CT dicing for new Monopoly spot
by Rozanne Els
2008-01-31 09:47
Cape Town - Monopoly players will soon have to follow different roads to wealth on an all-new board.
Monopoly Here & Now: The World Edition soon will be replacing the well-known street names of the game with the names of cities chosen by Monopoly lovers worldwide.
Monopoly spokesperson Peter Burling says there are 29 days left to vote for the cities that will appear on the new world edition of this popular board game.
Voting kicked off on January 21.
Burling said on Wednesday that 68 cities from six continents were pre-selected, only the top 20 of which would find a sought-after place on the new board.
The 68 cities were chosen from world-famous capitals as well as from a survey of the world's most-popular cities.
The 20 receiving the most votes will be placed in descending order from the highest rental properties to the lowest.
Jo'burg has outside chance
Paris is leading the race with Cape Town in 13th position.
While Johannesburg was not one of the pre-selected cities, it still stands an outside chance of occupying the 21st or 22nd position.
The top 20 cities with an outside chance will compete against one another for one week from February 28. Johannesburg is ranked 14th on that list.
Burling said on Wednesday about 500 000 people had voted online for those cities they wanted to see on the new version of the board game.
He said it was "good news for South Africa" that Cape Town was ranked 13th.
"In the middle of last week, Cape Town was still only in the low twenties. Its new, 13th position means it is well placed to be in the final 20."
Burling said Monopoly transcended global boundaries.
"It's been around for so long - nearly 75 years. It's firmly rooted in global culture."
Burling describes the new game as "educational". "It's a wonderful way to learn about different cities."
The new Monopoly will be available worldwide at the end of September.
Vote for your favourite city at www.monopolyworldvote.com.