Product Description

This is the classic "child's first game", and preschoolers will love it. Children draw colored cards, and move their plastic gingerbread playing tokens to the next square of the same color. Passing the peppermint forest and the ice cream sea on the way, the first one to reach the candy castle wins. No need to read to play this game.2 to 4 players can play this game. This board game includes a game board, four plastic playing pieces, 64 cards, "Legend of the Lost Candy Castle", and instructions in English and Spanish.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #282 in Toys & Games
• Size: one size
• Color: one color
• Brand: Hasbro
• Model: 4700 S5
• Dimensions: 15.90" h x 10.60" w x 1.60" l, 1.50 pounds

Features

• Classic game with updated graphics and sculpted, detailed pawns
• Passing the peppermint forest and the ice cream sea on the way, the first one to reach the candy castle wins.
• No reading required to play
• This is the classic "child's first game", and preschoolers will love it. Children draw colored cards, and move their plastic gingerbread playing tokens to the next square of the same color.
• Instructions are in both Spanish and English.

Editorial Review
"Once upon a time, King Kandy, the Imperial Head Bonbon and Grand Jujube of Candy Land disappeared." Thus begins the magical journey of Milton Bradley's classic Candy Land board game. Captivated by the story of a kidnapped king and eager to help find him, little ones move their gingerbread pawns along a rainbow path and through a land of candy characters, all subjects of King Kandy's realm.

Playing cards thoughtfully designed for non-readers are coded with colorful squares matching the jeweled stepping-stone path or an occasional token matching one of the characters' symbols: draw a blue card, move to the nearest blue stepping-stone; draw a snowflake and earn a visit to Queen Frostine's iceberg. There are occasional pitfalls, too: land on the wrong square and you might be stuck in Molasses Swamp until a red card is drawn. With all these enticing, sugarcoated images (and King Kandy plainly visible at path's end), children can't help but be delighted by Candy Land. It's delicious! Instructions are in both Spanish and English. Candy Land is for two to four players) --Julie Ubben

From ToyTips.com
For generations, boys and girls have enjoyed Candy Land as their first board game. The color-themed game requires no reading on the part of the players and is easy for even the youngest of children to follow. Players move their primary-colored gingerbread people around the rainbow path, moving through the Peppermint Stick Forest by matching the color spaces to the colors on the pick deck. The player who reaches the Candy Castle first wins. This game is suitable to two to four players, children and adult and children can even play it alone. As a primary learning game, Candy Land fosters a child's exposure to following directions, taking turns, color recognition and count skills. The game promotes thinking as well as patience in the form of waiting one's turn to play. By play games with others, children are encouraged to socially interact in a more controlled manner, which helps develop character for future endeavors.

From the Manufacturer
Every child's first game, Candy Land is a colorful way for a preschooler to experience the joy of game play. The game teaches color recognition and matching while reinforcing the lesson of taking turns and being a gracious winner or loser. You will love to see the smile on a young person's face as they travel through Candy Land. Includes four gingerbread pawns, a gameboard, a card deck, and instructions in English and Spanish.

Customer Reviews

There are good reasons this is your kid's first board game
...there are several good reasons why "Candy Land" is the first board game children learn to play:

First, the game does not require children know how to read. They do not even need to know their numbers as they do in "Chutes and Ladders." Movement is based on a child being able to recognize colors and symbols. What could be easier than that?

Second, the game is based on luck (or chance or divine intervention or however you want to characterize it), which means it is a great equalizer. This is a game where a kid has the same chance of winning as their parents, older siblings, grandparents, babysitters or whoever. Children are not going to be interested in playing a game they cannot win, which is why "Candy Land" is where they begin instead of "Monopoly" or "Trivial Pursuit."

Third, the game teaches the basic skills of board games. The hardest lesson kid have to learn with this game is to...take turns. Yes, this might be one of the first times in their young lives when kids are confronted with the regiment of structure that will afflict them the rest of their lives. But from board games like "Candy Land" to sports like baseball, structure and rules are a basic consideration. Strategy and tactics come later, but learning to take turns comes first (and I could argue is a basic lesson in civil behavior).

Therefore, I would respectfully submit that "Candy Land" remains the ideal choice for the first board game you play with your children. Just pick a card, move to the appropriate square, and proceed to have a great life.

A classic kids game.
I remember playing Candyland as a child, so it is another game that has passed the test of time. It is simple, and it does not require reading skills, so very young children can play the game. It is good for practicing colors and for taking turns and following rules. I do feel that the game is a little long, especially for the 3-year old kids in the recommended age range. Some of the rules, like getting stuck until a certain card is drawn, makes the game rules a little more difficult to follow, so in that way I would recommend it more for a 4-6 age group. A 3-year old can play it with a lot of supervision, but some of the rules are hard to understand at that age - especially when they can draw a card but can't move their game piece! The game is very inexpensive, and therefore the quality of the actual game is not great. I agree with another reviewer that a "classic gold" edition with wooden pieces and a durable box would be a wonderful option for someone who would like the game to last. It would also be nice to have a nice spot to put all of the cards during the game and for storage. Despite the length of the game and the durability factor, I would still highly recommend this classic game to parents with small kids, especially those in the 4 - 6 age range.

A Game That Transcends Generations
I'm not sure how long "Candyland" has been on the market, but I played it when I was a kid and I'm pushing 44. My wife and I bought this game for our then-three-year-old son (he's now four), unsure if it would hold his Nintendo-infatuated attention. Fortunately (or unfortunately, depending on who is playing with him), it does, so much so that his record at one sitting is 17 straight games. Still a classic of its kind, "Candyland" is easy to learn and fun for kids and adults (sheesh, I'm beginning to sound like a commercial here). One minor complaint: the cards aren't very durable and perhaps need to be made of thicker material to facilitate multiple shuffling and to endure the often rough touch of little hands.