After a worldwide vote, Montréal will represent the most expensive property on the new MONOPOLY Here & Now: The World Edition game board. Latvia’s national capital, Riga, joins Montreal to round out the dark blue property group, the most prestigious property group in the popular game invented by Charles Darrow in 1935.
During a six-week period in early 2008, MONOPOLY fans from around the world voted for the global cities that they would like to see represented on the first-ever World edition game board. More than 5.6 million votes were cast for 70 world-class cities, which determined 20 of the 22 cities featured in the game. The 20 cities with the most write-in votes faced off in a bonus vote and the two with the most votes, Taipei and Gdynia, earned the brown property spaces on the game board.
“We hope that fans of the world’s most popular board game will enjoy buying, selling and trading real estate from around the globe in the new MONOPOLY game that they created with their votes,” said Helen Martin, Vice President of Global Marketing for toy and game-maker Hasbro, Inc.’s MONOPOLY brand. “We are thrilled that the first-ever global game board includes an interesting mix of cities that showcases the dynamic cultures, sights and history of the planet.”
The 22 cities that earned spots on the MONOPOLY Here & Now: The World Edition are as follows, listed in order of property groupings with the highest rent properties listed first:
Along with the 22 property spaces featuring world-class global cities, the game will include updated Chance and Community Chest cards that highlight events and culturally relevant scenarios from countries around the world. Players may celebrate at Carnival in Rio de Janeiro, organize an international music festival or host a St. Patrick’s Day festival in Dublin. Additionally, the tokens, houses and hotels reflect icons and styles from all seven continents.
The new MONOPOLY Here & Now: The World Edition will be available in stores around the world starting on August 26, 2008 in more than 50 countries and in 37 different languages.