The Story

Many people consider Monopoly to be the classic American board game, as it provides players with the opportunity to make their fortune and live the American dream. However, as American as it may seem, the game has become the most popular board game in the world. Monopoly is currently sold in over 103 countries around the world and available in 37 different languages. According to a recent press statement by Hasbro, the current owner of the Monopoly brand, “more than 750 million people have played the game since it was first introduced nearly 75 years ago and its popularity shows no signs of slowing down.” Most foreign editions of Monopoly adopt their own currency and property names -- for example, The Boardwalk becomes Mayfair in England, Rue de la Paix in France and Schlossallee in Germany.

In November 1973, the first officially organized World Monopoly Championship was held in New York. Since then, eleven additional World Monopoly Championships have been held approximately every four years with champions coming from countries like Ireland, Singapore, Australia, and Japan. The next World Championship is scheduled to take place in October 2009 in Las Vegas and our film crew hopes to be there to cover it as well as to follow some of the top-ranked players from all over the world in their quest to become the next Monopoly World Champion.

Under the Boardwalk will consist of interviews and footage shot throughout the United States and in a few international locations. As a documentary about a piece of worldwide culture as well as to help ensure box office and home video success, it is imperative to shoot interviews with people from all around the world in order to truly capture this global phenomenon. We hope to get permission soon to film at both the upcoming United States and World Monopoly Championships in order to provide coverage of this dramatic footage which will be an important part of the documentary. Additionally, we hope to film at some of the other country championships in addition to the US Championship.

Copyright 2008 The Monopoly Documentary, LLC.

Background photos in the header are used under a CC license from Mark Strozier. HASBRO, PARKER BROTHERS, the MONOPOLY name and logo, the distinctive design of the game board, the four corner squares, the MR. MONOPOLY name and character, as well as each of the distinctive elements of the board and playing pieces are trademarks of Hasbro for its property trading game and game equipment. © 2008 Hasbro. All Rights Reserved. Used with Permission.