This fall, Boston will have its own Monopoly board game — and you can send in your thoughts on what landmarks should be on the board. Should it have Swan Boats? Should it include the Old North Church? Fenway Park? The Hatch Shell? Symphony Hall?
John Marano is with Top Trumps USA, the company developing the Boston edition. GBH’s Henry Santoro spoke with Marano. What follows is a lightly edited transcript.
Henry Santoro: At the risk of sounding sarcastic, what took so long?
John Marano: You know what? It’s a great question. We have been doing these games for Hasbro at Top Trumps for the past 25-ish years. Within the last four years, we were given rights to U.S. cities. So, I can’t attest to the time before those 25 years, but the last four years we’ve really been hammering down the formula on how these cities work, especially in the U.S. And all the work we’ve done in those four years is culminating this Boston edition.
Santoro: And I think big-time Monopoly fans will know that there have been Boston editions, just not official Boston editions. Is that right?
Marano: Correct, yes. There are currently no Hasbro official versions of Monopoly. This will be the first one. I know there was a limited edition by Parker Brothers back in the mid to late 1990s. And there are the off brands that are floating around.
Santoro: What company can lay claim to being the one to invent Monopoly? Is it Parker Brothers or Hasbro? Which one is it?
Marano: I feel like history gets a little bit muddy. There are four or five origin stories about how Monopoly got rolling. What I do know is that the original is based off streets in Atlantic City, New Jersey. This new edition, though, is going to be totally customizable to Boston.
Santoro: And when the game was invented in the 1930s, it took economics into consideration?
Marano: Yes. It was kind of analog, and it was there to promote — and critique — capitalism. And now that theme has taken off. Everybody has that connection to Monopoly.
Santoro: The philosophy of the game was an economy that rewarded individuals. And it was said that it was better than one where monopolies hold all the wealth. Sound familiar? Because that is where we are right now.
What can Massachusetts residents and Bostonians do to make your job easier with the Boston edition of Monopoly?
Marano: Great question. We are calling upon the public — and the people that know and love Boston — to point me in the right direction and let me know what they want to see in this edition.
Santoro: And it’s not just the game board that is being Boston-ized in this game. The money is going to be changed, the chance cards, the game pieces. Everything is going to have a Boston feel to it, right?
Marano: Pretty much — certain things stay the same as the original.
Santoro: Is there a deadline for submissions?
Marano: Yes. We’ll be wrapping up the selection process mid to late April, so everything has to be in. The game is does release in November of this year, so we will be back in town to finally unveil the game just in time for the holidays.
Santoro: What is the address, and how can people submit?
Marano: There are two ways to submit. You can either do it by going to our website, toptrumps.us. Or you can send an email at boston@toptrumps.com.
Santoro: And people can make all the submissions they want right there.
Marano: Anything and everything.
Santoro: John, thank you so much for coming in. We cannot wait for the release of the Boston edition of Monopoly.
