A Liquorice Swirl.
Liquorice swirl, also known as Liquorice wheels or Licorice swirl, is a common blocker in Candy Crush Saga. It is the second type of blocker involving liquorice. The blocker looks like a swirl of black licorice and a dot of cream in the middle, taking up an entire square. It first appears as the new element in episode 7, Bubblegum Bridge, first appearing in level 81. It is fairly rare in the 100s, but following the introduction of dispensers in episode 16, Crunchy Castle in the 200s, it suddenly becomes much more abundant in the game.
Properties
So...much...liquorice swirl... (Level 196/Dreamworld)
The liquorice swirl is an invasive blocker, meaning no candies can be in the same square as the blocker, much like icing or chocolate. Like most blockers, it can be disposed of through breaking the candy next to it.
The liquorice swirl has several unique properties. It is one of the only blockers that can actually be clicked on and switched with candies. Getting three liquorice swirl blockers in a row does not get rid of it though.
Another strange, and quite possibly one the most annoying properties is that they are resistant to special candies. If a striped candy's effect hits a liquorice swirl blocker, it will get rid of the blocker but won't get rid of any other candies beyond it. This can become a serious problem in later levels involving jelly or ingredients.
Many later levels use this blocker to increase difficulty due to their special candy resistance. Two examples of this are level 210 and level 293.
Trivia
- This is one of the most hated blockers in the game due to their resistance to special candies.
- If you observe closely, you can see a very short electrical charge when the liquorice swirl is destroyed.
- If a jelly fish eats the blocker, it won't break any jelly underneath it, unlike with the icing and other blockers.
- There are two combos they aren't resistant to - the colour bomb and colour bomb mix, and wrapped candy and wrapped candy mix. This will wipe out all liquorice swirls with no problem, or in the case of the latter, only eliminate all liquorice swirls in their blast radius. The color bomb mix is a good strategy for Level 210. (PSA: With the latest release, the double color bomb combo no longer works against licorice.)
- The sound they make when they are destroyed is delayed by about three-quarters of a second.
- They also make a sound that is similar to a destroyed candy bombs and multilayered icing. (mobile platform only)
- In level 216 and beyond, they can come out of dispensers. They can overwhelm the board very fast, and are naturally very hard to clear due to their resistance to special candies.
- The champion title for Salty Canyon is Licorice Astronaut, part of the name for this blocker.