Why are adolescents so crazy-making to their parents?
Gavin and I just came off a week and half of the silent treatment...all because Evil Overlord Mom insisted that the lawn had to be mowed, and when it wasn't, draconian measures were instituted (gasp! no computer games for a week! oh, the horror of it all!).
Anyway, on the drive to school this morning, glaciers thawed, and Gavin informed me that one of his friends feels compelled to write the complete history of Candyland.
Candyland (for those of you who have successfully avoided or blocked out any memory or connection to toddlers) is a very simple board game which has been around for at least 40 years. Players roll dice and draw cards and move a gingerbread-man-shaped token through various kingdoms of candy, ruled over by monarchs such as Mr. Mint, King Kandy, and Queen Frostine.
Both my kids were fascinated by Candyland until they were about four. I finally got smart and started stacking the deck so that a) the child could win the game quickly (but not too quickly, otherwise we'd have to play again) and b) so that I wouldn't draw either Queen Frostine or Princess Lolly too early in the game, because either of those is pretty much a guaranteed win...and an early win is OK if it's the KID winning; if it's the parent's early win, then you may have to play it 2 or 3 MORE times.
OK, I thought; so he's interested in the history of board games and that one's been around awhile.
But no. No, this is a history of CANDYLAND, in which civil war erupts between Princess Lolly and Queen Frostine, Lord Licorice attempts to infiltrate King Kandy's domain by employing Mr. Mint as a spy, Grandma Nutt is consumed by Gloppy, the Chocolate Swamp Monster, and then the peasants revolt, kill all the heads of state with the Raspberry Guillotine...and eventually Candyland is subsumed into the Hapsburg Empire, sometime around 1600.
Maybe "The Candyman" was their national anthem?
I have to admit, it makes those seemingly endless games of Candyland much better in retrospect...
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9 comments:
I have to say, j, that Gavin's flights of fancy often make my day.
You have a very creative child. Like my parents, I don't let the kids win. And I made them clean the playroom like they were Cinderella.
Bring out the shackles ;)
Aw, how.. sweet!
Hi, found you via a link on "Third Degree Nurse" and having read just a few posts, I think Gavin is one very intelligent and creative kid! : )
Thanks to my granddaughter I still get to play Candyland. Altho I'm not sure that Gavin's description wouldn't be more fun!
Glad you had the opportunity to visit with your friend. I've one like that also. No matter how many years pass, we pick up where we left off.
Well you learn something new every day. I have never played that game, nor seen it played in real life, but when my sisters and I saw it on Full House once, boy were we transfixed!
The more I hear about Gavin, the more impressed I am. You have one heck of a kid there! And he's very lucky in his choice of mom for it's quite clear that she understands! :)
Is Gavin wiriting the history or a friend?? I'm confused. LOL
What a great memory. I loved that game and so did my kids. I also love your strategy, it took me awhile to figure that one out but not long after I did the kids also figured out what I was doing. Try to get through a game of Scrabble quickly. UGH!!
Have a good one!
Dawn
It sounds like he's going to be a writer. What a great imagination.
I, for one, would LOVE to read that story.
-heather
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