Possible Monopoly properties were displayed as a Jacksonville version of the game was announced Thursday, June 13, 2024. | Dan Scanlan, Jacksonville Today
Published on June 13, 2024 at 3:00 pm
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Jacksonville residents will soon be able to buy, sell, dream and scheme their way to riches via Friendship Fountain, the Main Street bridge or even Fort Caroline.
Game maker Top Trumps USA and staff from Visit Jacksonville announced Thursday that a local version of Monopoly is on the way. They’re asking the public to suggest properties for the board.
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Jacksonville earned selection as a community version of the game after Top Trumps USA looked for “sweet spots” in the U.S.
“Jacksonville just happened to be the next one on our list. We looked for places with local pride, history and great community ties,” said company sales executive Lindsay Wallace. “We want you guys to send us your submissions, and we are going talk to anybody and everybody — mom-and-pop shops to big corporations — anyone who wants space on the game, call us up.”
The announcement came right after a Forbes Advisor survey named Jacksonville as the nation’s worst summer travel destination due to issues that included crime, shortage of good restaurants and low walkability. That left Visit Jacksonville CEO and President Michael Corrigan to wonder about the survey.
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“I don’t think Monopoly would go to the worst communities in the country to do a game, so I think that speaks volumes on the better side of the survey,” Corrigan said. “There are surveys every day. Some we do great on; some we don’t do as well in. But we are super excited about this opportunity.”
Parker Brothers first introduced the board game in 1935, then Hasbro bought out Parker Brothers in the 1990s. Monopoly is now issued by Hasbro’s Top Trumps USA game and puzzle division.
Right now, there are 34 community-specific Monopoly games, including ones for Cape Cod, Lake Tahoe, Tampa, Brooklyn and Nashville. Other versions are being developed for Detroit, Hilton Head and Queens, News York, as well as Jacksonville.
Other game companies also produce games based on Monopoly, but they are not the original manufacturers. A Cincinnati company called Late for the Sky, for example, produces Fleming Island-opoly and Gatoropoly, based on the University of Florida.
The new Jacksonville Monopoly board, like all boards, will have more than 30 spots for local names — from landmarks to businesses and nonprofits. People are asked to send suggestions to the Top Trumps Jacksonville Edition website.
The corner spots will remain the same as always: “Go to Jail,” “In Jail,” “Collect $500” and “Free Parking.” Everything else will be customized for Jacksonville, Wallace said.
One of the properties might be James Weldon Johnson Park, where many people play board games. Executive Director Liz McCoy said the park plans to focus on the Monopoly game when it comes out.
“There’s a group of retirees who gather, and they are very passionate about their games,” McCoy said. “We are going to introduce Monopoly Mondays there right in the park.”
The game will officially debut nationwide in January. The projected sales price is $49.99.
