This got me to thinking about how much the original candy land (not all the character ones...) has changed over the years. I pulled out all the versions I could find. I'm mad I do not have the one I had when my niece was a little girl (she's 13 now) or when I was a little girl (much older than that) but these three give a good idea of how much it has changed with the times. I remember mine didn't have queen frostine or any characters rather it had ice cream floats and a peanut brittle house etc... shhhh... I really didn't just date myself did I????
We had a wonderfully peaceful morning so I laid the boards on the floor and we discussed the boards. The girls loved finding the differences and taking pictures of the different characters.
Right from the beginning you notice the change! The gingerbread men markers have changed and the girls think the characters look more lifelike now. They also like that there are 4 kids now since there are 4 markers.
Our saddest realization was that they fired our good friend plumpy!! Yes, we were upset. See the card above? They have replaced him with a "mumma tree" and her babies are scattered all over the new board. We guess she has a hard time making them mind. We will miss you plumpy!
Another interesting change... Queen frostine has turned into "princess frostine" and she's ice skating! We like the queen frostine pictured on the top card (leftover from my nieces game) the best since she seems soft and loving.
I cannot believe the changes in Princess lolly either! At least they got rid of that slightly crazy one pictured on the game board ;) The new "lolly" is no longer a princess. She has sprouted wings and a lollipop wand... go figure???
Now is a good time to mention the biggest change. You no longer are trying to find king candy (the early 90's version had you looking for the king because the evil lord licorice hid him) The new king looks so happy and has a ton of candy so the girls like him a lot better. I am OK with it too. I mean really... you could see the king up there the whole time. And his castle wasn't really candy it was icecream!!!
This difference is a sign of our times. This generation just can't wait for anything or they get "bored"!!! We used to have to wait until a yellow card was drawn... sometimes 3 or more turns. Now that lord licorice isn't in hiding from kidnapping the king he has nothing better to do than throw licorice in your path, which make you lose 1 turn. There is also a rainbow spot (this has been there a few versions now) instead of the purple spot at the very end of the lane. It takes the fun out of it for me. I liked the challenge of the win. Yeah, it was deflating when you waited forever for a purple card and they you got a face card and had to go back... but that was the game!!!
The girls came up with more differences too (all the characters look different, etc...) This lesson kept us busy for over an hour. My husband thinks I'm a bit crazy but it really has me intrigued. I love the history behind something as simple as a child's board game. If you haven't guessed I'm no longer upset that they received candyland. I'm actually thinking about going on E-bay to find one from my childhood! I now understand how toy collectors feel.
I hope you have enjoyed your Sunday as much as I have! Candy land, coloring, the kids helping in the kitchen, sledding... what a great way to renew your spirit and count your blessings!!!!
1 comment:
We don't have any board games yet (she's not at that stage yet), but my nephew got a few for Christmas. One in particular I remember was Don't Spill the Beans and I asked Mom why she got it because she still has ours in the basement, along with Memory (another he got), Candyland, Monopoly, among others.
Now I'm interested to see just how many game pieces are actually left in our old games... and I'll have to compare the new ones we get here to the old ones we play at Gram's.
PS - I'm the ice cream floats and peanut brittle generation as well. hehe
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