Pepper Panic Saga is the latest in the long line of "Saga" games from developer King. Pepper Panic's Match-3 mechanic is much like that of it's predecessor Candy Crush Saga, but there are some key nuances. If you love Candy Crush, but you're a little tired of it (or you just want something to do while you wait for more lives) Pepper Panic is just the thing. In this guide will run through the basics of gameplay, with a few Pepper Panic Saga tips and tricks for beginners.
Pepper Concentration
The first thing you need to understand about Pepper Panic Saga is that it isn't just a Candy Crush clone. The matching mechanic is different in several subtle ways. First off, your goal isn't really to destroy peppers, it is to concentrate them. Each time you form a match, all of the peppers in the match are sucked into a single pepper that is more concentrated, or spicy. As you continue to match the same pepper, it will become increasingly concentrated until it catches on fire and explodes.
Pro Tip You can tell how concentrated a pepper is by the number of dots on it. The dots count up to five, and then the pepper catches on fire. Flaming peppers will explode on the next match. They are also useful for creating the combos which lead to a Pepper Panic.
Special Matches
Like it's predecessor Candy Crush, Pepper Panic has an afinity for special matches. In stark contrast though, there are no "Special Peppers". Using the same kind of matches to create Special Candies in Candy Crush, you'll get special effects - but they take place instantly.
Four of a kind
The Four-of-a-kind Special Match creates a burst of flame that shoot out from both ends of match. This can be counter intuitive for Candy Crush veterans since it is essentially opposite the way Striped Candies work. The flame will damage obstacles, and also has the interesting effect of destroying level 1 peppers, while concentrating higher level ones.
Warning One of the first Pepper Panic Saga tips we learned was to be careful when using the Four-of-a-kind Special Match, as it can easily scramble other matches you had lined up. It is also best to use when you have higher level peppers lined up, since the level 1 peppers are destroyed and get no benefit from the flame.
L and T Shapes
L and T shape Special Matches work a lot like Four-of-a-kind, except that they always concentrate the peppers in the path of their flame, regardless of level. This makes them a lot more powerful, and typically the better choice, unless you are worried about the direction of the flame generated. As with Four-of-a-kind, the flame shoots off the ends of the completed match.
Pro Tip Another one of the subtle Pepper Panic Saga tips we noticed was that the "T" shape has no advantage over the "L" shape in terms of fire jets. Sometimes you have the choice of one or the other - choose the shape that will shoot the jets in the best columns and rows for your board.
Five of a kind
Five-of-a-kind works a lot like an Exploding Pepper. It will increase the concentration of all peppers of its color by one level. This is hardly as exciting as the Candy Crush Color Bomb, but it can turn out to be very important when forming Pepper Panics.