Michael Bleby

Writer at Large

SOUTH Africans may have been somewhat sluggish at the Olympics, but when it comes to clicking a mouse they are the third-best in the world. This is evident in the latest version of real estate game Monopoly, which goes on sale today. Positions on the board of World Edition Monopoly were determined from an online poll toy maker Hasbro held in January.

Local cheerleaders are already making a big thing of it. “This accolade is yet another jewel in Cape Town’s crown," CEO of Cape Town Tourism Mariette du Toit-Helmbold said.

“I cannot wait to get my hands on the new World Edition Monopoly board game and see Cape Town's name on the board among the best cities on earth."

The new edition, with the game’s well-known colour-coded property ladder, features some impressive cities. London, Paris, Tokyo and New York are all there, as are an emergent Beijing and Shanghai. But none of the above-mentioned metropolises occupy the coveted dark blue positions long known as Mayfair and Park Lane or, for those used to the US edition, Boardwalk and Park Place.

The pole positions on this latest Monopoly board are taken by — wait for it — Canada’s Montreal and Latvia’s Riga. Cape Town comes in next, as the most expensive of the green properties (think Bond Street or Pennsylvania Ave) and is followed by another city that may cause a double take — Belgrade. It is only in the fifth position (Regent Street or Pacific Avenue) that a truly global city emerges, with Paris (France, not Free State).

World Edition Monopoly seems to be a triumph of national pride over geopolitical prominence. While the Latvians and South Africans have set about the task of voting with pride-staking determination, they have been outclassed by the Canadians. For the board features Montreal, Vancouver and Toronto.

Lest the finger of national pride be solely pointed at Canada, Latvia and SA, it is worth mentioning the two cheapest positions on the new board. The brown properties (Whitechapel and Old Kent Road or Baltic and Mediterranean Avenues) were wild-card entries. While votes for all other positions were made from a list provided by Hasbro, these properties were open to public nominations and then voted upon. The winners were Taipei and Gydnia.

And if you don’t know where that is, go directly to jail.

Source: Business Day