Issue for August 2026 · Newcastle
Four matching games, read the way a reviewer reads a book
Slowly, all the way through, and with attention to the parts that are usually skipped: how a board is drawn, what a level is really asking, and where the shop opens its door.
- Written by
- Harper King, in Newcastle
- Covering
- Candy, fruit and farm matching puzzles on both stores
- Funded by
- Nobody. One cleaning kit is sold here, privately
The roundup
Four titles, free to download in Australia, each with optional in-app purchases. Ordered from the most decorated board to the plainest.
-
01
Wonka's World of Candy
A licensed board, and the licence is doing real work rather than sitting on the loading screen: the confectionery theme gives every piece a distinct silhouette, and the rooms you unlock give a reason to keep going beyond the level number. The puzzle underneath is a competent swap-and-clear.
The most visually elaborate game in this roundup, and the one that most rewards a large screen.
-
02
Crafty Candy
A hand-drawn look that stands well apart from the pastel gradients its neighbours favour, wrapped around a puzzle with a light adventure structure. Stages are moderate in length and the difficulty rises evenly rather than in the sudden step this genre often uses.
Of the four, this is the one that feels most like it was made by people who wanted to make this particular game.
-
03
Farm Heroes Saga
The odd one out, and deliberately included for that reason. Instead of clearing a board you are collecting a quota of crops, which turns every level into an arithmetic problem laid over a grid. The largest available match is frequently the wrong move, and learning to pass it up is the whole skill.
Rated 12+ on the Australian App Store, unlike the other three here.
-
04
Fruits Master
The plainest board of the four and the quickest to open. Fruit pieces, a goal strip, a move counter, nothing else. Its virtue is that a stage is over before a train reaches the next station, and its limitation is that it has shown you everything it has within the first hour.
Recommended precisely to the reader who found the other three too busy.
Terms, taxes and fees are shown at the next step on the store page.
How these were read
Installed fresh from the Australian store listings onto an ordinary phone and played in short sittings over a fortnight each. No purchases were made, no promotional accounts were used, and no publisher was approached before or after publication.
What this journal will not print
Scores out of ten, download counts, revenue estimates, or any number that cannot be checked on the day it is written. Store facts carry the date they were verified, because prices and ratings change without notice.
The register
Australian store listings, checked August 2026. Every title below is free to download and carries optional in-app purchases.
- Wonka's World of Candy Free · 4+
- Clearing board under a licence that earns its keep: the confectionery gives every piece a silhouette, and the rooms give a reason to continue past the level number.
- Crafty Candy Free · 4+
- Hand-drawn where the genre is airbrushed, with a difficulty line that rises evenly instead of in the usual sudden step.
- Farm Heroes Saga Free · 12+
- The outlier, and the reason the roundup is worth reading: a quota to collect rather than a board to clear, which makes greed a mistake.
- Fruits Master Free · 4+
- Plainest of the four. A goal strip, a move counter, fruit. Shows you everything it has inside an hour and is recommended on exactly that basis.
What a licence changes in a puzzle · Collect-the-crop boards as a subgenre · What is actually in a screen cleaning spray
Questions from readers
Why is there no score?
Because a number would hide the only useful thing this journal can tell you, which is what each game is like and who it suits. The roundup says that in words instead.
Is anything here sponsored?
No. No publisher has paid for coverage and no link carries an affiliate parameter. The cleaning kit is the only commercial item.
Why include a farm game among candy puzzles?
Because it uses a different level goal, and setting it beside three clearing games shows how much the goal matters compared with the theme.
Do the games work on older phones?
Yes, generally. Animation quality degrades before playability does.
Is the cleaning kit safe for a phone screen?
It is an alcohol-free solution intended for coated glass. The article on screen sprays explains what that means and what to avoid.
Posted from Newcastle
Screen cleaning kit — 100 ml spray and cloth
from $13.90 AUD
A 100 ml pump bottle of alcohol-free cleaning solution with a 20 × 20 cm microfibre cloth. Made for coated phone and tablet glass, where window cleaner and neat alcohol strip the fingerprint-resistant layer that keeps a screen readable.
- Contents
- 100 ml pump spray, one 20 × 20 cm microfibre cloth
- Solution
- Alcohol-free and ammonia-free, suitable for coated glass and camera lenses
- Not for
- Matte laptop screens and e-ink displays; check the manufacturer's advice first
- Dispatch
- Posted from Newcastle within three business days of payment
Sold privately by Harper King, not through a shop. There is no checkout on this site — the form starts an email exchange with the total, postage and payment details.
Editorial contact
- Published by
- Harper King, private individual
- Address
- 15 Newcastle Street, Newcastle NSW 2300, Australia