Thoughts on Candyland

Let me start by stating that I loathe the game Candyland. Wouldn't you hate a game that you play at LEAST once a day at work for an annual total of close to 300 games? Additionally, many of my students are working on being a good sport. So I have to be the dealer for all the cards and the children fight and whine when they are sent backwards (the dreaded "Plumpy" card evokes tears at times).

On Lissi's birthday, a friend gave Cal and Lissi a joint gift of a new Candyland game. As much as this made me roll my eyes, I knew that this would be a great first board game and would be good for learning turn-taking and good sportsmanship. I had successfully avoided actually playing the game with Cal (although Wink and our new babysitter have not been as lucky).

I'll describe the differences between this new "modern" version and the "older" version that I use at school. The newer version is multi-cultural. It has 4 children of all different races in the game. There is no longer a dreaded "Plumpy", although there is a spot to be sent back to near the front of the game. Queen Frostine, beautiful and everyone's favorite at school, is now Princess Frostine, and is glamorous and old (and represented by an ice cream cone rather than a snowflake). When you get stuck in the molasses swamp, you now just lose one turn--instead of being stuck for an infinity waiting to draw a blue card. The cards and no longer just a square color, they have a 3-D feel just like a "button" in a computer game. The gingerbread men players are taller and curved (for increased aerodynamics?). Finally, the age old question, "Do I need to get exactly a purple to win the game?" is now answered since the last square on the board is rainbow striped.

Wink had told me that he had yet to beat Cal. I had difficulty believing that Cal could actually play the game. I mean, he's 3. But, cal proved that he has mastered the game. He takes turns appropriately, he knows how to move to the next colored square. He moves forward and backwards without too much complaint. He even tells you that, "I have bad news for you...." when his opponent gets a "bad" card. When I won the game (woo hoo! I never win this cursed game!), he was even a good sport about it. My three year old is a gamer?!