Candy Land

Candy Land (also Candyland) is a simple racing board game currently published by Hasbro. 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. A perennial favorite, the game sells about one million copies per year.
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 Gumdrop 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.
Prior to the 2006 edition, the board had 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 (all cards are ignored 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.
, "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 1948 by Eleanor Abbott, while she was recovering from polio in San Diego, California. The game was made for and tested by the children in the same wards on the hospital. The children suggested that Abbott submit the game to Milton Bradley Company. The game was bought by Milton Bradley and first published in 1949 as a temporary fill-in for their then main product line, school supplies. "Candy Land" became Milton Bradley's best selling game surpassing its previous top seller, "Uncle Wiggily", and put the company in the same league as its main competitor, Parker Brothers. The original art has been purported to be by Abbott, although this is uncertain.
In 1984, Hasbro purchased Milton Bradley. Landmark Entertainment Group revamped the game with new art, adding characters and a story line in 1984.
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 in 1996. An adult web content provider registered candyland.com, and Hasbro objected. Hasbro obtained an injunction against the use.
In 2012, Hasbro announced a film which triggered a lawsuit by Landmark Entertainment Group over ownership and royalties owned for the characters and storyline introduced in the 1984 edition.
Reception.
The Toy Industry Association named "Candy Land" as the most popular toy in the US for the 1940s. In 2005, the game was inducted into the National Toy Hall of Fame at The Strong Museum 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 (Molasses Swamp, Gumdrop Mountains, etc.) and no characters. A board copyrighted in 1962 shows a track layout different from the more recent versions.
In the first edition, the pawns were wooden but were changed in the 1967 version to plastic gingerbread men.
The 1984 edition introduced a storyline and characters such as Mr. Mint and Gramma Nutt. It 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, "", 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.
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 (daughter of Ralph 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."
The music video for Katy Perry's song California Gurls features a world of candy-themed board game named "Candyfornia" heavily influenced by "Candy Land".
Hasbro in 2011 released a special comic book titled "Unit:E", which featured many characters from Hasbro-owned properties, such as "M.A.S.K.", "Jem", "G.I. Joe" and "Micronauts"; here, Princess Lolly was briefly depicted and mentioned as a potential ally for the Micronaut Acroyear in his fight against Baron Karza.
In the book "Quick Tips for Busy Families" by Jay Payleitner, the chapter "Candy Land Penance" describes using the game as punishment by forcing older kids to play with their younger siblings. However, the author's oldest child, Alec, stacked the deck to shorten the game. When confronted, Alec then tormented his little sister by stacking the deck by teasing her with victory only to pull her game piece repeatedly back to the swamp.
Film adaptation.
An animated 2005 feature, "", was produced.
In February 2009, Universal Pictures announced plans to film a movie based on the "Candy Land" board game. Etan Cohen, a writer for comedies "" 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."
By January 2012 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 July 2014, a lawsuit by Landmark Entertainment Group took place over ownership and royalties owned for the characters and story line introduced in the 1984 edition.
Television adaptation.
On November 15, 2020, a cooking competition show based on the game premiered on Food Network, with Kristin Chenoweth as host. Teams of dessert chefs compete over six weeks for a $25,000 grand prize.