Candy Land is a simple racing board game. The game requires no reading and
minimal counting skills, making it suitable for young children.
Due to the design of the game, there is no strategy involved—players are never
required to make choices, just follow directions. The winner is predetermined
by the shuffle of the cards. Gameplay
The race is woven around a storyline about finding King Kandy, the lost king
of Candy Land. The board consists of a winding, linear track made of 134
spaces, most red, green, blue, yellow, orange or purple. The remaining pink
spaces are named locations such as Candy Cane Forest and Gum Drop Mountain, or
characters such as Queen Frostine and Gramma Nutt.
Players take turns removing the top card from a stack, most of which show one of
six colors, and then moving their marker ahead to the next space of that color.
Some cards have two marks of a color, in which case the player moves the marker
ahead to the second-next space of that color. The deck has one card for each
named location, and drawing such a card moves a player directly to that board
location. This move can be either forward or backward in the classic game;
backward moves can be ignored for younger players in the 2004 version of
the game. Before the 2006 version, there were
three colored spaces marked with a dot. Two of these spaces were designated as
"cherry pitfalls" and the other was situated in Molasses Swamp. A player who
lands on such a space is stuck until a card is drawn of the same color as the
square. In the 2006 version, dot spaces were replaced with licorice spaces that
prompt the player landing on it to simply lose the next turn.
The game is won by landing on or passing the final square and thus reaching the
goal of the Candy Castle; the official rules specify that any card that would
cause the player to advance past the last square wins the game, but many play
so that one must land exactly on the last square to win. The 2004 version
changed the last space from a violet square to a rainbow space, meaning it
applies to any color drawn by a player, thus resolving any dispute about exactly
who wins the game. As of 2013, Candy Land is being sold by
Hasbro with a spinner instead of cards. The spinner includes all outcomes that
were previously on the cards. History
The game was designed in 1949 by Eleanor Abbott, while she was recovering from
polio in San Diego, California. The game was bought by Milton Bradley Company and
first published in 1949. Hasbro produces several versions of the game and treats
it as a brand. For example, they market Candy Land puzzles, a travel version, a
personal computer game, and a handheld electronic version.
Candy Land was involved in one of the first disputes over internet domain
names. An adult web content provider registered candyland.com, and Hasbro
objected. Hasbro obtained an injunction against the use, and eventually gained
ownership of the site. Reception
A December 2005 article in Forbes magazine analyzed the most popular
American toys by decade, with help from the Toy Industry Association. Candy Land
led the list for the 1940–1949 decade. In 2005, the game was inducted into the
National Toy Hall of Fame at The Strong in Rochester, New York.
= Versions = At least four versions of the Candy Land
board game were made. The first dates from 1949. This version, and other early
versions, had only locations and no characters. A board copyrighted in 1962
shows a track layout different from the more recent versions. One further
revision was made before characters were introduced. The next version of the
game, from the 1980s and 1990s, introduced the characters such as Mr.
Mint and Gramma Nutt, has the modern track layout, and ends with a purple
square. Some of the characters and place names
were changed in 2002. Queen Frostine became "Princess" Frostine, the classic
Molasses Swamp was changed to Chocolate Swamp, Princess Lolly was changed to
Lolly, and the character Plumpy was removed entirely.
A VCR board game version of the game was made in 1986. Hasbro released an
electronic version of the game for Windows in 1998. An animated 2005
feature, Candy Land: The Great Lollipop Adventure, was produced and later
spawned a DVD game version of Candy Land.
The "Give Kids the World: Village edition" of Candy Land was produced by
Hasbro especially for the Give Kids The World Village, a non-profit resort in
Kissimmee, Florida for children with life-threatening illnesses and their
families. In this version, traditional Candy Land characters and locations were
replaced with the venues and characters of the Village, such as Mayor Clayton
and Ms. Merry. There are licensed versions of Candy
Land with characters such as Winnie the Pooh, Dora the Explorer and SpongeBob.
Characters Characters depend on the version of the
game. The Kids – In the classic version, they
are two blonde twins. In 2002, there are four kids of varying races.
Mr. Mint – He lives in the Candycane Forest, and is a candy cane
"woodcutter". He was removed from World of Sweets and then brought back for the
2013 version as an ice skater instead of a woodcutter.
Duke of Swirl – Mr. Mint's replacement in the 2010 edition.
