Candies is an ASCII browser game about questing and candy

Fancy a browser game that lets you accumulate candy for nix, build lollipop farms, taunt ASCII merchants and embark on quests in peaceful forests? That actually sounds perfect , doesn't it. Well that's what Candies let's you do. Your currency is candy, and your means of acquiring it is by doing nothing. Eventually, you'll be allowed to throw the candy onto the ground in lots of ten, which will prompt a friendly candy merchant to appear, promising lollipops in exchange for portions of that auto-generating candy lucre.

This could go on forever, and why not? Accumulating virtual ASCII candy isn't exactly unpleasant! But things take a turn when the merchant starts offering you brutal weaponry in exchange for your candy, and a darkness descends: soon you'll be brutalising unspecified enemies / trees in "peaceful forests", an activity that leads to other happenings. Soon you'll be able to grow your own lollipops thanks to your quest triumphs.

Why and what for? I don't know. I currently have over 600 candies, one lollipop, a copper sword and a lollipop farm. Sometimes I click on the merchant again to see if it'll coax him into selling me new varieties of weaponry, but no dice. Sometimes I click on him because he looks annoying. Candy Box is the very epitome of pointless busywork in games: it's Cow Clicker as RPG. But I just can't stop.

Play Candy Box here. Thanks to every single person on Twitter for pointing it out.

Shaun Prescott
Australian Editor

Shaun Prescott is the Australian editor of PC Gamer. With over ten years experience covering the games industry, his work has appeared on GamesRadar+, TechRadar, The Guardian, PLAY Magazine, the Sydney Morning Herald, and more. Specific interests include indie games, obscure Metroidvanias, speedrunning, experimental games and FPSs. He thinks Lulu by Metallica and Lou Reed is an all-time classic that will receive its due critical reappraisal one day.

Latest in Gaming Industry
Gabe Newell in a Valve promotional video, on a yacht.
Gabe Newell had his eyes on a social network in the '90s that 'was not in a games context at all'—meaning Valve-owned social media could've been a very real thing
Shadow of Mordor's beloved nemesis system exists because the publisher threw a tantrum about second-hand sales
MOUNTAIN VIEW, CALIFORNIA - AUGUST 22: A view of Google Headquarters in Mountain View, California, United States on August 22, 2024.
'Google must divest the Chrome browser:' DOJ renews call for Google to sell Chrome, and Android could be next
Baldur's Gate 3 Karlach concept art
'The dream of the tech industry is to sell off your company at an overinflated price and retire,' says actor behind Baldur's Gate 3's Karlach, 'And I feel that's being done with game studios right now'
Gabe Newell
Gabe Newell is hooked on Stalker 2 and once he's got the fourth ending (!) will 'figure out what I'm going to play next'
Valve logo with a man with a steam valve for an eye.
Valve's DRM was inspired by an exec's nephew, who 'used a $500 check I'd sent him for school expenses and bought himself a CD-ROM replicator… he sent me a lovely thank you note'
Latest in News
Decorations in TCG Card Shop Simulator
TCG Card Shop Simulator finally adds the ability to decorate our stores, and suddenly all my profits are being spent on adorable Pigni posters
A promotional image for the Compal Adapt X modular laptop, as presented by the iF Design Foundation
If you've ever wanted to upgrade a laptop with 'modular AI units' then Compal might just have the very thing you're looking for
Gabe Newell in a Valve promotional video, on a yacht.
Gabe Newell had his eyes on a social network in the '90s that 'was not in a games context at all'—meaning Valve-owned social media could've been a very real thing
Dune Awakening
Dune: Awakening system requirements are here, complete with Razer Sensa HD haptic support to 'feel the rumble of your ornithopter's seat'
An image of a MSI power supply unit against a circular gradient blue background
MSI has gone so heavy with 12V-2x6 power sockets in its latest high-end PSUs that many AMD and Intel graphics cards have no way of being powered
A dried ghast, a ghastling, and a friendly ghast all smiling
The latest Minecraft Live uncovered the tragic truth of the Nether's most bothersome mob, which has unlocked new levels of guilt