You start with 5 lives in Candy Crush Saga. Each life lets you attempt a level, and failing a level normally costs one life. When the meter is empty, you must wait for lives to regenerate or use another available option to continue playing.
The life system is part of Candy Crush Saga’s free-to-play design. The game was released by King in 2012 and uses lives to limit repeated attempts while allowing players to return later. This is separate from moves: moves are the actions available inside a level, while lives govern how often you can retry after failure.
A common mix-up is confusing Candy Crush Saga with related games such as Candy Crush Jelly Saga or Candy Crush Soda Saga. Those titles use similar life mechanics, but they are separate games. Another misconception is that completing a level consumes a life; normally, lives are lost when an attempt fails, not simply because a level was played successfully.