Rich in culture, S.A. to get its own Monopoly
Residents can offer names for game board’s properties
Broadway and Hildebrand instead of Boardwalk and Park Place.
Or how about Dominion and Stone Oak? Now, there are title deeds worth owning. Maybe
Zarzamora, Blanco and San Pedro could make up a desirable set of properties to buy and trade.
A roll of the dice might even land you at the Alamo or the River Walk.
Those are just a few of the possibilities for the newly approved San Antonio version of Monopoly, scheduled to go on sale in September.
For the next two weeks, San Antonians will have a chance to make suggestions for game properties by sending an email to sanantonio@toptrumps.com. Top Trumps Inc. is the manufacturer of the official San Antonio game, under license from toy and gaming manufacturer Hasbro.
“Of all the places we could have chosen, we chose San Antonio,” Top Trumps spokesman George Shrimpton said in an interview from London on Friday.
“It has all these amazing, different cultures. And all that history — as one of the oldest cities in the United States, it’s a real representation of America. It’s that melting pot.”
And, no, Top Trumps isn’t connected to former President Donald Trump.
The company is named after its first product, Top Trumps — a card game well-known abroad — and has worked with Hasbro internationally for about 20 years. Top Trumps began working with
Hasbro in the U.S. market a few years ago.
Top Trumps has produced a game based on Cambridge, Mass., and Greenwich, Conn. But this is the first time the company focuses on a large city.
Shrimpton said he hasn’t had the opportunity to see San Antonio himself but has high hopes that when travel to Texas is again approved, post-pandemic, he’ll be on his way to the Alamo City.
“I want to visit all the wonderful places San Antonians are going to chose for the game,” Shrimpton said.
On Thursday, City Councilwoman Rebecca Viagran and
Mayor Ron Nirenberg were at Mission San José with Uncle Pennybags, the famed Monopoly Man, to announce the upcoming San Antonio edition and invite San Antonians to contribute their ideas.
This will be the official Monopoly game with the much-parodied “get out of jail free” and “free parking.” There are other knockoff games based on cities across the nation, but they’re not the official Hasbro game.
And they don’t have Uncle Pennybags. By the way, he really doesn’t use a monocle.
For the San Antonio game, locally themed squares will replace
Boardwalk and Park Place, game officials said. Customized Community Chest and Chance cards are planned to make the game a San Antonio adventure. Several other landing spaces also will be dedicated to local landmarks and iconic locations.
Fans can pitch locations they would like to see on the board through March 17.
“We want to ensure that Monopoly San Antonio is an accurate portrayal of what locals love about the city,” Top Trumps representative Benjamin Thompson said.
“So we would love for everyone to get on board and send us recommendations of what they would like to see included.”
Who knows what those suggestions will bring?
Maybe four national park missions instead of four railroad properties.
As far as game pieces go, the possibilities are endless. Take your pick from a River Walk Barge, the gigantic North Star Mall boots, a chancla or a taco truck. And spurs! In honor of the city’s favorite sports team, the San Antonio Spurs, of course.
And don’t forget that classic Fiesta favorite — a cascarón.