Getting Started

To play, you need to start a new game. You can do that here.

Candy Box begins with an incredibly simple proposition: collect candy. Start up the game, then leave it running for fifteen or twenty minutes. When you first start out you'll only be able to Eat or Drop candy...

... though after collecting a few hundred candies, you'll unlock several new options. Notably, you'll attract the attention of a lollipop merchant at 60 candies, who will sell you a lollipop FOR 60 candies. Hm. At 150 candies he'll tantalize you with a different treat: a Wooden Sword. Ooo! Buy that and your actual mission in Candy Box will begin.

Quests

After buying the Wooden Sword, you'll unlock the Candy Box, Inventory, and Quest tabs at the top of the screen.
  • Candy Box is your standard screen.
  • Inventory displays what you have equipped. (Wooden Sword.) You can also use this screen to access a few side areas that you'll unlock when you progress…
  •  … on quests. Via, duh, the Quest tab. You can also use this section to see your disposable inventory stocks, of which you should currently have none.
No time like the present to get started on quests.

Peaceful Forest

Your first stop is in a lovely grove full of trees. What do you do to said trees? You hack the crap out of them. Each quest takes place on a (usually) flat plain, and your character will rush from the left to the right, killing anything in its path. All you need to do is make sure he doesn't die by supplying him with Health Potions, which you can buy from the merchant. You don't have to worry about that here, though, as trees don't fight back.

Completing Peaceful Forest will unlock the next area, Mount Goblin. You'll also find a key which unlocks the Lollipop Farm, and, if you luck out, you'll find a chest full of candies. Score.

Lollipops

Yes, these delectable treats serve a purpose, and it's wise to begin harvesting them in vast quantities early. Purchase a lollipop from the merchant and plant it at the newly-unlocked Lollipop Farm, available via the Candy Box. Once planted, the Lollipop will sprout new lollipops… albeit at an abysmally slow rate.

Buy and plant more lollipops, though, and you can increase this speed, up to a maximum of 100 lollipops per second (and this rate, too, can be improved). Lollipops are extremely handy throughout the game, and you should focus your early candy purchases on buying more and more lollipops from the merchant. Eventually you'll be making lollipops so quickly that you can plant without purchase and get up to the maximum in a matter of minutes. This should require an investment of roughly 17,000 lollipops.

Mount Goblin

RIGHT. Enough about sweet treats. On to the next area. Mount Goblin will be a bit tricky at first, because it's covered in enemies that will actually fight back. Watch and wait as your valiant warrior plows through the baddies to get to the other side. Administer Health Potions as necessary.

Note that your candy rewards are only won if you successfully complete the level; if you are defeated or otherwise flee, you won't get squat. You'll also be restricted from immediately embarking on your next quest based on a timer - the more damage you took, the longer it takes before you can fight again.

Having trouble? Here are some tips:
  • Eating candy will increase your character's health. Gobble it down by the thousands.
  • You can improve your sword at the merchant by giving him candy. More on that in a moment.
  • Scrolls, though expensive at this point, can be useful in a pinch. An Earthquake scroll or two will make this level a lot easier.
  • If you don't think you can win, consider using an Escape Potion. You'll zip out of the level and forego the timer to try again.
Successfully completing Mount Goblin will net you up to two Maps, both of which you need. You can also find a Pair of Boots which increase your walking speed. Be prepared to play this level through a few times to get everything (which isn't a bad idea, since chests will randomly appear here as well). Last, beating Mount Goblin unlocks Underwater Cave as your next quest, though you aren't nearly strong enough to challenge it yet.

Improving Your Sword

As noted above, you can buy progressively more and more powerful swords to wield. Upgrade to the maximum as soon as possible (requiring roughly 4000 candies and 30 lollipops), then have a look at the maps you found earlier via the Inventory screen. They're about to come in handy.

The Swampy Swamp

Visit the Swampy Swamp and you'll be approached by an enormous frog. This riddlemeister is quite friendly, and will give you a variety of items for successfully answering its questions. The answers are, in this order:
  1. Yes
  2. B
  3.  512
  4. Frog
  5. Me
  6. The answer 
Get them all right and you'll receive a heap of candies, chocolate, and five Berserk Potions. The chocolate can be used to further upgrade your sword, while the Berserk Potions speed up combat (and aren't very helpful, since the enemies seem to speed up as well).

