Game Overview:
This is a simple two to four player game for ages three and up wherein each player races to the end. Players move their piece by drawing cards and moving their piece to the corresponding picture or color. Play is individual, as opposed to cooperative, and the players actions in the game do not effect other players. The game requires little or no reading, and the rules are easy to learn.

Setup:
Place the board on a flat surface. Each player picks one of the four pieces to represent their place on the board. The candy cards should be shuffled and placed face down within the reach of all players. Play starts with the youngest player, and rotates to the left.

Gameplay:
At the beginning of each players turn they draw one candy card. That card may contain a single color block, two color blocks, or a picture of a place on the board. The color blocks allow you to move forward to that corresponding color. If two color blocks are drawn, then you move forward to the second matching color. If a picture card is drawn, the player must move forward OR backward to the designated space.
When moving, always move in the direction of signposts. In order to activate one of the two shortcuts on the board, you must land exactly on the entry point to that shortcut. If you land on the shortcut then you may move your piece forward to the ending point of that shortcut. You cannot “fall backwards” into a shortcut.
If a player lands on a licorice space, dictated by the picture of licorice, then that player loses their next turn. Play resumes as normal after the single turn is forfeited.
To win a player must reach the candy castle at the end of the path. The first player to reach the castle is declared the winner of candy land.

Special Rules:
Younger players may get upset because they have to move their pawn backwards. If you think moving backwards will be problematic behaviorally, simply allow for only forward movement. However, I personally feel that this ruins the spirit of the game and is a bad lesson to teach kids: that it’s better to win than it is to play according to the rules. But screaming three year olds aren’t fun, so you decide.

Speed Play:
Draw two cards instead of one, pick the best of the two and discard both.