Corporate Monopoly raises the stakes

Hasbro’s new Monopoly Empire allows players to own the world’s top brands with corporations purchased instead of streets.

In Monopoly Empire, players can own the world’s top brands with corporations purchased instead of streets.

The board game Monopoly tends to evoke nostalgia for “the good old days”, when a tablet was something you took for a headache and renting a place on a London street cost the same as a packet of crisps — £2 (Dh11.93) for Old Kent Road).

But despite being dwarfed by the success of virtual reality games, the market for board games has continued to grow. Amazon says board game sales increased by a double-digit percentage from 2012 to 2013. And sales at hobby stores in the United States rose 15 to 20 per cent in each of the past three years according to ICv2, a trade publication.

Tapping into the trend, the Monopoly makers Hasbro recently launched a corporate version of the 80-year-old game to appeal to younger, more adrenalin-fuelled gamers. In Monopoly Empire, players can own the world’s top brands with corporations purchased instead of streets, which are inserted into each player’s “Empire Tower”. The first to fill their tower to the top wins.

New “tokens” to move around the board include a can of Coca- Cola, an Xbox game controller and McDonald’s fries. During a family trial of the new version, I go for the fries.

Hasbro made two of its own toy brands — Nerf and Transformers — the cheapest on the board, and the priciest spots are taken by Coca-Cola and Samsung — which lack the luxurious feel of owning Park Lane and Mayfair.

These brands don’t quite reflect the real world economy; absent are the two most valuable global brands, Apple and Microsoft, or any non-western brands.

However, there was a faster pace and heightened sense of risk to playing this game compared to traditional Monopoly. When I landed on “Chance”, rather than winning second prize in a beauty contest, I am told to: “Launch your website. Sales skyrocket. Collect M300K from the bank”. (Monopoly money is M)

While traditional Monopoly often drags on until Dad is caught dipping his hands in the bank and Grandad starts snoring, in this version, there are clear-cut winners and losers.

However, it takes longer to set up, there are more stringent rules and less scope for wheeling and dealing. But no one is caught snoozing. And I get the chance to own a global conglomerate made up of eBay, Nestlé, Yahoo, Intel and EA Sports — despite having served jail time.

q&a game with a rich history

Who invented Monopoly?

It’s believed several people contributed to the game’s design. The original format was based on Atlantic City, New Jersey, and was produced by Parker Brothers.

What happened next?

In 1936, Parker Brothers began licensing the game for sale outside the US. In 1941, the British Secret Intelligence Service had John Waddington, the licensed manufacturer of the game in the UK, created a special edition for prisoners of war held by the Nazis. Hidden inside these games were maps, compasses, real money and other objects useful for escaping. They were distributed to prisoners by Secret Service-created fake charity groups. Today, according to Hasbro, more than 275 million games have been sold worldwide and it’s available in 111 countries, in 43 languages. There are 48 different monopolies for sale on Hasbro’s website.

What’s the priciest Monopoly game ever made?

A set made of 23-carat gold worth US$2 million with rubies and sapphires atop the chimneys of the houses and hotels. It was designed by the artist Sidney Mobell to honour the game’s 50th anniversary in 1985.

Is there a local Monopoly version?

Plans for a Dubai edition in 2006 were scrapped over which streets and developments to include.

Where can you buy Monopoly in the UAE?

www.souq.com sells Monopoly Empire (Dh179), traditional Monopoly (Dh27) and an Arabic version (Dh30).

Any other fun facts?

More than 20 tokens have been cast such as the horse, dog, car, elephant, purse and lantern.

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