The Sorceress' Hut

Remember all those lollipops you've been collecting? This is where they come into play. Throw 10 lollipops in the door and the sorceress herself will pop out. She demands lollipops, more lollipops, and will bestow a slew of boons upon ye in exchange. They include:
  • Candies, more candies! This gift will present you with a bunch of candies. It's quite expensive at 300,000 lollipops apiece, and doesn't provide a great return at first, but the further into the game - and the more times you've purchased this boon - the better the return for your lollipops.
  •  Sword, better sword! This gift improves the power of your sword. You can't use this one until you've enchanted your sword; see below.
  • Candies, faster candies! This gift increases the rate of collection for candies. The more times you collect on it, the faster you collect candies.
Each boon gets progressively more expensive when you make a purchase, so expect to wait a long time for your lollipops to accumulate. (The results are worth the time.)

Underwater Cave

Had enough fun mucking about? Time for another level. Despite how it looks, Underwater Cave is pretty straightforward. Heal as you go along. Most of the enemies are fairly easy to kill with an upgraded sword, the only exception being the Whale at the end. Try to get your health to at least above 200, if not more, before you attack the Whale.

Completing this level will net you several awesome items: 
  • Two maps, which we'll look at momentarily
  • A hat, which enhances the power of your magic (aka your scrolls)
  • A ring, which cuts the time you need to wait between quests in half
Not bad. Also unlocked is the Castle's Entrance quest. Back to it in a bit.

The Forge

Is your sword fully tricked-out? Then it's time to use the Forge. Bring one of three items, along with your upgraded sword, to the Forge. You can then use it to grant the sword with a permanent extra power, depending on the item you used.
  • The Sword of Life. This sword will suck some health out of a defeated enemy. Requires a Health Potion.
  • The Sword of Flames. This sword will do extra flame damage. Requires a Fire Scroll.
  • The Sword of Summoning. This sword will summon monsters to fight for you. Requires an Imp Invocation Scroll.
All have their uses, though the Sword of Flames and its extra damage usually works out to be the best late-game choice. You can't change your sword later, so pick wisely.

The Wishing Well

Toss a candy in the Wishing Well and you'll be granted one of three single-shot gifts:
  • Five times your current candy amount
  • Eight times your current lollipop amount
  • A random assortment of potions and scrolls
The choice is yours. The potions and scrolls sounds like it makes the most sense, but because I'm impatient I usually let my lollipops build up to 300,000 or so, then multiply their number by eight. Presto! You're in the money! Lollipops! Whatever! You don't need to use this gift immediately, so feel free to sit on it for a while.

Castle's Entrance

Now the game's getting tough. Your little guy needs to rush into the castle… only there are baddies constantly coming out of it to stop him. Worse, there's a magic THING floating down from above that will teleport him back to the beginning of the level if it reaches him. Buff up your sword, get some Healing Potions, and use Earthquake or Fire Scrolls to lower the health of the incoming enemies. This will allow your character to remain ahead of the teleporting ball thing and successfully enter the castle.

There's a chance you'll find Plate Armour on this level. Play it until you get the Armour - it will greatly reduce the damage you take from enemy hits. Later battles are suicidal without the Plate Armour.

Castle's Stairs

Up we go! This simple pits your guy against a Necromancer at the top of the stairs. It's pretty easy… that is, until the Ghosts come out. Ghosts die quickly, but they suck your health up like nobody's business. Summon an Imp to walk in front of you when the Ghosts appear and it will absorb the damage without disappearing. Then trash the Necromancer when you reach the top. If you don't have an Imp Invocation Scroll handy, it's not thaaaaat difficult to simply heal as you go along.

Completing this area will net you two items: the Candies Converter and the Cauldron. The former allows you to transform candies into lollipops, which can be handy if you're trying to save up for sorceress upgrades. The latter allows you to brew potions, and is essential for beating the game. We'll look at it next, before proceeding to the Castle's Keep.

