DERBYSHIRE MONOPOLY

The makers of a Derbyshire version of Monopoly asked people to nominate which local landmarks they'd like to see feature in the game. The new edition of the board game will be the same as the original but will replace the London streets and stations for Derbyshire places. The makers, Winning Moves, have already worked on several regional editions hoped the people of Derbyshire could help make their latest a success. Spokesman Mark Marriott said, "We're asking the public to vote for 32 Derbyshire landmarks to go on the squares, in particular we want ideas for what can go in place of Mayfair, the most prestigious space on the board."

Matlock was named as Old Kent Road, the cheapest on the board at £60. Although the makers short-listed four locations for Mayfair's famous top spot, they have generally remained tight-lipped about the game. But they were willing to reveal that the Evening Telegraph is set to appear on the Community Chest spots. Apart from the place names, other details in the game, prices, counters and corner squares such as Free Parking and Go to Jail, will remain the same. Special editions of the game already exist in other cities and counties, including Nottingham and Leicestershire.

Winning Moves have succumbed to Matlock residents' indignant outcry that their town is worth more than Old Kent Road. Residents were unhappy to learn that Matlock had been given the cheapest square on the board of a new Derbyshire version of the world-famous property game. But after spending two days in the Derbyshire town, staff from the company announced that the popular tourist spot would be given not just one different square, but three, all of which would be of a higher value.

Graham Barnes, the promoter for the Derbyshire game, said, "We've made this last-minute switch for the people of Matlock. We have now given them three squares as a gesture for originally giving it Old Kent Road." But for every winner there is always a loser and in this case it's a village in the south of the county. Originally, Ilkeston and Buxton were in the running for the "unpopular" spot on the board but now the designers have decided on Shardlow.

Mr Barnes said, "The board represents the length and breadth of the county, and we wanted to include something on its southern border. We feel it's a fantastic thing for Shardlow as not every village appears on the board." But residents from the village don't view it that way. One said, "It's good that we've been mentioned but I suppose we have the same feeling as Matlock, that we deserve a bit better."

Chatsworth, Pride Park and the Peak District have been given the top-priced squares. The Derbyshire version of the board game will be on sale in Woolworths, WH Smith and Debenhams. (Source: Derby Evening Telegraph)

The streets of Mayfair have been replaced by the cathedral city of St Albans as the nation's top real estate in a new UK-wide version of Monopoly. Cities and towns across Britain take the place of London street names on the world's most popular board game after a vote by more than one million people. Leeds and Liverpool replace the cheap streets, Whitechapel and Old Kent Road, while posh Park Lane becomes Exeter. A city's position on the board was set by the number of votes it received.

Thus, London, where the average price of a house is £313,000, comes before Stoke-on-Trent, Derby and Birmingham where buying a home can set you back half that amount. However, average house prices in commuter-belt St Albans are in fact the highest among the 22 towns and cities featured. "I am delighted that people here take pride in their city," said St Albans' mayor Kate Morris. "But it is an expensive place to live. Key workers find it difficult to find a home."

Dundee and Cardiff are the only Scottish and Welsh cities to appear on the Monopoly Here and Now UK edition made by toy firm Hasbro. Northern Ireland is represented by "Belfast Airport", but the board does not specify whether this is Belfast International Airport or George Best Belfast City Airport. "We were surprised by the results," said Helen Martin, global brand director for Monopoly. "The towns and cities represented are clearly the places people feel most passionate about. As for London, it seems to have been a case of big city apathy."

