Last Friday, I came home from my dinner and grabbed the laptop. The Candy Crush tickets came and I am onwards to the next chapter! Am I coming out of retirement?
Well… I moved only 3 levels, stuck at Level 518 currently, so it’s hard to say I am un-retiring but I just couldn’t resist. Put it this way, Farm Heroes has hit a snag at an impossibly ridiculous challenge at Level 99 and I needed an outlet to channel my fighting spirits. Maybe I should just go trounce some zoo animals instead.
Somehow I managed to pass Level 85 in Farm Heroes Saga and I never thought I’d resort to this but I did the unthinkable! Made M1, the hubby and official pet number one, the Roo (yes, even he has an FB account) ‘play’ the game so that they can send me tickets to go on to the next level. Nasty, ain’t it? But this is purely for strategy reasons; there are less Facebook friends playing this game and it is harder to get help when required. So instead of wishing and hoping or even bothering innocent lives, why not simply just rely on family?
At least I am slightly better than those Candy Crush addicts who would text or call friends to send them lives! For the record, when I was crushing candies, I never resorted to this act of desperation nor did I spend a single cent to move forth in the saga.
Speaking of Saga, when I was using the laptop to do the nasties, I discovered that Candy Crush finally updated. Another 15 levels await me but do I want to do another unthinkable? Coming out of retirement that is… we shall see.
Farm Heroes Saga is cute. The big dopey eyes of the fruits and vegetables just pulls at my inner soft spot, that’s why I started playing the game. The appeal attracted me and I thought this could be the beginning of a new addiction.
But alas, cuteness can sometimes fail because frustration can set in and for the longest time, aggravation as well. Like Level 80 for instance, there was simply no way to pass it and I refused to use my gold bars to short cut my way through.
I must say Candy Crush is a tough act to follow; King.com has not used the same formula of ‘give and take’ for Farm Heroes to retain my interest, like it did for Candy Crush. I contemplated giving up Farm Heroes no matter how cute the cropsies are. They become mean and not cute when they don’t allow you to pass.
But right after I entertained the thought of giving up, they had an update on the iPad and the ‘give and take’ formula kicked in; I passed Level 80 only to be stuck at Level 85! Cute fails again…
Ever since my retirement from Candy Crush, I find that there’s nothing to play on the iPad! If not for my Zookeeper Battle, the offerings just do not appeal to me.
Even the latest from King.com, Farm Heroes Saga, which I thought could get me hooked does not have the same appeal as Candy Crush. I suspect this is due to the fact that I was stuck at Level 80 for the longest frustrating time. It was just impossible to overcome the challenge at that level. Well, when one becomes discouraged and frustrated, the charm is lost, no matter how cute the characters are.
So I looked and tried to find something that can occupy my time, otherwise my faithful iPad Mini will be rendered useless! Maybe I should go back to reading my Nora Roberts…
So it’s been a month plus that I stopped playing Candy Crush. Out of curiosity, I peeked into the game in Facebook on the laptop to see if there’s any updates, only to discover an exclamation mark on Odus. This was last week and only on the game in Facebook (the app on the iPad just got updated yesterday).
What’s this? So into Dreamworld I ventured. Indeed there was an update but only in Odus’ world. And of course, I started crushing some candies.
To my horror, I discovered I’ve lost my candy mojo! Gone were my skills to strategize and conquer, let alone play! Aiyoh… This is not good. Maybe I should come out of retirement to focus on Dreamworld to sharpen my skills in preparation for the main saga’s long awaited eventual update.
This morning when I woke up and reached for my iPad, I discovered Candy Crush had an update. Hah! Finally… but I find this pointless as the update is only until Level 500.
I thought then maybe I should peek into Facebook and see if the game there updated as well, considering I have been sitting at Level 515 since December 31st, 2013. Nope.
So I remain retired from the game. Sigh. But I am not complaining, Farm Heroes with its cute cropsies are keeping me busy!