The Cauldron

After acquiring this item, a new tab opens up on the top of the screen. Using the Cauldron, you can brew up an assortment of crazy items which will aid you in your quest. Brewing them can be tricky, however, so here are some more specific instructions on how to get the job done each time. As the book notes, multiply the number of candies or lollipops mentioned in the book to get more potions.
  • Minor Health Potion. Drop 100 candies in the Cauldron and mix for roughly 15 seconds.
  • Major Health Potion. Drop 100 lollipops into the Cauldron and begin to mix. Immediately drop 100 candies into the cauldron. Wait for 20 seconds, stop mixing, and remove.
  • Invulnerability Potion. Drop 2,000 candies into the Cauldron and begin to mix. After 60 seconds of mixing your arms will hurt. Stop mixing and remove.
  • Turtle Potion. Drop 10,000 lollipops into the Cauldron and begin to boil. Wait for the message to actually say 'BOILING'. Stop the Cauldron, begin to mix instead, and put 10,000 more lollipops in. Mix for about five seconds, stop, and boil again. Remove once it's boiled.
  • Cloning Potion. Boil the Cauldron until the water is burnt. Dump in at least 1,500 candies, stop boiling, and remove.
  • G.M.O.O.H. Potion. Add 10,000 candies (never change this number) and a minimum of 500 lollipops to the Cauldron. Mix for five seconds, stop, and remove.
  • Superman Potion. Add 180 candies to the Cauldron. Mix for a few seconds, stop, and remove.
  • Seed. Heat the Cauldron to boiling. Toss 650 candies into the water. Stop boiling and remove.
  • Jelly. Add 600 candies to the Cauldron, then boil the water. Stop boiling and add 6,000 lollipops. Mix for five seconds. Stop, add 600 more candies, and boil again. Remove once you've reached boiling point a second time.
The primary thing to mind here is your multiplication. If you don't multiply the original amount properly, you'll mess up your potion and lose the ingredients.

Sound good? Great. Time to brew up the following: a bunch of Major Health Potions, at least five Seeds, and at least five Invulnerability Potions. You'll also want a bunch of Teleportation Scrolls from the merchant. You'll need them all for the next level in line… though if you're lacking in candies, there's an easy way to get more besides waiting.

Cow Level

Note the description of the G.M.O.O.H. Potion. It basically says that you'll be teleported… elsewhere. This 'elsewhere' may include dangerous places. If you want to make a lot of candy, you need to FIND a dangerous place.

Enter any of the levels, like Peaceful Forest, and use a G.M.O.O.H. Potion. You'll be teleported to one of four areas:
  • The Peaceful Forest
  • The desert
  •  The sea
  • The Cow Level 
The first three are of little consequence, so keep using potions until you reach the Cow Level. This area is filled with easy-to-kill cows (and one bovine royal which still isn't very tough) that will gift you with several thousand candies. Even better, the Cow King will drop a Horn of Plenty that multiplies your lollipop production by three times. Score! Use this level multiple times to squirrel away all the candy you need to make the potions listed above.

Castle's Keep

This is the big one. The Keep consists of several long rooms, typically filled with enemies, that you must defeat. The rooms are randomized each time you enter, so there's no way to know exactly what you'll face as you make your way to the end of the Keep. Expect the following:
  • Rooms full of stationary or walking enemies - proceed as normal
  • A room with walls - inside the wall is an enemy that carries an Amulet; the Amulet will multiply your candy production by three (and is a must-get on return trips)
  • A room full of unicorns - one of these unicorns may drop a Magical Horn which, when equipped, will constantly rejuvenate your health when you're not under attack (another absolute must-get)
  • A room with a fake door
  • A room full of Ghosts which will leech your health but not kill
  • A room full of Fireballs that will decimate you if you're not properly prepared with a Health Potion
After bypassing several of these rooms, you'll reach a treasure room that's full of chests. It will bump up your candy count considerably…

… and also serve as a warning sign of the DRAGON in the next room. Eep! The Dragon is more powerful than anything you've faced before, and with 1,000 health it can easily outlast you. How do you kill it?

The process is fairly simple. Start by letting your guy walk up to the Dragon. Just before he reaches it, use an Invulnerability Potion. He'll get in a fair number of whacks before it runs out. Once it does, use a Teleportation Scroll to zip back to the beginning of the room. Invulnerability Potions take a while to digest, so while you wait for the opportunity to open up, throw down a Seed. The resulting tree will stop your warrior from rushing up to the Dragon while he's still vulnerable. Your potion cooldown will wear off in the meantime; once it does, use another Invulnerability Potion when you reach the Dragon again. Repeat the process until it goes down.
Hell

How aptly named! Your little guy has been tossed down into a battle with the Devil himself. This level is quite bizarre, as you have vertical control of your character as you rush towards the Devil at the far end of the level. Keep one hand on the mouse, ready to click on healing or invulnerability, while the other steers.

