Candy Land (2013)

Candy Land (2013) is a core entry in the popular board game series. The previous major revision was the 2010 version of the game. The next major revision would be the 2014 version of the game.

History[]

Possibly the most controversial edition, the 2013 version is also the most short-lived. It was followed by a new illustration only a year later in 2014. Illustrator Sheena "Caramelaw" Aw presents Candy Land as a chaotic almost overwhelming sugar-coated fever dream. The board is busier than ever before with almost no unused space, every inch overflowing with sparkly details. There is a distinct kawaii-influenced aesthetic to the redesigns. The normal fauna seen in Candy Land are gone, replaced by a collection of various anthropomorphic sweets and living candy architecture. This extends to the player-controlled characters, normally the humanoid Candy Land Kids. They are replaced by a new quartet of named characters: Cutie Cone, Giggly Gumdrop, Mally Mallo, and Twirly Girl. Interestingly, while there are so many new non-humanoid creatures, all of the traditional non-humanoid cast members are gone. Gloppy has disappeared entirely after being demoted to a non-named character in 2010. Jolly has not been seen since 2004, and Plumpy has not been seen since 1999. The new characters introduced in 2010, the Duke of Swirl and Gramma Gooey, are likewise gone. At 6 total characters with stops on the board, this edition has the smallest cast of any Candy Land game yet released.

Mister Mint and the Peppermint Forest are the first point of interest, returning for the first time since 2004 after his mysterious disappearance in 2010. Traditionally seen as a lanky clown-nosed lumberjack wearing almost exclusively red-and-white stripes, this version is a more colorful ice-skating twink with a matching figure skating costume and red hair with white streaks. While previous depictions of Peppermint Forest just had entire candy canes growing from the ground, this version has full trees with mint leaves and peppermint trunks. There appear to be peppermint candies growing from the trees, some sentient and some not, next to a giant peppermint treehouse where Mister Mint presumably lives.

Nana Nutt is a bold redesign for the character last seen as Gramma Nutt in 2004, briefly replaced by 2010's Gramma Gooey in the interim. Usually portrayed as more stereotypically maternal, here she wears a dramatically clashing outfit with horn-rimmed glasses and an eccentric hairstyle. Her home is swarming with sentient nuts and hazelnut squirrels. While usually seen in an agrarian context, here Nutt appears more like a fun aunt.

Lord Licorice looks more like a pick-up artist than ever with his long flowing twist braids and a pirate-inspired ensemble. His face has lost the vaguely anti-semitic gigantic nose as its distinguishing feature, trading it in for a Xanatos goatee. This version continues his previously established residence in a lagoon, now including a matching pirate ship with a skull figurehead of unknown origin. The ship includes several sentient licorice allsorts as crewmates, with their angry eyebrows showcasing a rowdy attitude. A sentient licorice wheel has a hook hand and peg leg, hinting at a gruesomely violent past.

Princess Lolly and Princess Frostine share characteristics in their redesigns. Their body types resemble the popular Bratz line of dolls from the period, with giant eyes and pencil-thin waists. Their dresses are much more elaborate and ornate with matching new hairstyles resembling their associated sweets, with Lolly's hair to resemble swirly lollipops and her outfit is completely decorated, while Frostine's updo styled like an ice cream twirl and her dress is simple but fashionable with matching platform high heels. Lolly's traditional home Lollipop Woods has become Lollipop Palace, surrounded by sentient lollipops and "sugar fairies." Frostine continues to be aged down from her original incarnation as Queen Frostine but here, she is shown as a fashion designer. The architecture of her Frosted Palace includes sentient sundae garnishes and her attendants are sentient rock candies, snowcones and sorbet, dressed in tutus and tiaras.

King Kandy returns to his regular round self after a skinnier depiction in 2010, now also with a larger beard and balding head. His castle contains elements from several other candy domains, plus sentient cupcake architecture and a living candy blimp. He is surrounded by jellybean guards with tall hats resembling those of the British royal guards, a gummi bear knight, and even a gumball court jester. This marks the first time that King Kandy is portrayed as having a standing military, for unclear purposes.

Characters[]

DISCLAIMER: This version of Candy Land does not include traditional labels on the board, which makes it difficult to catalogue. Some names are verified in the supplemental materials. Others listed here might be assumptions based on past versions until a proper source can be identified.

Candy Land Kids
- Cutie Cone (1st appearance)
- Giggly Gumdrop (1st appearance)
- Mally Mallo (1st appearance)
- Twirly Girl (1st appearance)
King Kandy
Lord Licorice
Mister Mint
Nana Nutt
Princess Frostine
Princess Lolly
Squirrels
Sugar Fairies

Locations[]

DISCLAIMER: This version of Candy Land does not include traditional labels on the board, which makes it difficult to catalogue. Some names are verified in the supplemental materials. Others listed here might be assumptions based on past versions until a proper source can be identified.

Candy Castle (unverified)
Frosted Palace
Licorice Lagoon (unverified)
Lollipop Palace
Peanut Brittle House (unverified)
Peppermint Forest
Rainbow Trail (unverified)

Notes[]

This edition uses a spinning wheel to determine player moves rather than the traditional cards.
The names of the characters are not shown on the board, but they are written in supplemental materials.
In the app Hasbro Arcade (discontinued in March 31, 2016), the mini game Candy Land Sweet Match was themed after this revision.