K. David Ladage
United States
Cedar Rapids
Iowa
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Candyland
By: Eleanor Abbott
Published: Milton Bradley
Web: http://www.hasbro.com/games/en_US/candyland/
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A Brief History
If you know what a board game is, then you know the game Candyland. It is one of the few games I have ever played that has fewer choices to be made than Monopoly (Jr.!). Yet, if you are wanting to spend some time with a tyke not old enough to understand a typical board game, this can be a pleasant distraction.
Draw, Move, Repeat
Candyland is a game that has a long winding multi-colored road through a fanciful wonderland that would make Willy Wonka's eyes bulge out of his head -- and most kids go into a sugar coma. The idea is to move as quickly as you can through the wonderland of candy delights and reach King Kandy's Castle (see what I did there? I spelled Castle correctly, despite wanting to spell it with a K in this case... you can thank me later).
You move your playing piece (a pawn in the shape of a gingerbread man) along the winding path by drawing cards. The cards will either have...
-- A Color Square: Move your pawn forward to the next space of that color.
-- Two Color Squares: These will always be of the same color. Move your pawn forward to the second space of that color.
-- A Specific Location: There are a few pink squares that have pictures on them. The specific location cards cause your pawn to move forward or backward to that particular space.
The first player to reach King Kandy's Castle wins (ok, ok... I am only human after all... I mean, honestly... spelling Candy with a K is silly... but it looks even sillier when you follow it up with Kastle).
Conclusions
If you are playing with a three year old, this game can entertain them for a short while. In the tradition of such games as Chutes and Ladders, there simply are no choices to be made in this game; which, again, if you are playing a three year old, is a good thing, as this places them on equal footing with an older sibling or their parent.
If you are playing with anyone older than three years old, I highly recommend you find something else for them to play, as they will likely get bored with the game about the same time you do.
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David Zumwalt
United States
California
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The original version of this game, entitled Vegetable Land, never did sell very well.
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My daughter (5) still loves this game. We (my wife and I), of course, hate it. She started playing it around 3(? memory is fuzzy) and it worked great for teaching her to adhere to the rules, to take turns and to focus (do they ever learn that one?). It taught us parents why so many other parents have permenant creases etched into their forheads.
When I play (I rarely do - I usually redirect her to an alternate choice - pretty much anything is preferrable) I will often start cheating toward the end to try and speed things up (swapping cards mostly). My wife will simply remove the "teleport" cards from the deck after the first run through. Either way, the game still lasts way too long.
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Ken Mortis
United States
Center Point
Iowa
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I can't believe you. You managed to miss the entire point of this game. It is not just a simplified roll-and-move game, but rather a strategic powerhouse that will replace Go one day. The sublties are obviously missed in your desire to review so many games.
The key is to balance the teleport and color cards. Doing that will open up a resource managment game that was previously unknown to you.
I've played this in pro-tournaments, and I can tell you that you just simply have not played it enough. You need more than a couple dozen games. More like a couple hundred. Go back and play more.
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Sean Shaw
United States
Georgia
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There is another way to play, at least there used to be in the rules for Candyland that we got.
Not much, but a little different. You have a hand of cards, normally two (though unofficially you could increase this to another number, perhaps 3-5) and you play from your hand, then draw another card. Granted, not much different, but at least you have a choice of which card to play.
That actually used to be in the official rules for Candyland, surprised if it isn't now.
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Mark Buetow
United States
Du Quoin
Illinois
Best game company ever?
GMT Games, of course!
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My daughter, age 12, got a copy recently at a garage sale, just to be funny I guess. Nostalgia perhaps? Can you even long for nostalgia at age 12?
Just to irritate her gamer dad, she asked me to play, and I consented.
HOLY CRAP! When you and your kids are older, Candyland plays ridiculously fast. I think we finished three games in like 3 minutes and it was only that long because I shuffled the cards in between. It's almost like the game now is to see just how fast you can play it! 
For the record, I crushed her 2-1. 
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Darcy Dueck
Canada
Vancouver
BC
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In all seriousness, you need to keep in mind that Candyland was designed by a woman with polio for play with severely injured and mentally handicapped people. The intent of this game is to enjoy time with someone for whom matching a colour is the most mental energy they can expend. It is very well designed for its purpose.
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