Playing the “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” Board Game

In 1978, Knopf books made a rare foray into board games, publishing Charlie and the Chocolate Factory: A Game. I was fortunate enough to find a copy of this on Ebay a while back, and recently I coerced a group of friends into playing it for the first time.

Perhaps unsurprisingly (since it was created by a book publishing house), the game is entirely made up of cardboard and it fits neatly on a bookshelf. The game features Joseph Schindelman illustrations and artwork throughout. The cover unfolds into the game board and all of the needed game pieces pop out. Instead of dice, there are 22 numbered tiles that players select from to determine their next move. There are also five Golden tickets, five cards for each of the children, and six player chips that move around the board (the children plus Mr. Wonka). You win the game if you hold the Charlie card as the Charlie chip reaches the Television Chocolate Room.

You guys… the rules are complicated. We read them multiple times and it was still confusing. (Granted, we were drinking wine, but still.) It was also a much slower game than I expected. First there’s a setup phase where you draw Golden Tickets and claim children. Then there’s the tour phase, where Mr. Wonka and the children sloooowly progress through the factory. At each of the rooms, one of the naughty children disappears and is removed from the game. No child can move in front of Mr. Wonka, and he has to stop at each of the rooms until all of the children have joined him. So the game effectively resets at each of the rooms, and basically none of the gameplay until “The Nut Room” actually matters. Most of what you’re doing is just swapping child cards around. Whenever someone finds a Golden Ticket (which can happen at any time during the game), that player can claim the lowest numbered child card from someone else as long as its token is not “safe” (ie on a space with a dot the same colour as it). In addition to that, whenever a child chip lands on a Switch space OR lands on the same space as Willy Wonka (if he’s not in one of the rooms), the player can switch child cards with any other player (again, as long as that child’s token isn’t “safe”). Oh, and every time you run out of number cards you have to collect them all, mix them up, and put them back in the pot. So it’s a lot of stopping and starting, swapping child cards, and consulting the rules repeatedly – and really none of it actually matters until the very end. Not the most satisfying of games I’ve ever played, to tell you the truth.

That said, my friend Rory certainly enjoyed when he won!

So in summary: As a piece of Dahl memorabilia, I love this game. The illustrations and typography are gorgeous (I’ve always loved Schindelman’s slightly grotesque style), and the design of game board and pieces is very clever. If you’re a Dahl collector, you should definitely try to get your hands on a copy. As a playable board game though, it leaves a lot to be desired. The rules are overly complicated, and I can’t really picture any kids enjoying it. (I guess that’s why it was never republished!)


Lego Roald Dahl Characters in UK

Characters are springing from the pages of Roald Dahl stories and appearing at stunning locations around the UK!

From RoaldDahl.com: To celebrate Roald Dahl Day, LEGO® has teamed up with the Roald Dahl estate to install six LEGO® statues of Dahl’s characters around England, Ireland, and Wales.

Intrepid Billy, hero of Billy and the Minpins, will be at the Eden Project in Cornwall*

Charlie, the good-hearted hero of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory will be at Manchester Central Library

Maverick inventor George of George’s Marvellous Medicine will be at Nottingham Railway Station

James, the adventurous hero of James and the Giant Peach will be at Cardiff Castle*

Anarchic Matilda will be in the foyer of the Cambridge Theatre in London, home of Matilda the Musical

Brave Sophie, hero of The BFG, will be at the National Trust’s Giant’s Causeway in Northern Ireland*

*Entry tickets will be required to gain access to the statues at these locations


Storybook Cosmetics collaboration with Dahl

As I blogged about previously, Storybook Cosmetics are indeed bringing out a Charlie-inspired eyeshadow palette book. The company has provided the press release below. I’ll be on the lookout for it when it goes on sale!


Storybook Cosmetics™ Announces Collaboration with Roald Dahl’s Charlie and the Chocolate Factory

Childhood classic to be turned into eyeshadow palette book

OMAHA, NEB. (January 26, 2017)- Willy Wonka’s Golden Ticket stated, “In your wildest dreams you could not imagine that such things could happen to you! Just wait and see!” That is exactly how Storybook Cosmetics is feeling as they announce a collaboration with the Roald Dahl Literary Estate for CHARLIE AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY. The iconic children’s book served as inspiration for the latest Storybook Cosmetics eyeshadow palette book that will feature 12 Whipple-Scrumptious colors.

The made in the U.S.A. color palette will come in a life-size custom hardcover storybook and features a dozen cruelty-free highly, pigmented shades that range from mattes, metallics and pearl finishes. The limited edition palette would surely send Veruca Salt into a fit until she got one! But all good things come to those who wait…and in this case it won’t be until later this year when the product is perfected. Willy Wonka himself said it best, “Tremendous things are in store for you! Many wonderful surprises await you!”

