Candy Crush Saga vs Threes!

How do Candy Crush Saga and Threes! compare on difficulty, ad pressure, in-app-purchase pressure and what real reviewers say? A side-by-side look, grounded in App Store data.

	Candy Crush Saga	Threes!
Genre	Puzzle	Puzzle
Price	Free	Paid
Difficulty	hard	medium
Ad intensity	high	none
In-app-purchase pressure	high	none
Typical session	variable	variable
Rating	4.7 / 5	4.0 / 5
Ratings count	4,020,521	2,998
Reviews say	What players like Addictive core match-3 gameplay with escalating difficulty Free to play with offline support Daily rewards and time-limited events for engagement Common complaints Aggressive ad placement and hard-to-close ad windows causing accidental clicks Pay-to-win mechanics with removed ad-based rewards after updates Technical bugs including crashes, freezing, and broken iPad UI	What players like Addictive, easy-to-learn puzzle mechanics Buy-once with no IAP or ads Long-lasting appeal, players return for years Common complaints Recent soundtrack change alienated longtime fans Game crashes after updates, requires reinstall Swipe detection broken, misreads inputs

Candy Crush Saga — Match-3 puzzle game where you blast candies through thousands of levels while navigating aggressive monetization and intrusive ads. (rated hard difficulty, high ad pressure) Threes! — A meditative number-sliding puzzle that rewards strategic thinking with elegant simplicity and hypnotic gameplay. (rated medium difficulty, none ad pressure)

Data: Apple App Store, as of 2026-10-08. Last updated 2026-10-08.