Candy Land facts for kids
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| Publisher(s) |
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|---|---|
| Publication date | 1949 |
| Players | 2–4 |
| Setup time | 1–3 minutes |
| Playing time | 15–21 minutes |
| Random chance | Complete |
| Skill(s) required | Color recognition |
Candy Land (also called Candyland) is a fun and simple racing board game that is currently made by Hasbro. It's a great game for young children because you don't need to read or count much to play. There's no special plan or strategy needed; players just follow the directions on the cards they draw. The game is very popular, selling about one million copies every year!
Contents
How to Play Candy Land
The game is like a sweet adventure where you're trying to find King Kandy, the lost king of Candy Land. The game board is a long, winding path with 134 colorful spaces. Most of these spaces are red, green, blue, yellow, orange, or purple. Some special pink spaces are named places like Candy Cane Forest or Gumdrop Mountain, or they feature characters like Queen Frostine.
Players take turns picking a card from a stack. Most cards show one or two colors. If you draw a color card, you move your game piece forward to the next space of that color. If the card has two marks of a color, you move to the second space of that color. Some cards show a picture of a special location. If you draw one of these, you move your piece directly to that spot on the board, whether it's forward or backward.
In older versions of the game, some spaces had a dot, like the "cherry pitfalls" or Molasses Swamp. If you landed on these, you would get stuck until you drew a card of the same color as that space. In newer versions (since 2006), these dot spaces were changed to "licorice spaces." If you land on a licorice space, you simply lose your next turn.
The goal of the game is to reach the Candy Castle at the end of the path. The first player to land on or pass the final square wins the game! Since 2013, some versions of Candy Land use a spinner instead of cards. The spinner has all the same outcomes that were on the cards.
Different Versions of Candy Land
Over the years, at least four main versions of the Candy Land board game have been made. The very first one came out in 1949. Early versions only had locations like Molasses Swamp and Gumdrop Mountains, but no characters.
- Early Changes: In the first edition, the game pieces (called pawns) were made of wood. In 1967, they were changed to plastic gingerbread men.
- New Characters and Story: The 1984 edition added a storyline and introduced many characters, like Mr. Mint and Gramma Nutt. This version also had the modern board layout.
- Character Updates: In 2002, some characters and place names were changed. For example, Queen Frostine became "Princess" Frostine, and Molasses Swamp was renamed Chocolate Swamp.
- Electronic and Movie Versions: There have been other ways to play Candy Land too! A VCR board game version was made in 1986, and an electronic computer game came out in 1998. In 2005, an animated movie called Candy Land: The Great Lollipop Adventure was released, which later led to a DVD game.
- Special Editions: Hasbro also created a special "Give Kids the World: Village edition" of Candy Land. This version was made for the Give Kids the World Village, which is a place in Kissimmee, Florida, for children with serious illnesses. In this special game, the usual Candy Land characters and places were replaced with characters and locations from the Village itself.
- Licensed Games: You can also find Candy Land games that feature characters from other popular shows, like Winnie the Pooh, Dora the Explorer, and SpongeBob.
Candy Land Characters
The characters in Candy Land can be different depending on which version of the game you have. Here are some of the most well-known ones:
- The Kids: In the classic game, they were two blonde twins. In 2002, there were four kids of different backgrounds. The 2013 edition features a marshmallow, an ice cream cone, a gumdrop, and a gingerbread girl.
- Mr. Mint: He lives in the Candycane Forest and was originally a candy cane "woodcutter." He was removed for a while but came back in 2013 as an ice skater.
- Gramma Nutt: Gramma Nutt lives in a peanut brittle house. In the 2014 edition, she was renamed Nana.
- King Kandy: He is the king of Candy Land and lives in a castle made of sweets. Finding him is the main goal of the game's story.
- Jolly: A happy, round monster who represents gumdrops. He was removed from some versions but brought back in 2013.
- Plumpy: A fuzzy green monster who used to sit under the gingerbread plum tree. He was removed in 2002.
- Mamma Ginger Tree: She was known for making the best gingersnaps. She has also been removed from the game.
- Princess Lolly: She was simply called 'Lolly' after 2002 but was renamed Princess Lolly in 2010 and 2014.
- Queen Frostine: She was renamed 'Princess Frostine' in the 2002 edition.
- Lord Licorice: He is often seen as the villain of Candy Land. He rules the Licorice Castle in classic games, the Licorice Forest in 2002, and the Licorice Lagoon in 2014.
- Gloppy: A friendly monster made of chocolate (he was originally made of molasses).
- Gingerbread Kids: These are often the game pieces players use.
Candy Land Locations
The game board is filled with many sweet and colorful places:
- Candy Castle: This is the final destination players are trying to reach. In the 2014 edition, it's called King Kandy's Castle.
- Gingerbread Plum Trees: Where Plumpy used to sit and eat plums.
- Gumdrop Mountains: This area sometimes offers a "gumdrop path," which is a shortcut.
- Licorice Castle: A black and red castle ruled by Lord Licorice.
- Lollipop Woods: A forest filled with tall, rainbow lollipops that look like trees.
- Molasses/Chocolate Swamp: A swamp made of molasses or chocolate, with brown Popsicle plants.
- Peanut Brittle House: A small house made of peanut brittle.
- Peppermint Forest: A snowy area filled with peppermint candy canes.
- Ice Cream Sea: A bubbly sea of ice cream where Queen Frostine lives.
- Ice Cream Slopes: Mountains made of ice cream.
- Licorice Forest: A forest of red and black licorice where Lord Licorice lives.
- Licorice Lagoon: Another area associated with Lord Licorice.
Candy Land's Impact and Adaptations
Candy Land as a Theme
Candy Land has inspired many real-world places and creative works:
- The candy section of Toys "R" Us in New York City's Times Square used to have a Candy Land theme. It had a colorful path like the game board, characters, and candy-themed decorations.
- The music video for Katy Perry's song "California Gurls" features a candy-themed board game world called "Candyfornia," which was clearly inspired by Candy Land.
- In 2011, Hasbro released a special comic book called Unit:E, which included many characters from Hasbro's games and toys. Princess Lolly from Candy Land even appeared briefly as a possible ally.
Candy Land Movies and TV Shows
- Animated Movie: An animated movie called Candy Land: The Great Lollipop Adventure was made in 2005.
- Live-Action Movie Plans: In 2009, Universal Pictures announced plans to make a live-action movie based on the Candy Land board game. Writers and directors were attached to the project, and there were discussions about Adam Sandler starring in and co-writing the film. The filmmakers said they wanted it to be a real comedy and action movie, not just a simple board game adaptation.
- TV Cooking Show: On November 15, 2020, a cooking competition show based on the game started on Food Network. Hosted by Kristin Chenoweth, teams of dessert chefs compete to win a $25,000 grand prize.
