They say, "if you don't vote, you can't complain about the results of an election," but does that apply when speaking about an election I hadn't heard about till after its conclusion?
The truth is, I have mixed feelings about the new Monopoly game, Monopoly Here and Now. I played it today with my fiance's brother, and although I had a fine time (and won by a lot, for the record), I really think Hasbro could have done better.
The idea behind the game was to remake Monopoly as they might if it were invented today. That means different properties and higher denominations of money. The former makes it interesting; the latter makes it annoying. It was much easier back in the day to buy Marvin Gardens for $280 than it is now to buy the Golden Gate Bridge for $2.8 million.
However, the way the makers chose the properties was even stranger. They named various landmarks in several cities across the United States and let people vote on what landmarks they wanted in the game. The more votes a landmark got, the better its spot on the board, and it was obvious that a few mayors were campaigning hard. New York's Times Square got the top spot at $4 million, previously occupied by Boardwalk. I can't argue too much with that; New York is an All-American city, and Times Square is one of its most famous spots.
But the Park Place spot from the original game is now occupied by Fenway Park. I have no problem with the place being in the game, but with such places as Hollywood, Disney World and The White House sharing the board, I was surprised that Fenway Park got next-to-top billing.
Obviously, the folks in Boston are as passionate about their board games as their ball games.
My other beef with the voting system is that the combinations of properties are sometimes a little strange. For example, The White House is grouped with Las Vegas Boulevard and Wrigley Field, because the number of votes those places received were close. In my humble opinion, properties should have been grouped by type, i.e. Wrigley Field with Fenway Park (sporting venues), Las Vegas Boulevard with the French Quarter (wild, crazy fun venues) and The White House with the Liberty Bell (historical American venues).
There were some fun additions too. The railroad spots are now occupied by four airports -- Chicago O'Hare, Los Angeles International, New York's John F. Kennedy and Atlanta's Hartsfield-Jackson. The utilities have been updated to internet service and cell phone service, and the "luxury tax" is now "credit card interest." (Touche, Monopoly). The Chance and Community Chest cards are basically the same, but the Get Out of Jail Free cards say things like, "receive a presidential pardon," and others reward you for appearing on a reality show or make you pay the other players because you lost a class action lawsuit.
Even the pieces have been modernized. I, for example, played with a serving of McDonald's fries, while my future brother-in-law chose a jetliner. Other options included a cup of Starbucks coffee, a laptop computer and a cell phone.
All in all, I enjoyed the game. I've always been a fan of Monopoly, and I hadn't played in years, so this was a fun way to spend a Sunday afternoon. I'm not sure I agree with America on its choices, but since I didn't care enough to vote, I suppose I can't complain.
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