Jacksonville Jaguars mascot Jaxson de Ville and the Main Street bridge are at the center of the new game, along with images of Friendship Fountain and the Riverwalk. | Dan Scanlan, Jacksonville Today
Published on February 25, 2025 at 12:29 pm
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Play the new Jacksonville version of Monopoly, and you still may go to jail without collecting $200. But you also might buy Friendship Fountain.
The Jacksonville take on the 90-year-old board game was unveiled Monday, showcasing an array of cultural and historical landmarks.
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The game’s manufacturer, Top Trumps USA, picked 22 local sites out of hundreds of suggestions submitted since last summer, when the game was announced.
The Jacksonville Jaguars appear in the game board’s center, marked by team mascot Jaxson de Ville and the Main Street Bridge.
There’s also the Jacksonville Zoo and Gardens, Jacksonville International Airport, the Downtown Riverwalk, James Weldon Johnson Park and others.
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You can still land on free parking, as in the orginal Monopoly, but hit the wrong spot and you’ll owe a “Naval Recruiting Fee.”
The local landmarks and historical sites will increase the city’s exposure, said Visit Jacksonville CEO and President Michael Corrigan.
“Not even just to people outside Jacksonville, but inside Jacksonville, because there are people who will play this game who will see things they have never seen before,” Corrigan said. “If they are not from Jacksonville, I hope they see this game and come see us.”
It is important to have the Jacksonville Historical Society on the game board, said chief of staff Kate Hallock.
“This is really significant for the history of Jacksonville,” Hallock said. “Our mission, of course, is to educate the public about their history, so they cannot make the same mistakes that we made in the past, but also to learn something about what people have taught us and shared with us through oral histories — it’s really important that we are on this board.”
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 36 community-specific Monopoly games, including ones for Cape Cod, Lake Tahoe, Tampa, Brooklyn and Nashville. There are similar games made by a Cincinnati company called Late for the Sky, which produces Fleming Island-opoly, and Gatoropoly, based on the University of Florida.
Jacksonville was announced in June as one of a growing number of community versions of the game after Top Trumps said it looked last year for “sweet spots” in the U.S., company sales executive Lindsay Wallace said Monday. It was tough to select 22 local sites for the game board from all the submissions, Wallace said.
“It made by job very hard; we were spoiled for choice, but 22 properties got a spot,” Wallace said. “We wanted to capture local landmarks, historical points, neighborhoods, local businesses — pretty much a taste of everything.”
Because the Jaguars are center stage of the game board, Monday’s announcement was held in the Jaguars Home locker room at EverBank Stadium. That is where team sales and marketing head Chris Gargani called their inclusion exciting.
“Jacksonville is such an iconic city, from the wide pristine beaches and naval bases to our sports teams and music venues and local parks,” said sales and marketing head Chris Gargani. “The Jacksonville version of the age-old classic board game will give those who play it a glimpse of life in Duval County, providing a selling point to visitors and potential new residents, and a sense of pride in the city that we all have.”
The game sells online for $44.99.
