Crush Crush: Idle Progression Guide

A practical guide to Crush Crush, the idle dating sim: how the money, hearts, jobs and stats loop works, how to push each girl from Frenemy to Lover efficiently, how to use Diamonds and Time Blocks wisely, and how monthly events work.

Researched September 2026 — current as of the September 2026 School Spirit event and store sale (September 24–29, 2026). Live games change; check the linked sources if something differs.

Quick Start

1. It's an idle game. Progress continues while you're away; short check-ins beat long sessions.
2. Jobs make money, money buys everything. Unlock and promote jobs as fast as you can early on.
3. Stats (hobbies) gate jobs and dates. Train them to open better jobs and promotions.
4. Hearts are affection. Clicking, dates and gifts give hearts to the current girl and move her up relationship levels.
5. Dates and gifts scale with progress. Buy the best gifts and dates you can afford for the girl you're focused on.
6. Diamonds are the premium currency. Spend them on permanent value, not quick speedups.
7. Time Blocks skip time. Save them for when you have many long timers running.
8. Events run most months. Complete event goals before the deadline to unlock a limited-time girl for your main game.
9. Phone Flings are a separate text-chat side mode with their own girls.

The Core Loop

The early game is simple: work jobs, train stats, earn money, spend on gifts and dates, raise hearts. As you go, jobs and hobbies unlock deeper tiers.

Your First Hour

1. Meet Cassie. She's the first girl, and her achievement ("Tsundere Tamer") is the first Lover goal most players hit. The opening is deliberately a "disastrous intro"; that's normal.
2. Start your first job immediately. Money is the bottleneck for everything else.
3. Train the first hobby that a job promotion asks for.
4. Click for hearts while waiting; early on, manual hearts matter.
5. Buy cheap gifts to push Cassie through the first relationship levels.
6. Go on your first date as soon as one is affordable.
7. Unlock the next girl as the story opens her up, then shift focus.

A Daily Routine That Works

Idle games reward consistency. Three short check-ins a day do more than one long session.

Relationships

Each girl starts as a hostile or awkward acquaintance and progresses through a series of relationship levels, up to Lover. The store page describes the arc as working your way "from Frenemy to Lover".

Tips

• Focus on one girl at a time early on. Spreading hearts thinly slows everything.
• Level requirements often include hearts plus specific stats or items. Check what the next level needs.
• Unlocking the next girl usually happens as you progress with the current one.
• Achievements reward reaching Lover with many of the cast (there are 25 Steam achievements).

Cast (from Steam achievements and the store page)

Early and core cast includes Cassie, Mio, Quill, Elle, Nutaku, Iro, Bonnibel, Ayeka, Fumi, Bearverly, Nina, Alpha, Pamu, Luna, Eva, Karma, Sutra, Dark One, QPernikiss and Peanut. The store page also highlights Nova, Lake and Charlotte, and the game has 70+ unlockable girls including DLC and event girls.

Each girl has a distinct personality; the store page describes, for example, Peanut as a shy, studious college student and Quill as a quirky cat girl.

Jobs and Stats

• Jobs give money over time and gain experience toward promotions. Higher promotions pay more.
• Promotions often require stats; train the right hobby to unlock them.
• Hobbies raise stats over time and cost money.
• "Job-a-holic!" is the achievement for reaching max level in all jobs.

Efficiency tips

• Keep every available job running.
• Prioritize promotions that unlock new jobs.
• Train the stat that blocks your next promotion first.

Dates and Gifts

• Dates give a large boost of hearts. Better date locations cost more but give more.
• Gifts give hearts; more expensive gifts give more.
• Achievements: "Date-able" (100 dates) and "Modest" (10,000 gifts).
• Buy gifts in bulk when money is plentiful.

Diamonds: What to Spend On

Diamonds are the premium currency (sold in Diamond Bundles; the September 2026 sale offered 30% off bundles, and a September 9 promotion gave 25% bonus Diamonds for 24 hours).

