Candyland is one of the most popular board games especially for the young children. The game requires players to be the first player to reach the Candy Castle which is at the end of the board.
This is a simple racing card game which is created by Hasbro. The reason why this game is perfect for kids is because it does not require reading and minimal counting skills to play it. All you need to do is follow the directions and no strategy is need to made. The winner is determined by shuffling the cards.
One of the main purposes of this candy land game is to help young children in learning recognition of diffrent colors.
So if you are interested in playing Candyland card game, then keep reading further to know more about this classic game.
Candyland game Goal – To be the first player to reach the Candy Castle, located at the end of the board.
Number of Players – A game for 2-4 players
Game Materials – A game board, 4 character figures, 64 cards
Game Type – Children’s Board Game
Game Audience – Adults and Children the age of 3
How to Setup
As it is a children’s board game, the setup of Candyland game is pretty easy. The candyland game board is set on a flat surface such that it is accessible to all the players. Now shuffle the cards and place them near the board.
How to Play Candy Land
Candyland is easy to play for children as well as it does not require reading. The only thing required is understanding of color to play the game.
The candy land game play is started with the youngest player.
The youngest player will start the game by drawing a card from the deck. Then decide the type of card they have and then make a movement accordingly on the game board. Once done, move the card to the Discard pile.
Cards
In Candy land, there are 3 basic card types- cards with single color blocks, two-color blocks, and picture cards. All cards have different sets of rules for them.
- Single Color Block Cards – Move the Character figure forward. It should be on the block closer to the Candy Castle of the same color.
- Two Colored blocks – If you get cards having two colored blocks on them, then you will have to move your character closer to the end goal of Candy Castle. Now you will be looking for a second space that will match a color on the card.
- Picture Card – Players can draw a picture card that correspond to the pink tiles on the game board which match the picture on the card. Players have to move to that place on the game board even if that means to move away from the Candy Castle.
How to Move
The main goal in Candyland is to move to the end of the game to the Candy Castle. The movements are carried out according to colored squares or picture cards drawn by the players.
Here are some instructions you need to follow while you move in Candyland.
- According to candy land rules, you should always move in the direction of the signpost, unless 0 chains of images tell you to back down the road.
- Want to take few shortcuts? The Rainbow Trail and the Gumdrop Pass are the two shortcuts you can take on the path.
- If after an exact count, your gingerbread character pawns or figure lands on the orange field below the rainbow path or the yellow field below the gumdrop step, you can take the shortcut immediately. For this you will have to place your game figure on the purple field over the rainbow road or in the green field space above the gum passage.
- Two or more gingerbread character pawns or figures can be placed in a field at the same time.
- Licorice Spaces: There exist 3 Licorice space on the path whose purpose is to slow you down while you try to move. They are placed by the Lord Licorice.
- Candy Land contains three penalty boxes named Gooey Gumdrops, Lollipop Woods, and Molasses Swamp. If it lands in one of these spaces after an exact count, it will stay there until it draws a card of a certain color.
- Play candy land as above until one player reaches the multi-colored rainbow space near Candy Castle.
End of the Game
Here are some of the special Candy land game rules –
- Players can have their character figure on the place where another player’s character figure is present.
- Unless you pull a picture card, you will always have to move forward. In case you pull a card, you can move backward or forward based on where the matching tile is on the candyland board game with respect to your position.
- There are 2 shortcuts on the candy land game board – Rainbow Trail and Gumdrop pass. Players can take these shortcuts only when they land on the orange space under the Rainbow Trail or the yellow space under the Gumdrop Pass. If a player lands on these spaces, they can take the path and end up on either the green space over the Gumdrop Pass or on the purple space over the multi colored Rainbow space or Trail.
- In Candyland, you will find some spaces marked with Licorice. In case a player lands on such spaces, they have to stay there for the next turn. Once they miss one turn, then they can play again.
The player who follows all the above game rules of candyland and reaches the Candy Castle first wins Candy land game.
That was it all about Candyland game & how to play. In case you have any questions about this or any other board games, feel free to drop them in the comments below and we will come back to your rescue.