“We are so excited to be teaming up with the Roald Dahl Literary Estate on this,” said Missy Maynard. “My sisters and I have been huge fans of the legendary Roald Dahl works since we were little kids. We guarantee that this palette will do the iconic story justice! It’s like Roald Dahl says in the book, “Something crazy is going to happen now, Charlie thought. But he wasn’t frightened. He wasn’t even nervous. He was just terrifically excited.” We really couldn’t be more excited about this collaboration! It really is a dream come true.”

Stephanie Griggs, the Roald Dahl Literary Estate’s Licensing and Design Manager added, “Roald Dahl’s CHARLIE AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY is not only one of the world’s most popular and iconic children’s books; it has also inspired two movies, and a hit stage musical- soon to open on Broadway. And now this exciting collaboration with the Maynard triplets! We love the fact that Storybook Cosmetics products are inspired by the magical stories Erin, Mandy and Missy enjoyed most as kids. The combination of stories and cruelty-free cosmetics demonstrates an inventiveness worthy of Mr Wonka himself, and we can’t wait to see the limited edition palette of colours inspired by the story.”

The Storybook Cosmetics Charlie and the Chocolate Factory Palette will be for sale later this year at storybookcosmetics.com. For the latest updates people can sign up on their website and follow the official Storybook Cosmetics Instagram account.


Willy Wonka Teddy Bear by Steiff

Oh wow! I just learned that Steiff, the famous makers of teddy bears, created a limited edition teddy bear based on Willy Wonka. They’re pretty expensive though… (I found one on Amazon.com.)

Details:

Steiff WILLIE WONKA is the most amazing, the most fantastic, the most extraordinary chocolate maker the world has ever seen!

He is made from the finest beige mohair, fully jointed, felt paw pads and with shiny eyes and hand embroidered brown nose and mouth. One of the pads is embroidered with the famous name of the author ROALD DAHL.

He is beautifully dressed in a dark pink jacket, yellow and white waistcoat and matching dark pink and white bow tie. Finally he is wearing his favourite grey hat with contrasting band.

So smart and loved by all our collectors!

Inspired by Quentin Blake’s original illustrations, Steiff bring their style to the beloved ROALD DAHL classic CHARLIE AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY with this delicious eccentric candy-maker Steiff Willy Wonka.
Limited edition of just 1,916 pieces.


“I apologise to mugwumps everywhere.”

Roald Dahl is in the news as British foreign secretary Boris Johnson calls Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn a “mutton-headed, old mugwump.” The press had a field day with it, trying to figure out what in the world he meant!

When questioned, Johnson said he thought the word was from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory: “I think Willy Wonka says it either to the parents of Violet Beauregarde or Augustus Gloop.” Of course, true Dahl fans know that isn’t quite the case! The word actually appears in the book’s sequel Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator. And in The Twits, Dahl used a form of the word as the name of Muggle-wump the Monkey.


Hidden Treats in the Chocolate Factory

The official Dahl site has an interesting blog post about first-draft Charlie material that was later cut before publication. For example:

‘The Warming Candy Room’ [was] described as ‘like the engine room of a gigantic old-fashioned ship’, created red sweets that will ‘warm your entire body even on the coldest of days’

I also loved the idea of “enormous snow-white polar bears made out of white chocolate”!

There are photographs of Dahl’s original hand-written manuscripts as well. If you’re a Wonka fan, you should definitely check it out.


Willy Wonka Prequel Film in the Works!

Wow. The news feeds are full this week with stories that the Roald Dahl estate is working with Warner Bros. to produce a new film about Willy Wonka. No, it’s not the official sequel Charlie and the Great Class Elevator. Instead it’s going to be a prequel story that comes before the events of the first book. It won’t be an origin story, but rather ” a standalone movie focused on Wonka and his early adventures”. The filmmakers are clearly trying to establish a Potter-like franchise, and they think Wonka could provide the hook.

Reaction seems to be mixed so far. Some fans are upset at this happening and feel it somehow insults Gene Wilder’s memory so soon after his death. Others are surprised that the notoriously picky Dahl estate would back the project.

I’m a little ambivalent about this one. Studios are rushing to establish franchises and “cinematic universes,” but I’m not sure if the Charlie books have enough world-building in them to support it. And unlike the Potter example, we don’t have Dahl himself around to bless the extended canon. The author of the initial Variety piece speculated on Twitter whether Dahl had any unpublished writing about Wonka the screenwriter will be able to use. I’d be surprised if that were the case. (The only scraps I’ve ever seen were from excised chapters and later sequels that never got finished.)

What do you think? Are you excited about this project or wary?

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