Walking Down Candy Land Lane

Can you remember sitting on the floor or at the table, passing away time, playing Candy Land? Candy Land was a board game that was a childhood favorite for many. The game playing basics were simple and for some of us-it was probably one of the first games that we learned how to play. Children have been playing Candy Land for over 50 years. Today, you still may find yourself sitting down to play it with your own children, grandchildren or nieces and nephews.

Candy Land was created in 1945 by a a woman named Eleanor Abbott. She came up with the idea while recovering from Polio. Then in 1949, The Milton Bradley Company (now owned by Hasbro) bought and published the board game. In the late 40's, Candy Land was so popular that it led the list of the most popular American toy from 1940-1949.

The basics to the childhood board game are very simple. A game board is set up that has a lane of colorful squares that lead all the way to the castle. Along the way, players past through such as Candy Cane forest, Gum Drop Mountain, Queen Frostine's castle and Gramma Nutt's house. Players choose their token of play which are different colored ginger bread men. Each player takes a card and then moves his/her token to the specified colored square listed on the square. When a player reaches to the end of the path, he/she wins.

Candy Land can be educational by teaching a child their colors and how to follow directions. Most preschool and Kindergarten rooms have Candy Land in their classrooms for children to play during free time. Since its development, many editions of Candy Land have been created. Some of them have been designed after popular children television shows such as Dora the Explorer and Disney cartoons. Candy Land can even be played on DVD or the computer.

The classic basic board game is probably one that will never wear itself out. We will continue to pass it down to our children and grandchildren as it becomes their first board game to play too. Little ones can sit down to a game of Candy Land during a cold winter day when they are snowed in or those long rainy days that never seem to end. It's also an easy game to play during "sick days" when your kids are home from school. Candy Land will continue to be that special game that we hold in our hearts as a favorite childhood memory to share from generation to generation.

Resources:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Candy_Land