Candy Land Game Tutorial

Candy Land is a classic kids board game that is a great for teaching young kids how to take turns. This is a game with a nice, sweet (get it?) theme and the best part is that it does not involve any reading. These two factors make Candy Land an ideal game for little kids.

Any young child can learn the basic Candy Land rules, which are very simple. To make the game more interesting, it is also possible to add variations that can make the game either easier to play or harder. It all depends on your wishes.

Candy Land Setup

You first need to get the Candy Land game and set the board up. Unfold the board and put it on a flat surface that allows all the players easy access. Next, shuffle the deck of cards and  stack them in a downward facing pile. Place the gingerbread pawns on the first (start) square. There are four differently colored pawns, and every player chooses a color. By convention, the first player is the one who is the youngest. Read the Candy Land tutorial below to help you play the game.

How to Play Candy Land

1. Draw your card and move to the color that corresponds to the color of your card
   • Each card will have a single color square or two or even a picture.
   • The card you draw allows you to do different things depending on what the card is.  For example, if it is a single-color square, then you can move your pawn to the first color space on the board matching the color square on your card. If there are two color squares on your card, then the pawn should be moved to the second color space of the color matching that of your card. If it is a picture, then you can move your pawn forwards or even backwards to the picture square matching that of your card.
2. Take as many shortcuts as you can to reach the end of the board
   • The board has a pair of shortcuts that make it easy for you to move quickly. These shortcuts are the Rainbow Trail and the Gumdrop Pass. The former allows you to move upward quickly while the latter only works if you land on it.
3. Landing on a licorice square = losing your turn
   • If you land on a licorice square, of which there are three on the board, you will lose one turn. However, if you are simply passing over this square, then you will not lose a turn.
4. Play on till the end, which is the multi-colored rainbow space at the end of the board
   • The game is won by the player who manages to reach the multi-colored rainbow space which is located at the end of the board. You need to continue playing the game till you reach this magical space and whoever reaches it first will win the game.
5. Make the game easier by discarding cards that move game play backwards
   • If the players playing the game are all very young kids, then you can use a rule variation to make things simpler by allowing players to discard a card that would make them move backwards. If a player draws such a card, then he or she has the option of discarding that card and drawing a fresh one.
6. Make the game more competitive for older players
   • If the players playing the game are all somewhat older, then you can make the game more complex. Use a variation that involves using a strategy in which players are allowed to draw not one but two cards.  They can then select one card and discard the other card.

Candy Land Video Tutorial