Candy Crush is very simple, yet highly addictive game. It engages the players in matching similarly colored candies. It is so simple that any kid can play it. The best candy crush blog estimates it to be worth billions.
This app has had so many people downloading it and making in app purchases. The company behind this app, King Digital Entertainment, was reported to net 568 million dollars last year alone.
There are several reasons as to why this game is so addictive. The first and most important reason is that it is so easy to win in the initial stages. This leads to a sense of satisfaction in the brain from the release of dopa-mine. This is an agent that leads to addiction and it cements our actions such that we repeat them over and over from the pleasure we derive from them. As the game progresses, it gets harder, this makes the reward from winning of these games more by making the dopa-mine releases more intermittent within the human system.
Despite what many may think, including the claims of the app developers, this game relies entirely on luck depending on the randomness of the given candy colors rather than individual swiping skills. This implies that the reward schedules become unpredictable. As a result, we lose more than we win. This ends up enticing people to play more rather than discouraging them as opposed to having people win easily. This is an effective mental strategy used in gambling slot machines.
Another reason why this game is so addictive is that it puts a limit to the amount of time we can play it. After 5 losses, it puts you on a time out and you cannot play it until a couple of hours or so. This leaves hungry for more and by the time you are let back into candy land, the pleasure from the mental rewards are multiplied. This is also how King makes its money off the app, by giving you an opportunity to buy back into the action with a few bucks for a few lives.
This deprivation strategy is called the hedonistic adaptation. In a research done at Harvard University, two groups of people were used to test this theory. One group was asked to abstain from chocolate for a week while the other group was given unlimited amount for the same week. When both groups were given chocolate the next week, the group that was deprived chocolate expressed the most pleasure and satisfaction in consuming the treat.
The final reason as to why the game is so addictive is that it uses candy. Food is often used to in gambling games in order to trigger the pleasurable sensations we derive from savoring it. It is no wonder food is used in some gambling machines such as the famous fruit machine. The King company knows this positive association that help make it relaxing and fun.
Although this game has been known to keep people disturbingly preoccupied because of its engaging qualities, it is completely harmless. You have the complete freedom not to pay anything in the game and to stop playing completely at your own will.
This app has had so many people downloading it and making in app purchases. The company behind this app, King Digital Entertainment, was reported to net 568 million dollars last year alone.
There are several reasons as to why this game is so addictive. The first and most important reason is that it is so easy to win in the initial stages. This leads to a sense of satisfaction in the brain from the release of dopa-mine. This is an agent that leads to addiction and it cements our actions such that we repeat them over and over from the pleasure we derive from them. As the game progresses, it gets harder, this makes the reward from winning of these games more by making the dopa-mine releases more intermittent within the human system.
Despite what many may think, including the claims of the app developers, this game relies entirely on luck depending on the randomness of the given candy colors rather than individual swiping skills. This implies that the reward schedules become unpredictable. As a result, we lose more than we win. This ends up enticing people to play more rather than discouraging them as opposed to having people win easily. This is an effective mental strategy used in gambling slot machines.
Another reason why this game is so addictive is that it puts a limit to the amount of time we can play it. After 5 losses, it puts you on a time out and you cannot play it until a couple of hours or so. This leaves hungry for more and by the time you are let back into candy land, the pleasure from the mental rewards are multiplied. This is also how King makes its money off the app, by giving you an opportunity to buy back into the action with a few bucks for a few lives.
This deprivation strategy is called the hedonistic adaptation. In a research done at Harvard University, two groups of people were used to test this theory. One group was asked to abstain from chocolate for a week while the other group was given unlimited amount for the same week. When both groups were given chocolate the next week, the group that was deprived chocolate expressed the most pleasure and satisfaction in consuming the treat.
The final reason as to why the game is so addictive is that it uses candy. Food is often used to in gambling games in order to trigger the pleasurable sensations we derive from savoring it. It is no wonder food is used in some gambling machines such as the famous fruit machine. The King company knows this positive association that help make it relaxing and fun.
Although this game has been known to keep people disturbingly preoccupied because of its engaging qualities, it is completely harmless. You have the complete freedom not to pay anything in the game and to stop playing completely at your own will.
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