Your objective here is to break through the barriers protecting the Devil. Getting that far will require bypassing three waves of enemies.
  • The first, most difficult wave consists of Demons. Steer through them as best you can, healing all the way, until you hit the wall at the far end. Chew away at it for a bit and your character will slip through and, eventually, get teleported back to the starting point. Aim for the top or bottom rows when attacking the barrier.
  • The second wave is all Ghosts. If you can, deploy an Imp to absorb their attacks. You'll get to the barrier without a scratch. Slip through the hole you made before and take out the second barrier. Teleport!
  • The third wave is more Ghosts, but if you take too long they'll turn into a mass exodus of Fireballs. Not good. Slip past them, aiming for the Devil, and activate an Invulnerability Potion once you hit the demon prince. You should be amply capable of bringing down his meagre amount of HP before the potion runs out. 
Huzzah! No major prize, but you get to move on to the next challenge…

Yourself

Huh. This is… different. You're fighting yourself! There's only one way to win this fight, and that's to purchase a newly-unlocked boon from the sorceress. Do so at the steep price of one million lollipops and you'll win the battle no matter what. (In short, don't waste any potions or scrolls.)

Chuck Norris

Nooooooo! It can't be! Chuck Norris faces you in single combat, and you're expect to bring the big man down. A crazy notion - but it can be done. Use the exact same strategy as you used on the Dragon (invulnerable, teleport, Seed, repeat) to eventually bring him down. Chuck Norris hits a LOT harder than the Dragon, so don't tempt fate by hoping your health will hold out after invulnerability ends. It probably won't.

Developper's Garden

Getting… stranger… the Garden is harsh, as a line of Garden Gnomes with powerful guns will immediately wipe out most of your health. Get in close combat with one and you'll immediately lose the rest. Bypass these little guys by immediately using an Earthquake Scroll, then using a Teleportation Scroll to zip to the beginning before your guy can reach the Gnomes. Continue to alternate between the two until the Gnomes are defeated.

Developper's Moat

Despite how it initially looks, you don't have to fly across the Moat - you need to use the floating platform that will only begin to move when you step on it. As soon as you step on the edge of the Moat, use a Turtle Potion to slow down your character. He will keep pace with the platform and change back to a human once you hit the other side.

Developper's Computer

This is it. End of the line. The road comes to a close. You're in the Computer of the guy who crafted this diabolical game. Time to bring him down and end the madness.

The Developper's Computer's map is a jumble of absolute nonsense, and there's no point watching it. Keep your eyes on the numbers. As your character makes his way through the Computer, he'll run afoul of a number of 'bugs' that consist of enemies you've fought previously. You might fight trees; you might fight Chuck Norris. It's completely random, and the only concrete way to tell what you're fighting (other than the weapon displayed under the bug's name) is how quickly your HP is going down.

After a random number of battles (usually six or seven), you'll come across the Developper himself. This fiend has more health than you could ever whittle away, and can kill your character in an instant. The only way to defeat the Developper is to hit a random key on your keyboard. Hit the right one and he'll instantly be defeated.

Which key, you ask? Who knows! It's randomized each time. GRRR.

Here's a more-or-less surefire strategy for beating the Developper's Garden. Don't expect it to work on the first try - there's a great deal of luck involved.
  • Purchase a number of Escape and Invulnerability Potions.
  • Raise your health to the 900 to 1,000 range. Several runs through the Castle's Keep will do the trick.
  • Begin the level with your cursor hovering over the Invulnerability Potion. Have both hands free and ready to mash.
  • Let the level run. If you're lucky, you'll get into fights with small-fry enemies that won't lower your HP a whole lot. If you keep running into stronger foes, use the Escape Potion to flee the level.
  • As soon as the Developper appears, use an Invulnerability Potion and immediately mash your keyboard. Hit all the keys at once, run along the rows with one finger, whatever your strategy is, try to hit as many of those keys before the potion runs out. If you're lucky, you'll hit the right key and he'll die. If not… well… yeah. Try again! 
The key here is to ABSOLUTELY NOT use any Major Health Potions. You have no idea when the Developper will show up, and when he does you don't want to be cooling down from a potion use. You only get one shot, so don't mess it up!

Beating the Developper completes the game! Huzzah! You can set it down now, and try… something… else… wait, what's that Computer tab…?

Everything Else

The rest of Candy Box consists of a lot of fiddling with bugs. The Computer tab allows you to introduce 'bugs' into the game. You can purchase these bugs with millions upon millions of lollipops... which means that the last section of Candy Box will require a lot of waiting. Some things to speed up the process:
  • Siphon all of your candies into lollipop production. Seriously, this helps a lot.
  • Play Developper's Computer over and over to keep your candy stores high. Eat a single batch of candies from this level and it will be a hell of a lot easier to complete on subsequent attempts.
  • Each time you load your saved game, use the second level bug (10 million lollipops). If you get lucky, your lollipop production will jump.
The effects of the bugs are fun to muck about with, so I won't spoil anything more. One piece of advice, though - don't try the fourth level bugs. They're a biiiiig waste of money. Enjoy!