Uncle Pennybags

 I spotted a Monopoly arcade game in the arcade located in the lower level of the Excalibur hotel and casino. In this game you roll a giant dice. You earn tickets based on where you land. The tickets can be traded in for stuffed animals and other kick nacks. It's not a surprise that a Monopoly themed game would be found in an arcade. It appeals to all types of gamers. I would definitely roll for a chance to land on Boardwalk and win an avalanche of tickets.

  In 1937 Parker Brothers released an expansion add- on called "Add Stock Exchange." This expansion could be added to Monopoly, Easy Money or the Fiance game boards for expansion play. This included a Stock Exchange Board piece which would be placed over the "Free Parking" space. Players could buy stocks and collect dividends from other players. The more shares a player owned the higher the dividends they would receive. Also included were additional chance and community chest cards.  Based on this short description, I'm interested in trying this expansion. Through out the years this game has been re-released many times. I found the version from 1992 onsale, however this is considered a rare game. It's selling used for over $150. I will have to keep an eye out for this gem while thrifting.  Here are the instructions I found on Hasbro.com .

 I came across some interesting looking houses and hotels while researching online. Monopoly houses are  green and hotels are  red. This has been the standard colors since the game was released in 1935 by Parker Brothers. I can't find any explaination why they chose these two colors.  I found these fancy looking blue houses and silver hotels. These are part of the Electronic Banking Edition. This is a nice change from the original. This edition was first released in 2006 by Hasbro.

 When Monopoly was first introduced it did not include tokens. Players were asked to use household knickknacks as tokens. In 1935 when Parker Brothers bought the rights to the game they introduced the original 6 tokens. Which were the battleship, boot, cannon, thimble, top hat, and iron. Through out the years many tokens have been added and retired. Many Monopoly fans opt to collect the various tokens that have be released through out the years. If you are looking to purchase an edition with many tokens, consider Monopoly Signature Token Collection. This edition is packed with 64 game tokens.

  Another great idea for an incomplete game set is to upcycle the property deed cards, community chest and chance cards into notebook covers. "Vintage Flip Creations" is currently selling these small notebooks on their Etsy store. They are $5 each and you can select which deed you want from the drop down menu.  The game board could be sawed into smaller pieces for some hard cover notebooks or memory boxes. My personal idea is a charm bracelet from token pieces. Which I'm quietly working on putting together in the background. Hopefully I will have more tokens by the end of the year.

 I have found my fair share of Monopoly games at local thrift stores. Before you decide to purchase a used game, you should take a quick inventory of what is included in the box. Most used games are missing pieces, however some are less important. The older Monopoly games came with 6 tokens and current games include 8. These tokens are easily replaced by a sewing thimble, coin, button, pieces from other games or even a small action figure. You should look for a minimum of 4 tokens.  The game should include 2 dice, but these are also easily replaceable. You can borrow any standard 6 sided die from another game. Another alternative would be to check your local dollar/discount store toy section.  I would not spend too much time counting the Monopoly money. If you own a home printer you can always print and cut more money. Walmart sells colored paper for around $3 a pack and you can customize the face/color to your choosing. The instructions are also easily replaceable. Hasbro offers a dow

  Parker Brothers released the game of Rich Uncle in 1946. This is a stock market game of buying and selling stocks, with the first player to increase his money from 5k to 50k declared the winner. This is a fast paced dice game which can be played in 30minutes for 3-5 players.  Each player starts by owning 4 stock cards. The remaining stock cards are placed on the stock board for purchase later in the game. Two dice are used to play, a dark and a light die. The dark dice is always read first. A dark 5 and light 2 would be 52 read as hundreds, making it $5200. Players take turns rolling the dice. If the player owns the stock of the number he rolls the treasurer must pay him from the pool the dividend listed on the card. If another player owns the stock, the holder is payed the dividend from the pool and the owner pays $500 to the player that rolled the dice. If no one owns the stock card the player must buy the stock at Market - Price. If doubles are rolled 3 actions take place. First t

  Mr. Monopoly was originally named Rich Uncle Pennybags. He first appeared on Chance and Community Chest cards in 1936. He was un-named, until his appearance in the Parker Brother's game Rich Uncle in 1946. His character was modeled after successful US Businessman J.P. Morgan. In 1988 a Parker Brother's executive published a book titled "The Monopoly Companion," where he revealed the character's full name as Millburn Pennybags.  It was until 1999 that his name changed officially to Mr. Monopoly. However most people had already been referring to him as Mr. Monopoly or the Monopoly Man.