Monopoly Here and Now

Three Canadian cities to be featured on latest Monopoly game

Monopoly’s boardwalk stroll is now a hike up Mount Royal, and getting from jail to free parking means a trip through Canada’s financial capital and Stanley Park. Hasbro Inc., announced Wednesday that Montreal, Vancouver and Toronto would be among the 22 cities included 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.

Events were held in all three Canadian cities Wednesday, with life-sized game boards for fans and dignitaries to get acquainted with.

In Toronto, Mayor David Miller was given the city’s title deed by a man dressed as Mr. Monopoly. He shrugged off the fact both Montreal, at $4 million, and Vancouver at $2 million, were valued higher in the new game than Toronto, priced at $1.4 million.

“There’s a part of all of us that wants to be Boardwalk,” Miller chuckled. “But if you want to win Monopoly, you buy the affordable places and you build hotels, that’s what going to happen with Toronto.”

Miller did his best, however, to get in one dig at his city’s longtime rival.

“Congratulations to Montreal, but when we play, we’re still going to win.”

Montreal Mayor Gerald Tremblay told a ceremony in the Old Port that the city’s place on the board gives it visibility and would attract more tourists eventually.

He says he played Monopoly as a child.

“I learned a lot and I took the necessary steps to use my youth to be more successful in the business sector.”

Melissa Martin of Toronto just started playing the game again with her children, and gave the new version rave reviews.

“I love the new board, I love the fact Canada’s on there three times ….,” said Martin.

The Toronto and Vancouver squares feature the waterfront cityscape of each, with the Rogers Centre and the Rocky Mountains providing the respective backdrops. Montreal’s square features St. Joseph’s Oratory, which sits atop Mount Royal.

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, originally released in 1935, is the latest in a series of modernizations meant to bring the game up to date.

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 August 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.