So it occurred to me the other day that our house is lacking a Candy Land game! How could that be, with a house full of little ones?!! So we went right out to Target and bought one.
Aislynn, waiting for me to play with her
I was surprised to see how different the board looked from when I was little. I like the old one much better, for a few reasons.
First of all, the board now looks way too “busy”. There is too much going on visually for such young ages. The trail is so crowded with “stuff” everywhere. The typical age for this game is ages 2 to 6. Two and three year old need things to be less visually distracting in order for them to concentrate for more than 5 minutes.
The older version that I grew up with had a plain white background, which for adults might seem a bit boring, but for a preschooler it’s perfect.
the 1978 version
I miss the “I Love You” hearts card, and the Ice Cream Floats, and the candy shack at the end of the trail…so inviting with the “Home Sweet Home” sign….
But now? The candy shack is gone! And in it’s place is a Candy Castle…which you can barely see because of the “King Kandy” guy who is taking over that area. There is just too much “stuff” everywhere. Too visually distracting, even for me!
And the Children of Candy Land have changed over the years, too.
1949
(is that a curl on the top of that boy’s hair?)
1970’s
These are your typical “Dick & Jane” characters.
1990’s
In the 90’s they are more of a cartoon and much more casually dressed!
2011
And now? Well now, Hey! It’s more of a party now! No longer just a boy and a girl. Instead, let’s ALL take a trip into Candy Land! Yay! And the “Dick & Jane” characters? Long gone. Candy Land has become much more diverse! Politically correct, you might say. Which is a good thing.
Let’s compare:
the original 1949 version
And today’s version
Call me boring, but I just like the look of the more simpler boards. The 1949 version is a bit blah, I’ll admit. But the 1970’s version is the one I grew up with, and I like that one best. Of course, that might be because it reminds me of my childhood, and I’m nostalgic that way.
There are so many characters and objects in the new one. It’s too busy! In the 1970’s version, the only characters were the two children. But now? There are 4 children, a “King Kandy”, an evil “Lord Licorice”… and eight other random characters….
Who are all these people?!
All that being said, I have to admit that we’ve been enjoying our Candy Land game over here these past few days. It’s a simple game – even the kids who cannot read can play and win, which is what I love about it.
What is your favorite children’s game?
Never was much for Candy land but Sorry! oh yeah! but the big game at our house was always UNO. Still is just pure fun! We call it Killer UNO, because we cheat. Try to keep everyone in the game as long as possible!
This was a fun post – I bet your kids are loving the Game, and the time with mom! Blessings! Megan
Candy land! We never had this when we were younger
I always loved Sorry at school. Thank you so much for following my blog. I hope you love the peppers. I think they taste a little better with the Italian sausage unless you want a good spicy kick! I’m so glad to follow you back: http://www.memoirs-of-2-wicked-chefs.blogspot.com/
I think the characters on the new board can be met and explored via the Candy Land DVDs that are out. I haven’t seen the actual movies, but have seen a few previews on some of my dd’s other videos. -Lynnette
Hi Katrina! I wanted to come by and say thank you for coming by and following. I don’t believe I ever had Candy Land growing up, but we have one for my daughter. 9 kids! Wow, you are awesome!
Cheers!
Jen
http://www.cariboobutterfly.com
I adored this game as a kid, but I agree… it’s just too much now. Simplicity is definitely underappreciated in our society.
This is a relevant argument to my beliefs that we’re dumbed down, as a whole, by over-stimulating Hollywood “blockbuster” films. Whatever happened to character development, simple emotions, and truth. I suppose I could ramble, but I won’t.
I enjoyed your post, and love the little boy with the curl on top!
Baby Talk without the Babble
Wow! It’s been around a long time, huh? I don’t remember playing it when I was little(also in the 70s). It has changed a lot. We have it now. I’m following you now from a Thursday hop!
Michelle
http://www.heartfeltbalancehandmadelife.blogspot.com
I have to say Risk (although we were a bit older when we started playing that)
thanks!
Leontien
Found you though the blog hop….great blog
Wow, haha, I love the boy’s hair from the 40’s version. Classic.
I think I grew up with the 90’s board. Possibly 70’s, but I’m not really sure.
And yeah, who the HECK are those characters? A dog basket? A licorice gopher? A floating dragon? I’m confused.