Parents' Guide to Sugar Blast

This candy clearing game has above-average graphics and a steady -- yet not too fast -- pace, which may satisfy your puzzle playing sweet tooth. Sugar Blast is essentially ad-free, and players don't need to deal with any time limits. The only restriction is the number of moves you're given in each round, but in many of the early levels, you're given more than enough to clear whatever items you need to. Players can use coins they've earned to buy additional moves if they run out -- you can only do that a couple of times before you'll have to buy additional coins. But you can also repeat the round at no cost, so you don't really need to spend any money to play the game.

Older gamers may feel the initial levels are too easy: It seems like it'd be hard to not reach the goals you're given in at least the first 15 rounds. But things get more challenging in later levels, when players need to get the candies to fall to the bottom of the screen by, for example, breaking through a level of caramels, or gamers are forced to adjust their strategy as a rotating line continually causes the candies to shift. At times, it seems like using Chocos and Cross Chocos are the only way to win, and they can be a bit hard to plan around because it's unclear exactly how many items they'll remove. That's a fairly minor issue, though, because overall, Sugar Blast provides a fun, progressively more challenging playing experience, without significant pressure to buy anything or sit through lengthy ads -- which, compared to many other apps on the market, is indeed a treat.