by Amelia Tibbett

Created on: December 15, 2007   Last Updated: September 13, 2010

Candy Land has been a classic childhood board game almost from it's inception more than 55 years ago by it's inventor Ms. Eleanor Abbott. Over the years, this much loved childhood staple has had some minor changes but one thing has stayed the same, kids everywhere love Candy Land. Social Psychologist Susan Neuman, Ph. D. says "In addition to all the fun it brings, game play can teach basic skills such as color recognition, taking turns, sharing and patience, as well as open a child's imagination and instill confidence." I agree with this wholeheartedly and would like to add that it also is a great way to institute family game night with children of a younger age, 3 and up.

Playing Candy Land is easy and fun to do, and while it has received some makeovers over the years, the rules have remained the same throughout the years. The basic premise to this game is for children to take turns drawing cards and moving their Gingerbread pawns by matching colors to pictures and moving through an imaginary game board world. Players will follow a path past Gingerbread Tree, Through Peppermint Stick Forest, and over the Gum Drop Mountains. The first one to reach Candy Land Castle wins! The most recent changes to the original game itself were in June when they gave the Gingerbread pawns a makeover and brought some new color and graphics to the game board.

Just like all board games these days, Candy Land too has been morphed into your child's favorite cartoon characters. Currently you can purchase a Dora the Explorer version which retails for $11.99.

There is also a new game on the market called Candy Land King Kandy Castle Game. This game is geared towards younger preschoolers. It is a matching game consisting of 4 gingerbread kid game boards, tokens and the magic castle. The goal is to help the gingerbread kids find their colorful decorations, and to do this, you have to go to King Kandy's Castle. It is a game of dropping tokens, pulling a lever, and matching colors and shapes. This version is for younger preschoolers aged 2-3 and up, and for two to four players.

If you really want to bring the game to life for your little one, you might consider one of these two options:

Candy Land the Movie-The Great Lollipop Adventure (2005) All of your child's favorite landmarks come to life in this animated movie in a way they've never imagined before! Jib Gingerbread is on his first adventure away from home, and he's headed on down Rainbow Road for a day chock full of fun and excitement. It is the Sweet Celebration- the town of Candy Land's festival to welcome all of the new candies. No childhood movie would be complete without one villain, who comes in the form of Lord Licorice who wants to turn Candy Land into Licorice Land. Your little ones will love to see the heroic efforts of everyone's favorite Gingerbread Boy.

Candy Land: Dora the Explorer PC Edition. What can I say about this? This is a PC version of Candy Land where Dora and her friends are the ones going through Candy Land. It kind of takes the fun out of the whole thing for me, to me, Candy Land will always be at it's best as a classic board game. But as with all things, PC versions are bound to come out sooner or later. I would still really recommend getting the board game version of Dora if your child insists on a Dora version of Candy Land.

So, as you can see, Candy Land is here to stay. It has been here for over 55 years, and my hope is that it will be here for when my children want to play it with their children because it is just good, wholesome fun and that is hard to find these days.

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