LORD // LICORICE

~ L O R D // L I C O R I C E ~

FOR LIBERAL ARTS STUDENTS OF ANY AGE

A conceptual dive into the lore of Candy Land®, through group gameplay and conversation
"The grumpy Lord Licorice sneaks through the Licorice Forest. Be careful, he may try to block your way along the path with his icky, sticky licorice! Lord Licorice is not like anyone else in Candy Land. He's always up to some plan to turn all of Candy Land to Licorice - the Licorice Castle, Licorice Lake, Licorice Mountains and Licorice Acres. Just imagine! Lucky for us, he's a little clumsy. One of these days, (you'd think) he'll learn that those happy Candy Land friends, with the help of visitors like you, will stop him every time."

– Official Candy Land® Website
SETUP (Remains consistent to original rules of Candy Land®):

  • Open gameboard and set up on a flat surface
  • Shuffle all cards and place them facedown in an easily-accessible pile
  • Each player chooses a Gingerbread Character pawn and places it on the START space on the gameboard

    • GAMEPLAY (Remains consistent to original rules of Candy Land®):

  • 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
  • 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®

    • ADDITIONAL GAMEPLAY

  • If a player lands on a purple square, that player must select one of the questions listed in the table below to contemplate and discuss with the other players. Discussion must be brief and concise, and under two minutes.

    • QUESTIONS TO CONTEMPLATE:
    - Why might Lord Licorice be introduced as being "...not like anyone else in Candy Land?" How might this oversimplification influence the target demographic (young children) of this game?
    - Is Lord Licorice gay-coded? Why is he often presented as feminine? (Additionally, why is it a common trope for villainous figures to be gay-coded/effeminate)
    - Why the stigma against licorice? Why is it presented as the antithesis of candy?
    - In his page on the Candy Land® Fan Wiki, Lord Licorice's backstory is elaborated upon, and more details are added to his character. One such detail is the fact that "he is never portrayed being willing to kill to get what he wants, always using non-lethal means to achieve his ends." Considering Candy Land®'s place in the zeitgeist, how might this fact have been conceived?