How King builds tournament levels for Candy Crush All Stars

Candy Crush All Stars recently wrapped up its final knockout stage. The tournament has become one of the largest competitive events in casual mobile games offering a $1 million prize pool. 

The tournament spans two months of in-game qualifiers and knockout rounds, and the tournament finalists are invited to a live final in Los Angeles which is set to take place in June. 

Behind the scenes, there is an extensive design and testing operation driven by the team to ensure that the demands of the global player base are met, the tournament is bigger and better than before, and that it all works in a way that feels like a challenge without alienating new players. 

We spoke with Therese Sander, lead level designer at Candy Crush Saga, to dive into the development process behind the tournament’s design. Sander shares a look at the methodology and problem-solving that goes on behind designing content for such a large-scale event. 

Scaling casual game design for a high-stakes tournament

With over a decade on the market, Candy Crush Saga has had to learn to master the casual experience and with an ever-evolving game that now has over 17,000 levels.

But designing for Candy Crush All Stars, particularly its live final, introduces a different set of design challenges for the team.

“It’s the Candy Crush All Stars live final that really challenges our creativity as level designers,” Sander explains. “The standard of the elite players involved means the team creates nine custom levels that really raise the bar and test the players’ skills, quick thinking and strategy.”

These final stage levels draw on many of the game's features to incorporate a wide mix of gameplay elements. “These tournament levels follow the classic match-3 gameplay Candy Crush Saga fans know and love, but we draw on the full library of elements from jellies, candies, blockers and boosters to create the perfect levels to challenge these top players.”

The concept for the level designs is something the team begins well in advance of the tournament. “This year, we planned nine levels for the Candy Crush All Stars live final in advance before starting to create them, ensuring they cover a variety of elements to show the best of Candy Crush Saga,” says Sander.

The goal of the levels is to strike a fine balance between rewarding speed, strategy and adaptability while remaining true to the Candy Crush core identity. “We really want the levels to honour the journey that the players have been on throughout the tournament.

“We design the levels to look visually appealing and feel true to the Candy Crush Saga experience, but with a competitive twist as we introduce more intricate game mechanics that encourage quick thinking and a deeper strategy.”

A blend of art and science

For the design team, building a level begins with ideation, but that’s only the very start of what Sander describes as an intensely iterative process.

“Level design is a blend of both art and science,” she says. “Each level that we create is carefully handcrafted through an imaginative and iterative process, beginning with brainstorming ideas that build on familiar gameplay mechanics while introducing fresh new challenges.”

This means not only envisioning the challenge but also identifying how different elements will interact and whether they do so in a way that feels intuitive, fair and enjoyable for players. 

“As level designers, we experiment with elements that naturally complement one another, testing what feels the most fun and surprising. Some have a clear vision of how they want the level to unfold, focusing on key moments and the elements they want to spotlight.”

Sander shares that one of the biggest hurdles is to get the challenge just right, given that there is such a diverse mix of players. 

This is where testing becomes integral. “After we’ve created the level, we move into testing, which is one of the most important stages, as it’s where we ensure the level is genuinely fun, and that it hits that sweet spot of not being too easy or too challenging. Then we work to fine-tune the levels before release.”

Balancing consistency, challenge and skill

A major part of any competition is fairness, and for game design, that is a nuanced issue, particularly for mobile titles where a blend of skill and chance is often a core part of the gameplay experience. For All Stars, the design team has taken active steps to tilt the balance toward player skill over chance. 

“With so many players taking part in Candy Crush All Stars, each with different levels of experience, it’s really important to make sure the competition stays fair,” Sander says.

“Every level that we create undergoes rigorous testing and refinement. This is to identify any bugs, balance issues and generally understand what it feels like to play the level and fine-tuning the experience for our players.”

One specific addition involves score capping. “We cap the number of Candy Crush All Stars Candies you can collect in a single game. This ensures that no single round has an outsized impact on a player’s overall score. This helps level the playing field and means that players need to consistently perform well to progress.”

Opening the door for players and the role of AI

While the final of All Stars is targeted at the top-performing players, the design philosophy behind the tournament also takes into account the broader playerbase of the game. This means both design and access is taken into consideration.

“Accessibility is a priority for us when it comes to Candy Crush All Stars,” Sander explains. “With such a large and diverse player base, ranging from newcomers to long-time Candy Crush Saga players, we want to make sure that the tournament feels fun and competitive for everyone involved.”

For this year's All Stars, the entry requirements were lowered so any player that had reached level five on the regular Candy Crush Saga could enter the tournament, meaning more players could compete.

With each iteration of All Stars, there are new ways to tackle the development cycle, with AI now playing a role but being used in a constrained way when it comes to the tournament content. 

“When designing traditional Candy Crush Saga levels, we use AI to help support the game development process, especially when it comes to testing and optimising levels,” Sander says. “Our designers will handcraft the levels, refining them for creative and strategic depth. We will then use a playtest bot to help us catch any bugs or issues and to fine-tune the difficulty to make sure we get the right balance.”

However, for the live final levels, the process is different as the use of AI is limited. Those levels are more unique and have rules and objectives that are different from the traditional Candy Crush Saga levels.

Driving engagement and evolving the format 

For King, the impact of All Stars is intended to go beyond just the tournament period. According to Sander, it strengthens long-term player engagement by offering an alternate, high-stakes pathway within the games ecosystem.

“Tournaments like Candy Crush All Stars are a great way to enrich the overall Candy Crush Saga experience by keeping the game fresh and exciting for players all around the world,” she says. “While Candy Crush Saga is known and loved for offering fun and casual gameplay, events like Candy Crush All Stars introduce a competitive edge that adds a new layer of depth and engagement.”

Sander shares that those who participate in the tournament often also bring what they have learned back into their day-to-day play so they can practice and perfect their skills. 

Each year, the intention is to make All Stars bigger and better, and this year, the tournament was in 23 markets including recent additions like Chile and Argentina to expand its scale and scope.

“Each year, our goal with Candy Crush All Stars is to make it even more exciting, engaging and rewarding for players," says Sander. “Over the last five years of the tournament we’ve increased the live final prize pool, expanded the number of markets, and enhanced the format by introducing ‘second chance’ rounds - allowing additional opportunities to advance - and worked with different celebrities like John Cena to promote the competition.”

Last year’s tournament metrics stood at 15 million participants, 2.2 billion levels completed and over 11 trillion All Stars Candies collected.