It's the Monopoly: Chester Edition's 'Big Reveal'

The ‘Big Reveal’ of a brand-new and official MONOPOLY: Chester Edition – launched last week - sees Chester Zoo land on the board’s top-ranking spot. The city’s most visited tourist attraction replaces ‘Mayfair’ from the game’s classic London original.

And Chester Zoo is in good company, as they are joined on the board by other leading Chester landmarks from the City Walls to Chester Cathedral, the market and Town Hall to Eastgate Clock. The game’s makers describe the board as “a celebration of everything Chester, from Roman times to present times.”

Chester Zoo also gets to land a double – as they hosted the launch event on Friday 1st November. At the event, Mr. Monopoly rolled out a giant version of the board to dramatically mark the launch.

When it was announced earlier this year that Chester is ‘Passing GO,’ the public was invited to send in suggestions for landmarks and organisations to feature in the game.

In all, 30+ Chester landmarks and organisations are featured in the game.

The Lord Mayor of Chester, Councillor Razia Daniels, says: "It's a true honour for Chester to have its very own edition of Monopoly. This iconic game brings people together, and with our city's rich history and vibrant community, it's fitting to have our landmarks and charities featured.”

Jamie Christon, CEO of Chester Zoo, says: “To be featured on this incredibly special MONOPOLY: Chester Edition, dedicated to the wonderful city of Chester, is a real honour for Chester Zoo. It is a unique way to highlight our globally important wildlife charity and celebrate our connection to our local community. We hope this will inspire MONOPOLY players to learn more about the incredible species we care for and the crucial work we do to prevent extinction.”

Yasmin East, Custom Games Executive at Winning Moves UK, says: “We have been absolutely spoilt with choices when putting this MONOPOLY board together. We produce official MONOPOLY games based on places all over the world, including in recent years, Palm Beach, Dubai, Phuket and The Hamptons. Now Chester has joined the world’s MONOPOLY elite!”

The game is themed in sets from tourism to heritage, shopping to entertainment and more - all to reflect the history and vibrancy of the city.

Ms. East adds: “The board is a celebration of everything Chester from Roman times to present times.”

As there are not four main-line Chester train stations to replace the quartet of famous MONOPOLY train station spots, that part of the board has been handed over to a ‘City Gate’ theme. The collection of archways that appear are: Bridgegate, Newgate, Northgate and Watergate.

Alongside global conservation and education charity, Chester Zoo, several other charities get to be featured in the game, following a nominations process earlier in the year. These include The Hospice of the Good Shepherd and KidsBank.

In addition to the bespoke squares, the Chance and Community Chest cards are customised too. One Community Chest card rewards players with MONOPOLY money – as ‘compensation’ for being thrown out of the city for ‘being a Welshman entering Chester before sunrise’ (reputedly an age old legend!). Whilst another card fines players for mistaking fog on the River Dee ... for a ghost.

Ms. East added: “The response from the public to the MONOPOLY: Chester Edition has been beyond our most optimistic expectations. We would like to thank everyone who suggested landmarks and the wording for the cards.”

Winning Moves UK, an official MONOPOLY maker, has produced the brand-new MONOPOLY: Chester Edition board game under license from Hasbro, a leading toy and game company.

The MONOPOLY: Chester Edition hits the shops on 1st November 2024) and will be available to purchase at Waterstones and WHSmith - as well as extensively online, including at Booghe.co.uk and Amazon.co.uk.

About MONOPOLY

MONOPOLY first hit shelves in 1935 with the Racecar, Thimble, Boot, Top Hat, and Battleship among the original set of MONOPOLY tokens while the Scottie Dog and Wheelbarrow were added in the early 1950s. Although the brand has evolved over the past 89 years, the gameplay and iconography of the classic MONOPOLY game has remained unchanged, making it a timeless classic sure to be enjoyed by future generations. Today, MONOPOLY is the world’s favourite family game brand and is enjoyed by more than one billion players in 114 countries across the globe.

About Hasbro

Hasbro is a leading toy and game company whose mission is to entertain and connect generations of fans through the wonder of storytelling and exhilaration of play. Hasbro delivers play experiences for fans of all ages around the world, through toys, games, licensed consumer products, digital games and services, global experiences, film, TV, and more. With a portfolio of over 1,800 iconic brands including MAGIC: THE GATHERING, DUNGEONS & DRAGONS, Hasbro Gaming, NERF, TRANSFORMERS, PLAY-DOH and PEPPA PIG, as well as premier partner brands, Hasbro brings fans together wherever they are, from tabletop to screen.

Hasbro is guided by our Purpose to create joy and community for all people around the world, one game, one toy, one story at a time. For more than a decade, Hasbro has been consistently recognized for its corporate citizenship, including being named one of the 100 Best Corporate Citizens by 3BL Media, one of the World’s Most Ethical Companies by Ethisphere Institute and one of the 50 Most Community-Minded Companies in the U.S. by the Civic 50. For more information, visit https://corporate.hasbro.com or @Hasbro on LinkedIn.

About Winning Moves

Winning Moves is a leading world games company, which since 1992 has owned and produced TOP TRUMPS, producing and selling the ‘Cool, Card, Cult’ game in more than 30 countries across the world. Winning Moves also produces, with Hasbro, official versions of MONOPOLY based on cities and towns across the world, including in the UK, across Europe, the US, the Middle-East, Africa, the Far East, Australasia and many more places. Winning Moves as well owns and produces PASS THE PIGS, WADDINGTONS NUMBER 1 PLAYING CARDS and a host of other leading games, toy and card Brands.