Gramma Nutt – Gramma Nutt lives in a peanut brittle house on the corner of
Candyland. King Kandy – the king of Candyland. He
lives in a castle made of sweets. Jolly – He was removed in the 2010
version and then after widespread outcry and demand was brought back for the 2013
edition. Plumpy – A fuzzy green monster under the
gingerbread plum tree. He was removed in the 2002 version and replaced by Mama
Ginger Tree Mamma Ginger Tree – Makes the best
gingersnaps in all of Candyland. She was removed from the game.
Cupcake Commons – Mamma Ginger Tree's replacement in the 2010 version.
Princess Lolly – She was renamed 'Lolly' after 2002 edition and later renamed
Princess Lolly in 2010 edition. Queen Frostine – She was renamed
'Princess Frostine' after 2002 edition. Lord Licorice – He is the villain of
Candyland. Gloppy – Friendly monster made of
chocolate Locations
Candy Castle – The location the players are attempting to reach.
Gingerbread Plum Trees – Where Plumpy sits eating plums from his gingerbread
trees. Gumdrop Mountains – Offers a "gumdrop
path", or a shortcut. Licorice Castle – A black and red
licorice castle with licorice bats. Lollipop Woods – A forest of rainbow
lollipops, which resemble trees. Molasses Swamp – A swamp of molasses
with brown popsicle plants. Peanut Brittle House – A cottage made of
peanut brittle with peanut plants growing outside.
Peppermint Forest – A snowy thicket of peppermint candy canes.
Ice Cream Sea – A bubbly ice cream sea where Queen Frostine resides.
Legacy = As motif =
The Candy section of Toys "R" Us in New York City's Times Square maintained a
Candy Land theme until losing their license for the characters in 2006. The
theme included a colored pathway that mimicked the board for the game, several
Candy Land characters, and candy-themed shelving and ceiling decorations.
Some people believe that Candy Land inspired Dylan Lauren to create the
Dylan's Candy Bar store, also located in New York City, but it was in fact the
popular movie Willy Wonka & The Chocolate Factory that inspired her to
start a candy store, although characters from the Candy Land game can be seen all
around the store. At the Downtown Disney Marketplace in
Florida, there is a reference to the rules of Candy Land on the ceiling of
The Toy Store. The rules have been altered slightly with some humor and
sarcasm added such as rule #6 which says "Play as above until someone reaches the
multi-colored space near the castle or someone 'loses their cool' and overturns
the gameboard." Music video for Katy Perry's song
California Gurls features a world of candy-themed board game named
Candyfornia heavily influenced by Candy Land.
= Film adaptation = On 5 February 2009, Universal Pictures
announced plans to film a movie based on the Candy Land board game. Etan Cohen, a
writer for comedies Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa and Tropic Thunder, was hired to
write the screenplay. Kevin Lima, who directed Enchanted, was set to direct.
However, in 2011, a new screenwriting team was designated, composed of
Jonathan Aibel and Glenn Berger. They said, "We don't see it as a movie based
on a board game, although it has characters from that world and takes the
idea of people finding themselves in a world that happens to be made entirely
of candy where there are huge battles going on. We are going for real comedy,
real action, and real emotions at stake."
On 31 January 2011, it was announced that Columbia Pictures, Happy Madison,
and Adam Sandler were in final negotiations to develop the film, with
Sandler both starring and co-writing the screenplay with Robert Smigel.
= In popular culture = In The Super Hero Squad Show episode
"Blind Rage Knows No Color!", Thanos has a fear of a children's board game that
parodies Candy Land called Sugar World which is invoked upon him by Nightmare.
In his nightmare Thanos is attacked by Iron Man, Wolverine, and Thor. Other
puns related to the Sugar World parody include the Dark Chocolate Geyser and
the Snickerdoodle Dice. In Django Unchained, the plantation name
"Candyland" was inspired by director Quentin Tarantino's fascination with the
board-game. In Wreck-It Ralph, the movie references
"Candyland" with a video game world based entirely around candy called
"Sugar Rush", the ruler of which is called King Candy.
References External links
Official website; includes the history and pictures of older versions
Official rules of classic version Information about Candyland from the
Elliott Avedon Museum & Archive of Games Mathematical analysis of 1–4 player
game; feature a picture of the classic board
Deeper mathematical analysis of 1 player game
Monte Carlo analysis of Candyland, Cootie, and Chutes and Ladders; results
for Candy Land differ slightly from others
Mathematical analysis of Candyland