Candy Land
Candy Land (also known as Candyland) is a simple racing board game created by Eleanor Abbott and published by Milton Bradley in 1948. The game requires no reading and minimal counting skills, making it suitable for young children. No strategy is involved as players are never required to make choices; only following directions is required. About one million copies per year are sold.[1]
This article is about the board game. For other uses, see Candyland (disambiguation).History[edit]
The game was designed in 1948 by Eleanor Abbott, while she was recovering from polio in San Diego, California. The game was made for and tested by the children in the same wards on the hospital. The children suggested that Abbott submit the game to Milton Bradley Company. The game was bought by Milton Bradley and first published in 1949 as a temporary fill-in for their then main product line, school supplies. Candy Land became Milton Bradley's best-selling game, surpassing its previous top seller, Uncle Wiggily, and put the company in the same league as its main competitor, Parker Brothers. The original art has been purported to be by Abbott, although this is uncertain.[1]
In 1984, Hasbro purchased Milton Bradley.[2] Landmark Entertainment Group revamped the game with new art that same year, adding characters and a storyline.[3]
Hasbro produces several versions of the game and treats it as a brand. For example, it markets Candy Land puzzles, a travel version, a personal computer game, and a handheld electronic version.[1]
Candy Land was involved in one of the first disputes over Internet domain names in 1996. An adult web content provider registered candyland.com, and Hasbro objected. Hasbro obtained an injunction against the use.[4]
In 2012, Hasbro announced a film, which triggered a lawsuit by Landmark Entertainment Group over ownership and royalties owed for the characters and storyline introduced in the 1984 edition.[3]
Characters depend on the version of the game.
Legacy[edit]
Motif[edit]
The Candy section of Toys "R" Us in New York City's Times Square maintained a Candy Land theme until losing its license for the characters in 2006.[8] The theme included a colored pathway that mimicked the board for the game, several Candy Land characters, and candy-themed shelving and ceiling decorations.[9]
Comic book[edit]
Candy Land was one of several Hasbro properties featured in the 2011 one-shot comic book Unit: E, which attempted to revamp and tie together several of Hasbro's dormant properties. Princess Lolly is seen in one page, with Synergy (from Jem), the son of Acroyear and his servant Biotron (both from Micronauts) discussing her and other fairies that have crossed over from their land onto Earth more than once. Synergy believes the creatures of Primordia (an attempted reworking of Inhumanoids) may have been the result of someone angering the fairies in the past, though she admits she's uncertain if this is in fact the case.[10]
Reception[edit]
The Toy Industry Association named Candy Land as the most popular toy in the US in the 1940s.[18] In 2005, the game was inducted into the National Toy Hall of Fame at The Strong Museum in Rochester, New York.[19] About one million copies per year are sold.[1]