Candy Land is a simple, luck-based racing game designed for young children. Players draw colored cards and move their pieces along a winding path of colored spaces through a candy-themed landscape. No reading is required. The first player to reach “Home” wins.
Components
1 game board with a colored path from Start to Home
4 colored playing pieces (gingerbread movers)
1 deck of cards (color cards and picture cards)
Setup
Place the game board on the table.
Each player chooses a different colored playing piece.
Shuffle the card deck and place it face-down within reach of all players.
All players place their pieces at the “Start” arrow.
The youngest child plays first.
Turn Structure
On your turn:
Draw the top card from the face-down pile.
Move your piece according to the card drawn.
Play passes to the next player.
Actions
Color Cards
Single color card: Move forward to the next space matching that color.
Double color card: Move forward to the second space matching that color.
Picture Cards
Move your piece to the space matching that picture (e.g., Gingerbread Cookie).
Important: This may send you forward OR backward along the path.
Proceed from the picture space on your next turn.
Shortcuts
Mountain Pass: If you land exactly on the starting space, move immediately to the other end.
Rainbow Trail: If you land exactly on the starting space, move immediately to the other end.
You only use shortcuts when you stop exactly on their starting space.
Sticky Spaces
Cherry Pitfalls and Molasses Swamp: Follow the directions printed on the board (typically lose a turn or wait for a specific card).
Scoring / Victory Conditions
The first player to reach “Home” wins the game.
Home is reached by landing on the last blue space or drawing a card that would take you beyond it.
Special Rules & Edge Cases
Two or more players may occupy the same space.
If all cards are used before the game ends, reshuffle them and continue.
Travel direction is always forward along the path (toward Home), except when a picture card sends you backward.