Candy Land Board Game: Rules and Instructions for How to Play

Objective of Candy Land (Candyland)

The objective of Candy Land is to be the first player to reach King Kandy’s Castle.

Setup

Each player chooses a playing piece and places it on the start space.
Shuffle the cards and place them face down in a pile.
The youngest player starts the game.

Playing Candy Land (Candyland)

After you take the action from the card you drew, play passes to the player on your left.

To start your turn you will draw the top card from the pile of cards. The action you will take on your turn depends on what you drew. See the corresponding sections below for more details.

Some movement rules that you must follow while moving along the board are as follows:

If you are interested in seeing how Candy Land has changed over the years and how they have affected the rules, check out our History and Timeline of Candy Land.

Licorice Spaces (2006 and Newer)

Should you land on a licorice space, you lose your next turn. These spaces were introduced in the 2006 version of Candy land.

Licorice Space in Candy Land — The red player has landed on a licorice space. They will lose their next turn.

Dot Spaces (Older Than 2006 Versions)

Versions of the game from before 2006 have three spaces on the track that have dots on them. When you land on these spaces you are stuck on them until you draw a card on your turn that matches the color of the space that you are stuck on.

Landing on a dot space — The green player has landed on a dot space. They will be stuck on the space until they draw a blue card.

Shortcuts

If you land on a space that has an arrow on it pointing off the main path, you will follow the arrow to take a shortcut. You will move your piece until it reaches the space at the end of the shortcut.

Using a shortcut in Candy Land — The yellow player has landed on a space that has a shortcut attached to it.

Using a shortcut — The yellow player moves their playing piece along the shortcut until it reaches the space at the end.

Occupied Spaces

The rules for landing on a space occupied by another player has changed over the years.

Prior to 2013 two players could share a space in Candy Land. Therefore if you land on a space that another player is already on, you keep your piece on that space.

In 2013 and newer versions should you move to a space that is occupied, you will immediately move your piece to the next space of the same color.

Landing on the same space as another player — The red player has landed on a space that the blue player was already on. The red player will move to the next green space (the color of the space they originally landed on).

Cards of Candy Land (Candyland)

One Color Block Card

Follow the path on the board from your current position. You will move your piece to the next space on the path that matches the color of the card.

Using a Single Color Block card — The yellow player has drawn an orange one color block card. They will move their piece to the next orange space on the gameboard.

Two Color Blocks Card

When you draw a two color blocks card you will follow the path from your current position. You will follow the path until you find two spaces of the color shown on the card. You will move your piece to the second space that matches the color on the card.

Sweet Treat

If you draw a card that features a picture other than a colored square, you will look for the corresponding space on the gameboard. You will move your playing piece to the corresponding space. These cards could move you forwards, or they could move you backwards.

Winning Candy Land (Candyland)

The first player to reach King Kandy’s Castle wins the game. You can use any color in order to reach the space. This rule was implemented in 2004.

In versions older than 2004, you need to draw a violet/purple card in order to reach the final space.

Winning older versions of Candy Land — The yellow player has drawn a purple card. This takes them to the last space on the gameboard. They have won the game.

Candy Land (Candyland) Variant Rules

Candy Land includes a couple of variant rules in order to tweak the game.

For younger players you can choose to use a rule where a picture card only sends a player forward and not backwards. If you would move backwards, instead draw a new card. This variant rule was introduced in the 2004 edition of Candy Land.

For older players you can choose to have each player draw two cards on their turn. Each player will choose which of the two cards they want to use on their turn.

Candy Land (Candyland) FAQs

If you have any questions about how to play Candy Land, leave a comment below on this post. I will try to answer any questions asked as best and as quickly as possible.

Candy Land (Candyland) Components

4 playing pieces
44 cards in newer versions, some older versions have 64 cards
Gameboard
Instructions

2021 Card List

3 blue one color block
4 green one color block
4 orange one color block
3 purple one color block
3 red one color block
4 yellow one color block
3 blue two color block
3 green two color block
3 orange two color block
3 purple two color block
3 red two color block
3 yellow two color block
5 sweet treat (special icons)

2014 Card List

4 blue one color block
4 green one color block
4 orange one color block
3 purple one color block
3 red one color block
4 yellow one color block
3 blue two color block
3 green two color block
3 orange two color block
3 purple two color block
3 red two color block
3 yellow two color block
4 sweet treat (special icons)

1984 Card List

8 blue one color block
7 green one color block
7 or 8 orange one color block (it is really hard to tell the difference between the orange and red cards)
8 purple one color block
7 or 8 red one color block
8 yellow one color block
2 blue two color block
2 green two color block
2 orange two color block
2 purple two color block
2 red two color block
2 yellow two color block
6 sweet treat (special icons)

Year: 1949 | Publisher: Hasbro, Milton Bradley, Winning Moves Games | Designer: Eleanor Abbott

Genres: Children’s, Roll and Move

Ages: 3+ | Number of Players: 2-4 | Length of Game: 20-30 minutes

Difficulty: Light | Strategy: Light | Luck: High

Where to Purchase: Amazon, eBay Any purchases made through these links (including other products) help keep Geeky Hobbies running. Thank you for your support.

For more board and card game how to plays/rules and reviews, check out our complete alphabetical list of board game posts.

History of Candy Land: Timeline of the Changes to the Classic Board Game - Geeky Hobbies

Saturday 16th of September 2023

[…] Basically the premise of Candy Land is to reach the castle at the end of a long path. Players take turns drawing a card. Each card features a color or a picture. If you draw a picture card you move your playing piece to the corresponding spot on the game board. If you draw a color, you will move to the next space on the path that matches the color. Finally if you draw a double color, you will move forward to the second closest space of the color you drew. The ultimate goal of the game is to be the first player to reach the castle. For the full rules check out my Candy Land how to play guide. […]