Comparison

Candy Crush Saga vs Criminal Case

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both games, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

Candy Crush Saga

Engage in a world of delicious match-3 puzzles with thousands of challenging levels. Match candies, conquer obstacles, and uncover sweet surprises. Enjoy unique game modes, daily rewards, and special events for endless fun.

Highlights
  • Match-3 puzzle gameplay
  • Thousands of challenging levels
  • Unique game modes
  • Daily rewards and special events
  • Powerful boosters
  • Offline play
Read full description

Explore a world full of delicious match-3 puzzles and endless fun! Blast through thousands of challenging levels in this timeless puzzle game from King. Match candies, conquer jelly, toffees, and jam, and uncover sweet surprises in every puzzle. Classic Match-3 Gameplay with Fresh Twists - Discover unique game modes like Gummy Dragons and Bubblegum Pop. - Match and blast your way through matching levels full of sugar-coated fun. - Master tricky puzzles and create explosive combos to clear the board! Brain-Boosting Challenges & Special Events - Daily Rewards: Log in every day to claim free boosters and extra lives. - Time-Limited Events: Compete in themed challenges and win exclusive prizes. - Tournaments & Leaderboards: Crush more candies than your friends and rise to the top to become the ultimate match-3 master! Bonbon Blitz Your Way Through Extra Sticky Levels - Use powerful boosters like Bonbon Blitz, Lollipop Hammer, and Jelly Fish to solve puzzles and boost your score. - Stuck on a level? Boosters and extra moves will help you blast through any obstacle. Play Offline or Online, Anytime and Anywhere - No internet, no problem: Enjoy offline gameplay and keep the fun going wherever you are. - Ad-free fun means uninterrupted candy-matching bliss! Connect with Friends & Join the Candy Kingdom - Share lives, compare scores, and see who’s the match-3 master in your friends circle. - Connect your game to Facebook to sync progress, compete with friends, and unlock exclusive rewards! Discover more from King Looking for more brain-teasing fun? Try Candy Crush Soda Saga or Farm Heroes Saga for fresh twists on classic match-3 puzzles. Or dive into sweet solitaire action with the new Candy Crush Solitaire! Candy Crush Saga is free to play, but optional in-game items require payment. You can turn off the payment feature in your device’s settings. All Stars 2026 Selected level 5+. 18+. In-game event from 09:00 EST 5 March to 09:00 EDT 8 April, 2026. Participating countries only. Void where prohibited. Win the in-game event and receive an invite to the live contest 3-6 June in London for a chance to win a share of $1,000,000 USD. Requires travel to London. T&Cs: to.king.com/terms. Candy Crush Saga contains optional in-game purchases. © /TM / ® 2026 King.com Ltd. “King”, “Candy Crush All Stars" and associated marks and logos are trademarks of King.com Ltd or related entities.

About

Criminal Case

Engage in a captivating detective adventure by investigating crime scenes, gathering clues, and interrogating suspects. Analyze evidence to uncover the truth and bring murderers to justice in a grim city. Prove your detective prowess in this immersive hidden object game.

Highlights
  • Investigate crime scenes
  • Examine and analyze clues
  • Interrogate witnesses and suspects
  • Solve murder cases
  • Play with friends
  • Analyze evidence
Features
Currently charting
Read full description

A murder has been reported in Grimsborough, Detective. Grab your badge — the Chief is waiting. Criminal Case is the original hidden object detective game: the award-winning phenomenon that has turned more than 100 million players into detectives since 2012. Search crime scenes for clues, examine the evidence, interrogate the suspects — and when the proof is solid, arrest the killer yourself. INVESTIGATE CRIME SCENES Every case starts at the scene of the crime. Search gorgeous hand-drawn locations for hidden objects and vital clues, race the clock for the best score, and earn the stars that move your investigation forward. RUN THE LAB Take your findings to the forensics team. Analyze samples, decode messages, reconstruct torn documents and match fingerprints. In Grimsborough, every detail talks — if you know how to listen. INTERROGATE THE SUSPECTS Bring witnesses and suspects in for questioning. Compare their statements with the facts, catch them lying, and profile your killer trait by trait until only one name is left. ARREST THE KILLER Most mystery games end when you find the last object. Criminal Case is where it gets serious: match the evidence to your suspects and put the right one behind bars. Get it wrong, and a killer walks free. ONE CITY. 56 CASES. ONE CONSPIRACY. From the smokestacks of the Industrial Area to the runways of the Airport, the six districts of Grimsborough hide 56 murder cases — and the deeper you dig, the clearer it becomes that they are all connected. THE ORIGINAL, SINCE 2012 Facebook Game of the Year 2013. More than 100 million detectives worldwide. The classic that defined crime investigation games on mobile — still updated, still free, still one of a kind. Played back in the day? Welcome back, partner. Jones kept your desk exactly as you left it. BETTER WITH FRIENDS Connect with your friends to team up on investigations, compare your detective skills on the leaderboards, and send each other energy and gifts. THE FIRST OF 8 SEASONS Grimsborough is where the saga begins. Once you have cleaned up this city, seven more seasons of Criminal Case are waiting for you — from Pacific Bay all the way to Paris. Criminal Case is free to play, with optional in-app purchases (you can disable these in your device settings). The optional Pizza subscription raises your energy bar to 170 and removes ads: 2.99 USD/week (or local equivalent) after a 3-day free trial, auto-renewing unless cancelled at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. Terms of Service: https://prettysimplegames.com/legal/terms-of-service Privacy Policy: https://www.prettysimplegames.com/legal/privacy-policy The killer thinks they got away with it, Detective. Prove them wrong.

