วันพุธที่ 13 พฤษภาคม พ.ศ. 2552
We have enthusiastically played Candyland with each of our three kids. It is easily the best starting point for introducing a child to board games. Players take turns drawing from a deck and moving their pieces around the board. The cards have one or two squares of a particular color (such as red, green, yellow, etc.) and players move pieces ahead on the path to the next matching spot of the same color. No counting or reading is required. There are also special cards that can move a player ahead or behind, and they are indicated by picture of the spot on the board to which the player should move their piece. Play continues until one player reaches the end.
The Pooh version falls short in a couple of respects. As others have pointed out, the colors are not primary colors. Also, kids may be less likely in the long run sticking with a game that they might enjoy, simply because they have outgrown Pooh.
Some of my observations about the original game:
1) Most kids can probably start playing and enjoying this game before the recommended 36 months of age. If you have a child with the attention span and the desire to sit down for a 10-15 minute game, I'm pretty confident they could enjoy it.
2) Among the lessons our kids learned from Candyland: taking turns, recognizing colors, and dealing with disappointment. Luckily, the games are quick enough that it is usually possible to play multiple games in one seting. This makes it possible to keep playing until each child has had at least one win. (Very helpful for managing little egos)
3) For such a simple game, it manages to perfectly balance the possibility of changes in fortune without seeming arbitrary. The game is literally in doubt until the last card is played (one of the "special" cards might send a player back to near the start). This is great for teaching that most valuable of lessons: "NEVER give up".
4) With most simple games, it is almost impossible to get older kids to play after they reach a certin age. We have not found that to be as true with Candy Land. We've had games with an adult and kids ages 3, 6, and 9 playing together and having fun. If you have more than one kid, you know how hard this can be.
As a parent of three, I give the original game my highest recommendation. Like someone else on the Amazon review page said, buy something else with Pooh on it.
Buy Pooh Candyland!