Call me Farmer Ange!
Ahh… Farming is so calming with the cute cropsies (and occasional animals) in Farm Heroes Saga although initially, the game plan looked complicated but I got the hang of it. Even Rancid the Raccoon is way much better than those darn zippy tornadoes in Candy Crush.
The cropsies (vegetables and fruits) all have big adorable eyes that tug at your heart and they are far more appealing than striped candies or wrappers; I’d say the cute animals in Zookeeper Battle are given a run for their money in the cute appeal category. Coming from a retired professional candy crusher and avid zookeeper, it’s pretty amazing.
Could this be the beginning of another addiction? By the way, I peeked into Candy Crush on Facebook and nope, still no update.
Before I became a professional candy crusher, I was a farmer. I was so into farming, managing three farms simultaneously: Tap Ranch (renamed and upgraded to Dream Ranch HD now), Tap Ranch Lite and Snowy Tap Ranch, on my first gen iPad. All very different from Zynga’s FarmVille which was very popular then in Facebook. These farms appealed to me because I did not have to play online or rely on others to send me crops and things. In other words, I was a full-time independent farmer. At least that was what the girls labeled me, a farmer.
Whenever I was engrossed in the iPad, they will dutifully not disturb me because I was farming and concentration was needed to tend to my alfalfa and other crops as well as my animals. Ah… Those were the days.
Then Candy Crush struck and my status changed (I was a professional candy crusher). The farms were neglected and ignored as I crushed my way to the top of the candy saga. But my status changed again (I am now a retired professional candy crusher) at the strike of midnight into the new year. Last Friday, I downloaded yet another game from King.com to occupy my time because suddenly, I stopped reading (I don’t know why), Zookeeper Battle has not been holding my attention as much and I had deleted Papa Pear because of launch issues.
A sense of deja vu has struck because it’s a farm app: Farm Heroes Saga. Another saga to march on, like Candy Crush, but a farm, thus making me a farmer again.
Maybe I should change my status again to be a full-time farmer this time? Hmm…
Of late, M2 has adopted a new approach to request for things. The persistency is what I call ‘Flavor of the Month’ whereby the star ice cream flavor is heavily promoted. In this context, the star item is constantly requested.
Whenever we go out, her persistent badgering never stops. So far, the ‘flavors’ that I can remember ranges from a hoodie jacket, Christmas lights, a beanie and a mini skateboard. The latest being a pair of sunglasses.
“Oh! Can I have sunnies?” she’d ask innocently and M1 would roll her eyes upon hearing this.
“Is this the flavor of the month?” I would ask.
She would beam at me and flash a grin, “Yup!”
I would then beam back at her and flash a grin, “Nope!”
Sometimes the cheekiness in her gets the better of her and she would point out, “Mommy, it’s flavor of the week! Last week, it was something else!”
How nice of her to remind me. Nonetheless, it’s a constant battle. I hope the request novelty wears off soon before I actually cave in.
Two things I discovered with the new year. Discovery number one: life can go on without Candy Crush. It’s been close to two weeks that I have not played the game at all, can you believe it? And I have been going about life and routine without any hiccups. The candy withdrawal has subsided and I have coped well, especially with the discovery of Nora Roberts online to occupy my time. Proud to say I am maintaining my retired professional candy crusher status.
Discovery number two: life can go on without caffeine. Last week, I did a five day detox and diet program that had me off my coffee and tea, food and sugar. It was all fruits and water for the first two days, followed by fruits, water and some protein and fiber for the next two days and by the last day, a slow introduction of a little bit of carbs, more fruits, water and ending with more protein and fiber. All this while, no coffee or tea, no sugar and no carbs. The cleansing of the innards felt good, the tummy shrank, the need for food was manageable and the dependency on caffeine was overcomed! Proud to say I shed 3kgs.
So things that I thought are etched in stone all this while may not necessarily be so.
Remarks