Screenshots

Candy Crush Saga4 screens
Criminal Case4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is ratings volume: Candy Crush Saga at 4M against Criminal Case's 36K. Candy Crush Saga also leads on update cadence (fortnightly vs every 3 months) and chart position (#3 vs #133). Criminal Case's advantage is review sentiment (60% vs 39%). On price, rating, ads and in-app purchases there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Candy Crush Saga sells 9 one-off in-app purchases and Criminal Case sells 10 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per 7 days. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.7 for Candy Crush Saga against 4.7 for Criminal Case. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Candy Crush Saga has 4M ratings behind it against 36K, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 39% of Candy Crush Saga's written reviews are positive against 60% of Criminal Case's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Candy Crush Saga ships an update fortnightly, Criminal Case every 3 months. Both last shipped on September 26, 2026.

Scorecard4 real differences · 7 level
Candy Crush Saga versus Criminal Case: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterCandy Crush SagaCriminal Case
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.7 (4M ratings)4.7 (36K ratings)
Positive reviews38.6% of reviews59.9% of reviews — better
Number of ratings4M — better36K
Update frequencyFortnightly — betterEvery 3 months
AdsYesYes
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
Best chart rank#3 — better#133
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS15.0 — better15.6
Further details — not scored
Size303 MB132 MB
Age rating12+17+
DeveloperKingPretty Simple

Customer experience

Candy Crush Saga

All ratings4,009,796 ratings
Positive93.4%
Neutral3.5%
Negative3.2%
Written reviews5,718 reviews
Positive38.6%
Neutral11.0%
Negative50.3%

Criminal Case

All ratings35,824 ratings
Positive91.6%
Neutral3.0%
Negative5.4%
Written reviews1,015 reviews
Positive59.9%
Neutral10.1%
Negative30.0%

User reviews

Candy Crush Saga

From 4M App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🎨 Visually appealing
  • 🎮 Addictive gameplay
  • 🕰️ Relaxing time-killer
  • 👍 Generous with free boosters

Room to improve

  • 💰 Excessive in-app purchases
  • 🤯 Frustratingly difficult levels
  • 🔁 Repetitive gameplay
  • 🔒 Lack of transparency in algorithms
  • 🔧 Buggy and crashes frequently

Criminal Case

From 36K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🎮 Fun and intriguing game
  • 🕵️‍♀️ Interesting crime stories and puzzles
  • 🧠 Challenging and mentally stimulating
  • 🎨 Great graphics and visuals

Room to improve

  • 💰 Excessive ads and in-app purchases
  • ⌚ Slow energy recharge and long wait times
  • 🤖 Poor customer support and lack of response
  • 🔁 Repetitive gameplay and tedious tasks
  • 🐛 Frequent crashes and technical issues

Bugs and requests

Candy Crush Saga

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Boosters and rewards not registering properly
  • Crashes when switching between apps
  • Sync issues with Facebook account

Requested features

4 requests
  • Ability to skip difficult levels
  • More free boosters and lives
  • Improved level difficulty progression
  • Clearer explanations of game mechanics

Criminal Case

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Inability to connect to Facebook and sync progress
  • Disappearing energy and in-game items
  • Freezing and crashing during gameplay

Requested features

4 requests
  • Ability to save energy and progress across sessions
  • More efficient energy system and reduced wait times
  • Improved customer support and communication
  • Reduced reliance on ads and in-app purchases

In-app purchases

9 purchases

Candy Crush Saga

One-time9
  • Extra Moves3 variants$0.99
  • Extra Lives$0.99
  • 10x Gold Bars package$0.99
Show 6 more
  • 15x Gold Bars Package$1.99
  • 10 Gold Bars$1.99
  • Lollipop Hammer$1.99
  • Extra small offer$2.99
  • Small offer$5.99
  • 50 Gold Bars$7.99
10 purchases

Criminal Case

Subscriptions1
  • Pizza3 Days trial$2.997 Days
One-time9
  • Instant Analysis$0.99
  • Ham$0.99
  • Instant Access$0.99
Show 6 more
  • Instant Analysis$1.99
  • Instant Analysis$2.99
  • Pizza$2.99
  • 1 Complete Meal$3.99
  • 1 Burger$4.99
  • 2 Burgers + 1 Free Orange Juice$9.99

Questions

Is Candy Crush Saga free?
Candy Crush Saga is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Criminal Case free?
Criminal Case is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Candy Crush Saga or Criminal Case?
Candy Crush Saga and Criminal Case are both rated 4.7 out of 5 on the App Store, from 4M and 36K ratings respectively.
Do Candy Crush Saga or Criminal Case have ads?
Both Candy Crush Saga and Criminal Case show ads.
Which is updated more often, Candy Crush Saga or Criminal Case?
Candy Crush Saga ships an update fortnightly, and Criminal Case every 3 months. Most recently, Candy Crush Saga was updated on September 26, 2026 and Criminal Case on September 26, 2026.
Which is more popular, Candy Crush Saga or Criminal Case?
Candy Crush Saga currently peaks at #3 in the App Store charts, and Criminal Case at #133. Chart position reflects recent download velocity rather than total install base.

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