Candy Crush Soda-Just a game?

In case you’re not familiar with it, Candy Crush Soda, is a popular, play by yourself, or against others, tile matching, make-the-pieces-go-away, challenging and addictive, video puzzle game. After playing for a few weeks, I've come to the realization that there is actually great wisdom to be attained from it, if one begins to notice.

You may be chuckling right about now, but hear me out. I do think there are life lessons to be learned or reminded of, and no, I don't think I'm just rationalizing how I spend my time.

This is about just giving your brain a pleasure break; something different from the usual daily tasks. Granted, it is problem solving, but nowhere else in life do I get a quirky little girl cartoon puppet jumping for joy when I complete a project.

At first glance, the game board can look daunting. There is no instruction, just a goal simply put, such as: "Find the bears", or "Eat all the chocolate." Each new level may require a very different strategy from the one before.

So what are these "lessons" that I receive when I lay in bed at night with the Ipad on my belly, hi-fiving the air when I complete another 'level'?
-It's safe to just begin, even if I'm not sure of what to do or how to do it.
-One move at a time will reduce the overwhelm and help me get through it.
-I can meet each new level with curiosity and perseverance.

I find CCS visually stimulating and I often come up with creative ideas while playing. (OK, I may totally forget them by the time the game is over.)

More benefits:
-Playing CCS helps to reduce stress when feeling somewhat beat up.
-There's nothing required of me and nobody's watching anyway.
-I can lift the self-judgement and let myself 'be'.

BTW- For us "immigrants", meaning we weren't born with a mouse  in our hands, learning anything new on an electronic device can feel like a major victory. Tackling  the CCS software is good practice without worrying about causing damage.

And finally, one can link the game to Facebook, and send requests and/or help out to other players. These players, from your "friends" list magically appeared on my screen as little icons in cartoon frames. There's my sister, my niece, and several pals from back in the day, who I otherwise have not connected with in 30 years or so, except maybe to 'like' their cat videos.

I neglected to mention that playing a round or six of CCS can also make me feel like I just had a work out at the gym.....well not really;)