UAE | Leisure

Monopoly to bring home the thrill of buying up Dubai landmarks

Localised version of the board game will feature banknotes but properties are yet to be finalised

  • By Emmanuelle Landais, Staff Reporter
  • Published: 00:00 July 28, 2006
  • Gulf News

Dubai: A new edition of Monopoly, the popular board game, will feature Dubai with some of its major landmarks up for sale to players.

No date has yet been set for the release of the game as talks with sponsors are underway according to a spokesperson from Sandgate International, the sole distributor of Monopoly and Hasbro games, in the Gulf Cooperation Council region.

"The streets and properties have to be finalised. Major landmarks of Dubai and properties will be for sale but we can't say which ones yet," he said

The Dubai Monopoly will contain banknotes as opposed to the recently created credit card version of the epic game. "Anything is possible so maybe we'll see dirhams as the currency. Nothing is finalised. It will be great publicity for Dubai and the focus is on tourists buying the game to learn about the city," he said.

Regarding the counters, permission is still being sought to feature at least one major landmark building. "It's tentative. We might have several editions as the property in Dubai comes up," he added.

The new electronic version of Monopoly, which replaces banknotes with credit cards, will be available in the UAE by September.

A 'Here and Now Electronic Banking' edition has been released in the United Kingdom and the United States with country-specific counters, such as a double decker bus in the United Kingdom and a sneaker or french fries in the United States.

"Traditional tokens have ... changed ... there'll be a skateboard, mobile phone, inline skate, burger, sneaker, Formula 1 car, planes and a double decker bus in the UK version. The US version will have a Toyota van, McDonald's french fries and Motorola phone," he said.

Residents are already anticipating the Dubai Monopoly and are intrigued by the electronic version.

Toys'R'Us store manager in Deira, Jokesh Mehra, confirmed the game was not yet available. He said: "It's the best selling board game at Christmas ... I think we should have one in dirhams ... it's a game that represents Dubai very well because of the property boom and the high prices."

Quina Dos Santos, customer service manager at Magrudy's, said that the game would probably do well in Dubai. "Everything we do is with credit cards, so it will be fun."

Leo Fernandes, a 33-year-old Dubai resident, said he often plays Monopoly and the new electronic game will spice things up. "The game will be quicker because there won't be a banker handling the bills."

Maryam Jabir, 35, said she would like to see a Burj Al Arab counter.

Fast facts: Game has a Braille edition too

Monopoly is a property trading game where players can buy property, build on it, pay bills and even go to jail. It was created in 1934 by Charles B Darrow and initially 5,000 hand-made copies sold out. Darrow approached Parker Brothers a second time and luckily, was not rejected.

  • The MONOPOLY® game is published in 27 languages, including Croatian and licensed in more than 81 countries. Thai edition of Monopoly is the newest edition, introduced at the Toys'R'Us store in Bangkok, in December 2005.
  • Parker Brothers once sent an armoured car with $1 million (about Dh3.6 million) of the MONOPOLY® game money to a marathon game in Pittsburgh that had run out of funds.
  • In the 1970's, a Braille edition of the MONOPOLY® game was created for the visually impaired.
  • A set made by Alfred Dunhill, that included gold and silver houses and hotels, sold for $25,000 (about Dh91,800).
  • In 1978, the Neiman Marcus Christmas catalogue offered a chocolate version of the game priced at $600 (about Dh2,200).

- www.hasbro.com

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