Monopoly

The game monopoly is in my mind one of the best board games invented. One thing I really liked was thinking about what the places looked like and where about they were located in London. Maybe research into this? Or I could look at the Leeds version of the game instead?

Leeds Edition
Review of Leeds Edition

Waddington's Monopoly (Leeds City Museum)

The game of Monopoly is part of the story of Leeds

"This special limited edition based on Leeds was published by John Waddington Limited, to celebrate the centenary of the City of Leeds in 1993.

"John Waddington started off as a theatrical printer in Leeds in 1896 and the firm began printing playing cards in 1921.

"The game Monopoly owes its genesis to an American Quaker woman who believed in the common ownership of land. By 1935 when the Parker Brothers in Philadelphia acquired the rights to the game, it had become the embodiment of capitalist speculation.

"The British rights to the game were acquired by the Leeds firm of Waddingtons in 1935 and the slightly bizarre choice of London streets was based on a flying visit to the capital by one of the firm's employees.

"Since then the game has been customised to many cities and institutions, including this Leeds edition. Waddington's are also reputed to have smuggled silk escape maps to British prisoner's of war inside Monopoly sets during the Second World War.

"Waddingtons were taken over by the US firm of Hasbro in the 1990s."

A few Facts about the game:

More than 275 million games have been sold worldwide and it’s available in 111 countries, in 43 languages.

The longest MONOPOLY game in history lasted for 70 straight days.

The most expensive version of the game was produced by celebrated San Francisco jeweler Sidney Mobell. Valued at $2 million, the set features a 23-carat gold board and diamond-studded die.

Many specialised editions of the classic game have been produced featuring your favourite sports teams, brands, television shows, cartoons and more.

The character locked behind the bars is called Jake the Jailbird. Officer Edgar Mallory sent him to jail.

Children play MONOPOLY all over the world, but where they live may determine what they call the highest rent property on the game board. In the U.S., it is named “Boardwalk” after a street in Atlantic City. In Spain, it is named “Paseo del Prado” after a street in Barcelona and in France, “Rue de la Paix” is the name of the most coveted property space.

Escape maps, compasses and files were inserted into MONOPOLY game boards smuggled into POW camps inside Germany during World War II. Real money for escapees was slipped into the packs of MONOPOLY money.

Every few years, national champions from around the globe meet for the MONOPOLY World Championship tournament. World Champions have hailed from 10 different countries, including: United States, Ireland, Singapore, Italy, New Zealand, United Kingdom, Japan, Netherlands, Hong Kong, Japan and Spain.

McDonalds Monopoly Commercial

I could use monopoly as one of the five even if its based on the Leeds edition. I could look at the places mark them off on a map. Collect facts and figures. Look at the house prices for those areas.