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DasBrieger's profile
John Brieger
John Brieger
John Brieger
@DasBrieger

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John Brieger

@DasBrieger

Developer & Design Researcher in boardgames. Runs the Brieger Creative studio. Writes about playtesting & boardgame development. (he/him)

Sunnyvale, CA
briegercreative.com
Joined January 2011

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    John Brieger‏ @DasBrieger Mar 18

    Candyland is a masterpiece of game design that designers should be studying and dissecting as one of the best examples EVER of game design craft for specific audiences.

    9:53 PM - 18 Mar 2021
    • 2,623 Retweets
    • 11,557 Likes
    • Joanna G BEZ || KS on 31st August for "A game about wee..." Diana Brickell Tal Benisty Dr. Bryan Sanders Adam Makey Daniel Johnstone Insider2000 Margaret Dunlap
    146 replies 2,623 retweets 11,557 likes
      1. New conversation
      2. John Brieger‏ @DasBrieger Mar 18

        Candyland is such an enduring design we are still playing it (and it's reinterpretations) divorced from its original context.

        5 replies 35 retweets 1,079 likes
        Show this thread
      3. John Brieger‏ @DasBrieger Mar 18

        I feel like I give this rant to someone in person once a year and since I spent 2020 inside I guess it gets to be the internet today.

        1 reply 14 retweets 1,019 likes
        Show this thread
      4. John Brieger‏ @DasBrieger Mar 18

        This door was opened by Some Guy on Facebook Who Doesn't Think Candyland is A Game™ so... anyway... HERE WE GO

        5 replies 32 retweets 903 likes
        Show this thread
      5. John Brieger‏ @DasBrieger Mar 18

        Candyland was invented in 1948 by retired schoolteacher Eleanor Abbott. Importantly, she designed the game during the height of the polio epidemic while surrounded by children in a polio ward.pic.twitter.com/8t0SaYFYqK

        5 replies 318 retweets 1,990 likes
        Show this thread
      6. John Brieger‏ @DasBrieger Mar 18

        To understand Candyland's design genius, we first need to know a bit about polio. Key points to know here: - Polio was an enormous epidemic in the United States in the late 40's and early 50's - Non-severe cases of polio presented with flu-like symptoms that lasted about 10 days

        2 replies 60 retweets 1,131 likes
        Show this thread
      7. John Brieger‏ @DasBrieger Mar 18

        - Severe cases of polio resulted in paralysis, which could be take several forms. - Importantly, you often didn't know if you or your child had paralytic polio until after nearly a week of infectionpic.twitter.com/6G1MkKDfNw

        2 replies 44 retweets 1,036 likes
        Show this thread
      8. John Brieger‏ @DasBrieger Mar 18

        Given both the highly contagious nature of polio and the paralytic nature of severe cases (<1%), many hospitals at the time began to run dedicated polio wards, in which the patients were majority children.pic.twitter.com/H6GlLloE9Z

        1 reply 38 retweets 956 likes
        Show this thread
      9. John Brieger‏ @DasBrieger Mar 18

        Patients in these wards had a mixture of levels of illness, mobility, and health. It was in this environment the first iterations of Candyland are designed and tested. (picture – 1949 edition board)pic.twitter.com/DA3aA4EQ8l

        5 replies 87 retweets 1,492 likes
        Show this thread
      10. John Brieger‏ @DasBrieger Mar 18

        Candyland is an accessible game with rules that require limited amounts of cognitive load from players to play and can be understood by a wide variety of ages: perfect for playing with sick children at a variety of energy levels.

        4 replies 123 retweets 1,910 likes
        Show this thread
      11. John Brieger‏ @DasBrieger Mar 18

        It can be argued that like many modern games: Candyland is, at its heart, a power fantasy. In this case, the fantasy isn't "Building a Kingdom" or "Becoming Rich" but the freedom and mobility of taking a pleasant walk.

        7 replies 164 retweets 2,248 likes
        Show this thread
      12. John Brieger‏ @DasBrieger Mar 18

        Divorcing Candyland from a context in which it addresses mobility is doing a disservice to the power that held for children convalescing from polio. Look at that 1949 board in detail — even the boy here is depicted wearing a leg brace.pic.twitter.com/u635EbCc2H

        16 replies 305 retweets 2,576 likes
        Show this thread
      13. John Brieger‏ @DasBrieger Mar 18

        Candyland receives flak sometimes in that it is a game whose outcome is "predetermined" by the shuffle of the cards. But even so, to a young child, Candyland is filled with wonder and surprise.

        13 replies 35 retweets 1,405 likes
        Show this thread
      14. John Brieger‏ @DasBrieger Mar 18

        If you've seen the joy and excitement on a child's face when a shortcut is drawn or a parent suffers a setback, it's plain to see that FOR ITS AUDIENCE, Candyland is a game with fantastic emotional stakes and payoffs. (picture: 1984 Candyland board)pic.twitter.com/COSSrUFZyd

        28 replies 78 retweets 2,281 likes
        Show this thread
      15. John Brieger‏ @DasBrieger Mar 18

        As the polio epidemic ends (thanks to vaccines — also an important part of this story), Milton Bradley begins to update the design of Candyland. We see the emergence of characters that inhabit the board and more of a sense of story.

        1 reply 43 retweets 1,293 likes
        Show this thread
      16. John Brieger‏ @DasBrieger Mar 18

        This too is a fundamental part of why Candyland gains staying power — everything about the art, packaging, and theming of Candyland makes a promise about the type of experience for children that awaits... and then, importantly, it delivers that experience it promises.

        1 reply 30 retweets 1,164 likes
        Show this thread
      17. John Brieger‏ @DasBrieger Mar 18

        I'm not sure when it was introduced to the line, but it was sometime after the 1978 edition, but in the early 80's the first thing Candyland buyers saw after opening the box was this insert that told a children's story. (Picture: 1984 box insert)pic.twitter.com/qkAqpWYl6R

        5 replies 41 retweets 1,301 likes
        Show this thread
      18. John Brieger‏ @DasBrieger Mar 18

        By the time we see the 2001 edition of the product, that insert takes up the whole of the box, ensuring that it captures 100% of your attention when the game is first opened.pic.twitter.com/nU5nqDC79P

        7 replies 35 retweets 1,214 likes
        Show this thread
      19. John Brieger‏ @DasBrieger Mar 18

        It's easy as a designer working on modern hobby games to dismiss these innovations — but really dig in and see how these frame and elevate a children's game, how they communicate design goals.

        2 replies 28 retweets 1,415 likes
        Show this thread
      20. John Brieger‏ @DasBrieger Mar 18

        Candyland was, and is, a masterpiece. Please come fight me if you think it's not a game. End of Thread.

        95 replies 63 retweets 2,758 likes
        Show this thread
      21. End of conversation

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