Candy Bash II trophy - EXPLAINED
This one is very cool in a number of ways. The trophy is randomly carried by the cat who swings by on a rope once or twice per level. You must hit the cat with a bean and catch the trophy (like any of the other powerups) to win it. It's extremely exciting - my heart pounds every time.
BUT, the trophy is NOT normally winnable!! When the game starts, it is
blocked. In order to enable the random chance, you MUST complete at least one 4-of-a-kind combo (catch four of the same candy in a row). When you complete one such combo, the trophy is
possible. The next time the cat appears, there is a random chance that he will be carrying the trophy. But (and this is important) even if the the cat is NOT carrying it, the trophy limitation is reset, so you have to collect another four-of-a-kind before he comes again in order to enable another trophy chance. Your odds do improve slightly at higher levels (from 1 in 100 at level 1, to 2 in 100 at level 8, to 3 in 100 at level 16), but this hardly matters because the combos are harder to complete. Any drop in chances defeats the improvement in odds. I have caught a trophy on the very first cat of the game, and I have played the game as high as level 15 and not seen one. The candy you choose for the combo is irrelevant.
Other combos, or more combos, misses, catches, etc., have no impact on your trophy chances, but will affect your score.
Note that unlike other random games, the step required to enable the trophy has a COST to you! You usually have to intentionally miss candy to create the necessary 4-of-a-kind combo (you still have to shoot everything, but only catch what you need), which will hurt your score compared to just catching everything. However, since only one such combo releases the trophy block, you can go back to catching everything after each one. Told you it was cool!
If you do catch the trophy, you cannot win another in the same game. Based on this discovery, there's a simple playing strategy to maximize your chances in
Playing the Odds with Gato Loco.