Good uses

• Permanent boosts that speed up the whole game.
• Unlocking girls you actually want.
• Event items if you're short of the goal near the deadline.

Poor uses

• Speeding up short timers.
• Buying items you can earn with a little patience.

F2P tip: Crush Crush is very playable without spending. Log in daily, run jobs and hobbies, and let idle time do the work.

Time Blocks

Time Blocks advance progress (the store lists them as a feature). Use them when many long timers (jobs, hobbies, dates) are running, so one Time Block gives the most value.

Events

Crush Crush runs limited-time events most months. Recent official examples:

How events usually work

• Enter through the event portal from the main game.
• Complete the listed Event Goals before the deadline.
• Earn Event Tokens or Tickets; Tickets can be spent at the Ticket Booth for prizes.
• Unlock the event girl for your main game.

Event tips

• Check in several times a day during events.
• Focus on goals with long timers first.
• If you miss an event girl, the September 2026 sale brought back the whole cast of Limited Time Event girls to the store, so returns do happen.

Phone Flings

Phone Flings are a text-message side mode with 30+ girls. You unlock conversations and progress them over time. Occasional sales discount Phone Fling girls (for example August 19–24, 2026).

DLC Girl Bundles

DLC bundles add girls with unique abilities. Official posts mention Catara's Speed Dating ability and Darya's "shower of Diamonds". Check what a bundle's girl actually does before buying; some add gameplay perks beyond the character.

Outfits and Collectibles

• Girls have multiple outfits (including event and bundle outfits such as the School Outfit Bundle).
• The store lists over 500 collectible pinup artworks unlocked by progress, plus over 150,000 words of voiced dialogue.

Steam Achievements Checklist

All 25 achievements are progress-based, so they come naturally with time. The non-girl ones:

The rest are "Reach Lover level with..." achievements for Cassie, Mio, Quill, Elle, Nutaku, Iro, Bonnibel, Fumi, Bearverly, Nina, Alpha, Ayeka, Eva, Pamu, Luna, Karma, Sutra, Dark One, QPernikiss and Peanut.

Achievement tips

• The million-hearts tap achievement is cumulative; it builds up over many sessions.
• $1,000,000 in the bank means holding the money, not earning it in total; pause spending briefly once your jobs pay well enough.
• Maxing all jobs is the long-haul achievement; keep every job promoted as stats allow.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

• Idling with jobs or hobbies stopped.
• Spreading hearts across many girls too early.
• Spending Diamonds on small speedups.
• Ignoring stat requirements for promotions.
• Missing event deadlines.
• Using Time Blocks when few timers are running.

Advanced Tips

• Plan check-ins around your longest timers.
• Batch gifts after big money gains.
• Push jobs before hobbies when money is the bottleneck.
• Use events for extra girls and rewards; they're the main source of variety.
• Watch the news for sales and bonus Diamond windows.

FAQ

Is Crush Crush free? Yes, it's free to play with optional purchases.

How many girls are there? 70+ unlockable girls, plus 30+ Phone Flings.

Can I get event girls later? Sometimes; the September 2026 sale brought back event girls to the store.

Do I need to spend money? No. Spending speeds things up and unlocks extras.

How often are there events? Monthly themed events are listed as a feature, and recent months have had several.

Is it suitable for all ages? No. It's a flirty dating sim with suggestive humor, and the Steam store's mature content notice says it "may contain content not appropriate for all ages" (some nudity or sexual content). Check that notice before playing, and don't play it somewhere that would be a problem.

Sources

• Crush Crush - Steam store
• Crush Crush achievements - Steam
• Official Steam announcements (Sad Panda Studios): "Stock Up" (Sept 24, 2026), "Break Boards, Not Hearts" (Sept 10, 2026), "Gold Stars and Blue Diamonds" (Sept 9, 2026), "Sit, Stay" (Sept 2, 2026), "A Sale's Calling!" (Aug 19, 2026), "Let's Do the Time Warp Again" (Aug 13, 2026)