When I was a kid, I loved playing Candy Land. The colored square cards told you where to move, no worries about your math skills. It's a game that is easy and pure joy. The Candy Castle and the Gingerbread Plum Trees, each more magical than the last. I remember the short cut through the Gumdrop Mountains and wanting to eat candy every time I played! If there was an issue with my favorite game, it was that you didn’t actually get to eat the candy, total bummer!
It wasn’t long before someone used the same methodology in a cannabis themed game. In 2007, THC The Game was published by Kheper Games. They created a portable pocket-sized board game that you could play in a car while getting high. The game has a simple spinner with color coded areas indicating what square to move your pawn. Like Candy Land, the pathway is a collection of colored squares. Unlike Candy Land, THC has pictures of pot leaves, pipes, bongs, and other pot-themed squares.
If I had an issue with that game, it was that it’s too small and it involves no smoking. Like Candy Land, one is teased by the idea of ganja, but no actual smoking is involved! Kheper came out with a second edition several years later. The game was sold at Spencer's and other cannabis culture stores. THC never became a break away hit and it’s getting harder to find a copy. The torch was passed from Candy Land to THC, and then it passed again.
In 2014, Roll-a-Bong was born. Created out of a desire to sample the candy, Roll-a-Bong allows players to drink, smoke, eat, and smoke more. Candy Land, THC, and Roll-a-Bong are all basic track games. Roll-a-Bong did away with the spinner and cards as the method to move around the board, and uses traditional 6-sided dice for game play instead. Another interesting feature is the homage to “Chutes and Ladders.” Roll-a-Bong features “Worm Hole” squares that directs players to jump forward or slide back.
In 2019, The Ganja Gaming Guild plans to release Roll-a-Bong Deluxe, the next evolution of the Candy Land lineage. This game features new squares, new dice, and more amazing artwork by Edison Goncalves. The people at Roll-a-Bong are glad to grow with this exploding market. In 2019, homes and clubs nationwide are throwing “Underground Game Nights.” People are gathering to sample the new candy, the amazing selection of available high-grade cannabis and cannabis products. The spirit of Candy Land now lives in a new generation!