Canadian monopoly enthusiasts will have three points of interest on the latest version of the gameboard besides the international theme, new eco-friendly utilities and modernized transportation options.
Hasbro Inc., announced that Montreal, Vancouver and Toronto would be among the 22 cities up for grabs in Monopoly Here and Now: The World Edition.
Hasbro said the cities were chosen through an international vote that saw more than five million Monopoly fans cast ballots for the global cities they wanted to see on the first-ever global edition of the popular board game.
Montreal will occupy the place of honour previously held by Boardwalk and will be paired with the Latvian capital of Riga to represent the most expensive property group on the board.
Vancouver will become the flagship piece of real estate in the orange group, while Toronto will join Kyiv and Istanbul to comprise the magenta properties. Canada and China are the only countries to feature three cities on the board.
“We hope that fans of the world’s most popular board game will enjoy buying, selling and trading real estate from around the globe in the new Monopoly game that they created with their votes,” Hasbro vice-president of Global Marketing Helen Martin said in a statement.
Monopoly’s global makeover goes beyond the switch from streets to cities as prime real estate.
Hasbro said the old utilities of “Electric Company” and “Water Works” are being replaced with “Wind Energy” and “Solar Energy” to reflect the growing emphasis on worldwide environmental concerns.
The four railroads prominent on the traditional monopoly board have been cut back to one with air, cruise and space travel now available as transportation options.
The international theme is also featured in the refurbished Community Chest and Chance cards, which now allow players to organize global music festivals or attend iconic cultural events, such as Carnival in Rio De Janeiro or St. Patrick’s Day in Dublin.
The global edition of Monopoly is the latest in a series of modernizations meant to update the game from its original 1935 incarnation.
Multimedia versions of the game also figure into Hasbro’s modernization strategy.
In addition to the global edition board game, which will be available on Aug. 26, an online and mobile version will be available for download the next day with a version for most popular gaming consoles set for release in October.
