A classic children's board game. It was first made way back in 1948 by Eleanor Abbott while she was in a hospital in San Diego recovering from polio. Kids who played the game in the hospital enjoyed it and told her she should submit the game to the Milton Bradley Company, which published it for the first time in 1949. It was a gigantic hit for Milton Bradley. Since the company was bought out by Hasbro, they're the current manufacturer of the game.
Usually, it's the first board game a child will play, as it is one of the most simple -- it requires neither the ability to read or count. Basically, you move your piece around the game board through Candy Land, a magical and happy land which appears to be made entirely of candy. You get to visit places like the Gumdrop Mountains, the Peanut Brittle House, and the Ice Cream Sea, and you can get trapped in places like the Lollipop Woods and the Molasses Swamp.
Instead of using dice to move around, players draw cards upon which are printed colors corresponding to the colors of the squares of the board. If you draw a red card, you move up to the next red square. If you draw a card with two red squares, you get the equivalent of two turns. Some modern versions of the game use a spinner instead of cards. The first person to get to Candy Castle is declared the winner.
There isn't really a lot of strategy involved in Candy Land, but it does help teach children how to do things like recognize colors and take turns. Particularly bright and ruthless children, envisioning all those sugary trees, buildings, and people, may plot detailed invasion tactics...