Candy Land

Candy Land

Synopsis of Toy

“A sweet little game…for sweet little folks.”

Imagine that the Brothers Grimm invented a board game. Now take out the witches. Welcome to Candy Land.

Eleanor Abbott was recovering from polio herself when she decided to create a board game for similarly-afflicted youngsters forced to spend time in a cold, boring hospital. The fruits of her work came to life in 1949 as Candy Land, a game that had as little to do with fruits (or any other healthy food) as possible. The name of this game was candy, and the sweets-filled gameboard was as tempting to wee gamers as the thrill of the race itself.

Instead of numbers, directions, or other confusing rules and regulations, Candy Land simplified gameplay by moving its little Gingerbread Man characters with color-coded cards. Each space came in one of six colors—red, purple, yellow, blue, orange or green—and the deck of cards had small squares of the same colors. Draw a purple, move your Gingerbread Man to the next purple square, and so on to the top of the board and the oh-so-tasty candy house (later replaced by a candy castle).

Also shuffled into the deck were skip-ahead cards that sent you instantly to one of the map’s tasty sights along the way—Candy Hearts, Peppermint Stick Forest, Gingerbread Plum Tree, Gumdrop Mountains, Crooked Old Peanut Brittle House, Lollipop Woods and Ice Cream Floats—but careful! One bad draw could land you in the sticky Molasses Swamp or get you stuck on one of a few other squares, where you’d have to wait until you drew the right color card.

With its simple rules and eye-catching (and tummy-rumbling) gameboard, Candy Land was many a child’s first board game. An instant success, Candy Land spawned offshoots like Candy Land Bingo, a hand-held Candy Land game and even a “Candy Land Adventure” CD-ROM. The original remains a kiddie favorite today, proof that (surprise) kids still like candy.

Release History of Toy

1949 - Candy Land
Candy Land Bingo
Electronic Hand Held Candy Land

Sub Categories of Toys

games
board games

Toy and Game Manufacturer

Milton Bradley

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