While several cities and regions have got their own editions of the popular board game in recent years, the Here and Now UK edition, is the only nationwide version. Local radio and internet campaigns were just some of the tactics residents employed to get their town or city on the board. Residents of Keele, a small town with a permanent population of about 4,000, managed to speed up the rankings thanks to a campaign by students at the local university. Monopoly, like the rest of the nation, has not escaped house price inflation. St Albans will cost you a cool £4m to buy, whereas in the original edition, Mayfair was a snip at £400. (Source: BBC News, Sep/07)

Hasbro, the makers of Monopoly, has released a ‘Credit Crunch’ edition of the board game to better reflect the realities of the current economic climate. A company representative said, "As players round the board, they will now have to bear in mind that property values will depreciate by 12% with every circuit. And whilst whoever assumes the role of banker can look forward to a large bonus at the end of the game, other players need to be aware that they will be continually obliged to bail him or her out of financial ruin as and when the banker deems necessary."

The whole board has been revamped in line with the economic downturn, with Free Parking now incurring a hefty congestion charge, the four railway stations randomly substituted with rail replacement bus services that will detain players for several rounds and the utility companies offering million-pound dividends to shareholders, but charging homeowners hundreds of pounds per quarter. The chairman of Hasbro has been forced to radically devalue Bow Street after an affordable housing initiative was built nearby.

He said, "We considered the introduction of assorted wheelie bins outside each property, but no-one could remember what was supposed to be disposed of each round and all players were bankrupted by fines after the first three rounds." But many of the new format’s additions have proved immensely popular with regular players, not least the Get Out of Jail Free card issued to every player regardless of the severity of their criminal activity.

Gavin Morris, who was unfortunate to lose all his money when he was mugged by gang of hoodies on Old Kent Road, said, "I love that I can trade in my old metal terrier for a thousand quid and a new labradoodle. But it was a little disconcerting to have to play with real money once we discovered that Monopoly money now has a higher market value than pounds sterling." (Source: News Biscuit, Aug/09)

The Rolling Stones have launched their version of the board game. Old Kent Road is replaced with the name of the album Beggar's Banquet and fans will be exiled from main street if they pick up a 'Go To Jail' card.

Instead of a thimble or a shoe, players are given a set of devil horns, a reference to hit single 'Sympathy For The Devil', or wild horses to shift around the board. A set of tumbling dice is naturally included in the set and the community chest and chance cards feature famous titles and lines from the band's songs.

The four train stations have been redesigned with the names of the band's tours such as Urban Jungle. The Monopoly money has been changed to concert tickets while houses and hotels which players would traditionally buy are now gold and platinum records. Whereas in the past players would have to pay up after landing on the income tax and super tax squares, they now have to pay for concert tickets and stage set up. The water works and electric company are now drums and a guitar. (Source: The Sun, Aug/10)

A game of strip Monopoly ended in a jealous row and a man nearly going straight to jail. Gary Williamson persuaded his girlfriend and another woman to play his version of the board game at his flat. Instead of paying rent when they landed on another person's property, they paid up by losing an item of clothing. But when the three were naked, it is alleged that the other women made a play for Williamson, sparking a brawl among the three players.

The scuffle got so out of hand that it ended up with the police being called and Williamson being arrested and charged with assaulting both the 20 year-olds. He only escaped jail because the two women were too embarrassed to give evidence. Ian Dacre, prosecuting at Blackpool Magistrates Court, said, "The charges arose from a somewhat unusual game of Monopoly, strip Monopoly. They players had been drinking and they all ended up stark naked."

He added, "One of the young women the took exception to the behaviour of the other. An argument started and one of the girls said she was headbutted by the defendant and the other said she had her hair pulled by him." Williamson denied the assaults and District Judge Jeff Brailsford was told by the prosecutor that both the women had not attended court to give evidence. The prosecutor said, "It may well be that their decision not to attend is that they are both embarrassed by what happened."

The judge refused to allow the case to be adjourned but when the Crown offered no evidence he dismissed the charges stating, "I have taken the view that the two girls may not wish to attend taking into account what is said to have gone on." Robert Castle, for the defence, said, "My case would have been that my client's girlfriend was annoyed by the other girl's advances towards him and that all he did was to try and keep them apart." (Source: Daily Telegraph, Sep/10)