Reimagining Monopoly
There's a better way to look at our neighbors and the world.
My son, who is ten years old, is just starting to get into board games. Not long ago, he asked the question I have been dreading: can we play Monopoly?
Because he is my only child, I humored him. My strategy was to buy as many properties as possible and load them up with houses and hotels so that I would go bankrupt and be put out of my misery.
During my spending spree, though, I noticed details about Monopoly I hadn’t before.
The property values of Baltic and Mediterranean Avenues are very depressed compared to the rest of the board. I wondered about who might live in a comparable, real-world neighborhood.
As I placed houses and hotels on my properties, I didn’t run out of money as intended. I kept making more because the rent I charged was so high.
I thought about those displaced by gentrification or land development for tourism or commercialization. I reflected on the land itself as it is stripped for money-making purposes.
I usually like to win games, but this win didn’t feel right.
Even though it is not a new game, Monopoly is a sign of our times.