Liquorice Swirl

"Liquorice swirl.png Liquorice Swirls cannot be matched, and blocks out effects from special candies. Eliminate them by making adjacent matches!"

Liquorice Swirl, also known as Liquorice Wheels or Licorice Swirl, is a common blocker in Candy Crush Saga. It is the second type of blocker involving liquorice. The blocker looks like a swirl of black liquorice and a dot of cream in the middle, taking up an entire square. It first appears as the new element in the 7th episode, Bubblegum Bridge, first appearing in level 81. It is uncommon in the 100s, but following the introduction of candy cannons in the 16th episode, Crunchy Castle in the 200s, it suddenly becomes much more abundant in the game due to the new element in that episode, the liquorice swirl candy cannon.

Appearances
For the list of levels that this blocker appeared in, see here.

Properties
The liquorice swirl is an invasive blocker, meaning no candies can be in the same square as the blocker, much like Icing or chocolate. Like most blockers, it can be disposed of through breaking the candy next to it.

The liquorice swirl has several unique properties. It is one of the only blockers that can actually be clicked on and switched with candies. Getting three liquorice swirl blockers in a row does not get rid of it though unlike candies.

Another strange, and quite possibly one the most annoying properties is that they are resistant to special candies and weakens their combinations, especially striped candies. If a striped candy hits a liquorice swirl, it will get rid of the blocker but won't get rid of any other candies beyond it. This can become a serious problem in later levels involving jelly or ingredients.

Many later levels use this blocker to increase difficulty due to their special candy resistance. Two examples of this are and.

If you make a move which removes at least one liquorice swirl immediately, it's less likely to respawn in the following cascades. Otherwise, it may be raining into the board, greatly reducing effective moves.

Starting from level 1593, it is possible to have liquorice swirls inside locks. Unlike in  and , these swirls keep their resistance even if locked.



However, on web version, there is a glitch where locked swirls can be removed by an adjacent matching like common swirls. In this case, the lock will also disappear. This glitch does not occur on mobile.

In level 1778, it is possible to have liquorice swirls inside marmalade. Like locked liquorice swirls, they can also be removed completely if you match candies near them.

In levels with locked swirls or swirls in marmalade on the board at the start, the swirls will keep their resistance to special candies and can't be removed like they can in levels where they can be encased due to the magic mixer.



Trivia

 * This is one of the more detested blockers in the game due to their resistance to special candies.
 * If you observe closely, you can see a very short electrical charge when the liquorice swirl is destroyed.
 * If a jelly fish eats the blocker, it will not break any jelly underneath it, unlike with the icing and other blockers. Thus, it is resistant to jelly fish.
 * There are two combinations they are not resistant to - the colour bomb and colour bomb mix, and wrapped candy and wrapped candy mix. This will wipe out all liquorice swirls with no problem, or in the case of the latter, only eliminate all liquorice swirls in their blast radius. The double colour bomb mix is a good strategy for level 210.
 * The sound they make when they are destroyed is delayed by about three-quarters of a second.
 * About the sound when they are destroyed:
 * On web version, they used to make a Lollipop Hammer sound all the time, then after an update they make a new "poof" sound when removed by adjacent matches, like when regular icing is destroyed. After Toffee Teasprings was released, they instead make the new sound when removed by a matching. They still make the old sound when getting hit by a striped candy effect.
 * On mobile version, they use the same discharge sound against multilayered icings, liquorice locks and candy bombs.
 * By making a striped + wrapped combination, if a liquorice swirl is within the 3x3 square of the giant candy, it has no effect on web version, but will reduce effects of that direction on mobile version. As such, some levels are harder on mobile version due to additional resistance.
 * In some levels, there can be tons of liquorice swirls, but they will never respawn. is an example, as is.
 * Level 1375 has the most number of liquorice swirls on board, with 75. Unlike level 1264 which also has a huge amount of liquorice swirls, those in level 1375 do not respawn.
 * This is the second blocker to have liquorice, the first one being the liquorice lock.
 * The tail of the Liquorice Cat from Barking Boutique resembles this element.
 * In Tricky Tracks, some swirls are used as the wheels of pumpkin carts. However one of the wheels is a green candy instead.
 * This element also appears in ' and '.
 * Like a candy bomb, this blocker can be in marmalade or liquorice lock, but it is unofficial because in levels and  are locked in liquorice lock or encased in marmalade by magic mixer. The locked liquorice swirls can also be seen in Candy Crush Soda Saga and Candy Crush Jelly Saga. However, these two games have levels with these elements at the beginning, unlike Candy Crush Saga that locked liquorice swirls are created by specific way.
 * However, locked swirls and marmalade-covered swirls appear at the start of later levels. Licorice swirls in chests are introduced officially as well. Even when encased in blockers they still block the effects of striped candies.