Level 370 holds the most amount of candy bombs, with 77 candy bombs.