Why is Candy Crush so addictive?

Why is Candy Crush so addictive?

I was talking to a fellow addict the other day and she said she'd read an article about this topic that said it was the fact that they only let you play five games at a time (unless you want to purchase more) which ensures that you never o.d. or feel you're sick of the game. You're always a bit hungry for more, in other words. This fits in well with the way I perceive it: I can always justify "just a few minutes" of game play (like every time I walk into the room with my computer). So far I have resisted putting the game on my iPhone (which gives you another track of five games at a time).

I'm sure there is a garishly decorated room somewhere at Candy Crush Central in which people with psychology degrees figure stuff like this out while sucking on peppermints. Here's a few more things I suspect they discuss:

The alternation between relatively easy and fiendishly hard games: I have gotten stuck once or twice in every "land" for weeks or even a month on a level I just couldn't figure out, and ended up waiting for a lucky break. I know there's a site for "cheats" but so far I've managed to resist going there. Damn you, semantics. After "solving" or lucking out, the next game is inevitably beaten in one or two tries, and the first thing that comes to mind is --" boy, I've gotten much smarter" even though I recognize that the level is just plain easier. That little pat on the back is addictive.

The illusion of progress: It's just a game, but in this game of life there is little enough evidence of progress, especially as we get on in years and the bigger numbers attached to birthdays no longer signal more privileges and possibilities, but rather the opposite. The knowledge that there are hundreds of levels ahead, just waiting for me to experience them, beat them, and that new candies and new sorts of explosions are coming-- that knowledge is addicting.

The pseudo-connection with friends: I used to feel superior to game addicts. Now I'm in the club. When I feel guilty about my addiction I can contemplate the list of friends who went there ahead of me. They're good people, so I must be too. I can "help" them get to the next level, and compete with them over high scores. They give me new lives! Every time I see that one of them has reached a new land, I feel a little kick of happiness. Many of them are people I haven't seen in years, yet the mutual obsession forges a sense of closeness that is "Sweet!" Still, when someone who doesn't play asks me if they should try it, I recommend "NO way!" This combination of sin and virtue is highly addictive!

I've tried to quit. When I'm on vacation I barely give it a thought. I realize that every minute I spend crushing candy is part of my life I'll never get back. I have a list of things to do that would greatly benefit from the application of those missing minutes. I try to be conscious of the choices I make in spending my retirement, and to enjoy the independence attained at such cost during Greg's illness. I am aware my feeling for this game is not true love -- it's just a crush!