Candy Crush Saga: Holiday Hut

Episode 19 of Candy Crush Saga is called Holiday Hut. This Episode is, without a doubt, the Candy Crush Saga Christmas Episode. Holiday Hut features a Gingerbread Woman who has a problem that she hopes that Tiffi, the little girl character that seems to be the heroine of Candy Crush Saga, can solve for her.

I just so happened to start Episode 19 in December, so that worked out nicely. Unfortunately, the levels in Holiday Hut were extremely difficult for me. Every level has Candy Bombs in it that players must get rid of before their timers go off.

In a way, the bombs make sense in the Christmas Episode. People are expected to be happy during Christmas, and that can be very hard to manage for those who have families that are dysfunctional or abusive. In those cases, people are faking their enjoyment while trying to prevent emotional “bombs” from going off and ruining everything.

Holiday Hut begins with a very worried Gingerbread Woman who mumbles her request for help to Tiffi.

Tiffi: Hi Miss Gingerbread! Happy Holiday!

It’s obvious that the Gingerbread person who is wearing earrings, a bow, and a dress, is a female Gingerbread Woman. Tiffi’s comment shows that this particular Gingerbread Woman is unmarried. She is “Miss” Gingerbread – not Mrs. and not Ms. Immediately, I assumed that the solution to the Gingerbread Woman’s problem would be for Tiffi to find her a boyfriend. How disappointing!

Miss Gingerbread mumbles to Tiffi.

Players don’t get to discover what, exactly, Miss Gingerbread’s problem is. She’s mumbling it to Tiffi as though she is embarrassed to ask. Pair that with her tearful expression, and the frantic waiving of her arms – and I was convinced that Miss Gingerbread was asking for a bathroom!

Tiffi: What? I can’t understand what you are saying!

Tiffi: Don’t worry! I can help you with that!

Here is a good example of what the levels in Holiday Hut were like. The three candy machines at the top of the board dispense nothing but Candy Bombs. As you can see, every bomb in that row has a timer on it. Players must match each bomb with two (or more) candies that are the same color as the bomb. Do it before the timers run out.

In the screenshot above, you can see that the lowest bomb (the red one) can be moved out so that it lines up with the two red candies that are above it in the next row (and another red candy that is below it). This would make that red bomb disappear. The player now has only 7 turns in which to diffuse the rest of the bombs.

The top of the board said that I had 22 move left in this level. That is misleading. The instant one bomb goes off – the game ends, no matter how many moves the player supposedly had left. I found this frustrating, and my frustration grew each time I finished a level and discovered that the next one had Candy Bombs in it, too.

Here is another frustrating level from Holiday Hut. The section that is separated out starts covered in licorice. When the player clears it – the candy machines dispense bombs. As before, each bomb has a timer and the game will end when a bomb goes off (taking away all the moves that the player had left).

The goal of this level is to clear the jelly, which the player cannot do until they clear the licorice. The Jelly Fish at the bottom and side of the board can help with the jelly, but they rarely remove bombs. There is a Color Bomb given to the player in this level, but it is of limited use. I did not enjoy this level.

I got 3 stars in all but 2 levels of Holiday Hut.

I completed Episode 19 on December 22, 2016.

Tiffi solves Miss Gingerbread’s problem with frosting.

Tiffi uses the frosting to draw a mouth on Miss Gingerbread’s face.

Miss Gingerbread: Thank you! Now I can talk again!

The solution to Miss Gingerbread’s problem wasn’t a gingerbread boyfriend, or a bathroom. She was anxious because she had lost her ability to speak. I think we all can relate to that. It is a horrible experience to know that your voice is not being heard. Tiffi helped Miss Gingerbread by making it possible for her to speak for herself again.