Candy Land board game: rules and review for parents
A parent's guide to Candy Land: how the colour cards work, why no reading is needed, what age it suits and when your child is ready for games with more choices.
- Type
- Board game
- Players
- 2–4
- Age
- Ages 3+
- Play time
- 15–30 min
- First released
- 1949
- Designed by
- Eleanor Abbott
- Publisher
- Milton Bradley
Candy Land is a simple race board game for young children, designed by Eleanor Abbott and first published by Milton Bradley in 1949. Players move a small figure along a winding path of coloured squares through a world of sweets, aiming to be the first to reach the end. Movement is decided by drawing cards that show colours, so children do not need to read or count large numbers. For many families it is the very first board game a child plays. It contains no real decisions: the cards decide everything. That makes it ideal for teaching turn-taking, colour recognition and how to win and lose kindly, but older children usually move on to games with more choices.
Our verdict
Candy Land is a gentle first step into board games. It teaches colours, following simple rules, waiting for a turn and handling luck, all without reading. Because no player has an advantage, a three-year-old can beat a parent fairly, which young children love. It is short enough for small attention spans. Parents should know that there are no choices to make, so it becomes boring for older children quickly.
What works
- No reading or counting needed
- Fair for every age
- Teaches colours and turn-taking
What does not
- No decisions at all for players
- Quickly boring for children over six
How to play Candy Land
Each player places a pawn at the start of the path. Shuffle the deck of cards and place it face down. On your turn, draw the top card. If it shows one coloured square, move your pawn forward to the next square of that colour. If it shows two squares of the same colour, move to the second square of that colour ahead. Some cards show a special picture; these send your pawn directly to the matching picture square on the board, which can move you far forward or back. Certain squares may make a player wait or take shortcuts, depending on the edition. Players take turns in order until someone reaches the final square at the end of the path, who wins the game. Rules vary a little between editions, so check the leaflet in your box.
Tips for new players
- Use the game to practise naming colours aloud on every turn.
- Let the child move the pawn and count squares to build confidence.
- Talk calmly about picture cards that move players backward, as a lesson in luck.
- When your child asks for more, move on to games with simple choices such as memory or Guess Who.
Good for
Candy Land: common questions
Who invented Candy Land?
Candy Land was designed by Eleanor Abbott and first published by Milton Bradley in 1949.
What age is Candy Land for?
It is made for children around three years old and up, especially those who do not read yet.
Is Candy Land a game of skill?
No. Movement is decided entirely by the cards drawn, so it is a game of chance that teaches rules and turn-taking.
Candy Land belongs to its owners. Playdonya is not connected to them and does not sell this game; the cover is our own illustration.
