Monopolising the board

Rajiv has two properties in Trafalgar Square and Fleet Street and is desperate to get his hands on Strand, which will allow him to start building houses and hotels. Right then his elder brother Avinash lands on the property , and an auction starts with both of them furiously bidding. An hour later, 10-year-old Rajiv has a row of hotels and is charging an exorbitant rent.And Avinash, 13, is furious with himself for giving up Strand in the auction. While Rajiv may fancy himself as Richie Rich, his spoils are only paper money acquired in a game of Monopoly . For this group of kids, Monopoly has been their favourite game for the past few years, ever since their aunt gifted them a board.
Monopoly , which is celebrat ing its 80th birthday this year, is still seen as exciting by pre teens, as a stress buster by adults and as an engaging activity by the elderly . Having originated in the US, it's quite a rage worldwide and in India too people have been playing it or similar games like Trade and Business. It is still stocked in cafés to engage customers and manages to hold its own against Pictionary and Jenga.
“It is like reliving my childhood when we used to play a game called Trade, very similar to Monopoly,“ says 65-year-old Anuradha Seshadri, who introduced Monopoly to her eight-year-old granddaughter.The young one's excitement reminds Anuradha of her school days when she got barely a few anas to take a bus to school and the paper money gave her a sense of entitlement. “The thought of purchasing property at the age of 12 was exciting and made us feel like adults,“ says Seshadri, who remembers the long evenings with the board spread out in the bylane in front of her house, siblings for company and with no care for homework.
Though the game of Monopoly involves a lot of luck -roll of dice -and less strategy , the idea was born out of the economic concept of domination of a market by a single entity. “While good luck is a prerogative, business acumen is a must too to master the game,“ says Seshadri, a special educator. She considers the board game stimulating for young children, especially slow learners. “It is an enjoyable group activity, which is a challenge for young people as it involves basic math and the sense of possession, buying and selling gives them confidence and makes them aware of the world,“ she says.
First published by US toy brand Parker Brothers in 1935, Monopoly is said to be designed by Charles Darrow, a salesman from Philadelphia. This year the retro version of the 1935 board is being sold as the anniversary edition. “The old look and feel of the board is a collector's item and maybe of interest to older gamers, bringing with it a sense of nostalgia, says Philip Royappan, marketing manager of Funskool, the official distributor and maker of Monopoly in India. Over the years, Hasbro, the parent company, has reinvented the game, bringing out theme-based versions like Star Wars, Avengers, and Empire to retain interest.
Ramalingam Raghavan remembers it as a favourite childhood activity . The 31-year-old is now into intense, complex board games like Agricola and Alchemists, but he still cherishes the weekends he used to spend with his friends. “Every time someone bagged a high-priced property like May Fair, we had made up a song to celebrate and tease,“ says the marine engineer, who owns four versions of the game -Red, e-banking, Millionaire and Empire. “I quit playing Monopoly in my teens but five years ago I came across the other versions and started collecting them for their looks,“ says Raghavan, who plans to buy the Deluxe version for its sophisticated look, wooden houses and gold coloured tokens.