See Want to Get On a Local Version of Monopoly? It Might Take Actual Dollars: Local versions of the game are popular, but some businesses don’t land a spot on the board; ‘It’s crazy’ by Jennifer Levitz & Jon Kamp of The WSJ. It seems that for a business to be a spot on the game board requires them to pay money to the company making it. Excerpts:
[in WORCESTER, Mass.] "Ralph’s Tavern, a beloved Worcester watering hole that didn’t land on the game, despite lobbying."
Board games are notorious for provoking spats among players. Modeling the toys after actual real-life Main Streets is ratcheting up the competition. In Worcester, game pieces are flying over the selection process for Worcester Monopoly and whether it’s Worcester enough.
Also absent are several area colleges, the city’s well-known seltzer maker and its iconic lunch-car diners. A hot-yoga studio did make the cut.
A key beef? Emerging revelations that for some local establishments, landing a coveted square on the game known for its colorful Monopoly dollars required thousands of real ones.
Top Trumps USA said several factors determine inclusion, including local input. Top Trumps does require some businesses on the board to financially “sponsor the project,” Vice President of Sales Scott Whitney said in an interview. He declined to comment on terms. Participating establishments must sign confidentiality agreements, meaning they can’t disclose the terms.
An email reviewed by The Wall Street Journal that Top Trumps sent a shop in Palm Springs, Calif., which is getting Palm Springs Monopoly in the spring, laid out the three-year terms for its “approved packages”: The “Bronze” costs $21,000˛for a square on the board. The “Silver” is $36,000 and adds a Community Chest Card plugging the business.
And $60,000 over three years gets a business the “Gold” package: a square, a Community Chest card, plus “an image on the centre board montage” and “on the box lid montage.” Packages also include varying numbers of free Monopoly games, which retail for around $40.
Top Trumps didn’t respond to a request for comment on pricing."
"Localizing Monopoly can get dicey. Some shop owners, for instance, prefer not to be listed on Community Chest or Chance cards with unpleasant outcomes, such as ponying up money, said Nona Watson, chief executive at the Palm Springs Chamber of Commerce. She helped create a “Palm Springs Opoly” game years ago through a different company, to raise money for the chamber’s building, and said board spots sold for far less."
See also Black Rifle Coffee Company paid to play in the San Antonio Monopoly game. Here's why it's weird. by Camille Sauers of The San Antonio Express-News. Black Rifle is very new to SA (and has been involved is some controversies). She suggests that it would have been better to have a business or institution in the center of the board that has been here much longer. Excerpts:
"On Wednesday, October 20, an official San Antonio Monopoly game was unveiled at the Menger Hotel.
A collaboration between Top Trumps Inc. and the City of San Antonio, the rollout is a local take on the classic board game and features over 24 local landmarks like the Alamo and the Japanese Tea Gardens.
Interestingly, when the board was revealed, several surprising inclusions were made. Prominently displayed next to glittering images of indisputable local landmarks like the Tower of the Americas is Dignowity Meats, Valero, and Utah-based coffee company Black Rifle Coffee Company.
Not only is the Black Rifle depicted in the center of the board, but it also hosts its own square."
As you can see, Black Rifle Coffee is the only private business in the center of the board (it is the one just to the right and under the LY of Monopoly). This site might give you a clearer picture of the board.
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