Manchester to end up on the Monopoly board

Efforts are underway in Manchester to fashion a version of the iconic board game “Monopoly” into a Who’s Who and What’s What of New Hampshire’s largest city.

No more Park Place or Baltic Avenue. No more Reading Railroad or Marvin Gardens. Rather, the game will be reminted with popular Manchester-centric places and institutions in mind.

Mayor Jay Ruais reads a proclamation Tuesday at the Bookery in Manchester on Tuesday to promote a Queen City version of Monopoly. At left is Mr. Monopoly, formerly known as Rich Uncle Pennybags (Mark Hayward)

And with what will bring out the Dick Anagnost in anyone, players will be able build their wealth by acquiring and upgrading Queen City landmarks like the local developer and business owner.

“The reason we’re here is there is a lot of local pride here, and people love being from Manchester,” said John Marano, sales executive for Top Trumps USA Inc., which Hasbro has licensed to create city-edition Monopoly games.

(The company, which created the proprietary card game “Top Trumps,” has no affiliation to President Trump or his family, Marano said. “Monopoly is for everybody, no political affiliation whatsoever.”)

Marano launched the effort on Tuesday at the Bookery, an independent bookstore in downtown Manchester. Placards showed oversized squares from the board, a life-sized Mr. Monopoly was on hand, and Mayor Jay Ruais read a proclamation lauding the effort.

Top Trumps encourages all Manchester residents to submit suggestions to manchester@toptrumps.com.

But in essence, the real game being played is naming rights. Businesses and organizations will pay to have their names and likenesses on the property squares, community chest/chance cards, even the Monopoly money.

Marano wouldn’t divulge a pricetag — or even and range — for the placement. There is no fixed price, he said, but different levels of visibility come with different pricing packages.

“We have stuff that works for everybody,” he said.

The two high-rent squares — Park Avenue and Boardwalk — will be reserved for icons of the city, he said.

How much might it cost in real dollars to buy a Manchester Monopoly property?

A 2021 article in The Times of London cited a Wall Street Journal report that said prices for a Palm Springs, Calif., game ranged from $21,000 for a single property square to a $60,000 package that includes a square, a Community Chest card, board and box images and some free Monopoly games.

Marano said Top Trumps will obtain guidance from the mayor’s office, the Greater Manchester Chamber of Commerce and the communications firm Montagne Powers, which is working with Top Trumps on the project.

This week at least, Ruais was noncommittal on his preferences.

For example, what mayors would he like to see on the Monopoly money? “I’m not getting into that,” he said with a smile.

Should the street he lives on — Somerville Street — get a square? “If there’s one person who should be on it, it’s my wife and daughter for putting up with me,” he said.

Top Trumps has refashioned Monopoly for between 40 and 60 American cities, according to Marano. It has also created Monopoly games for cities in Europe, Australia and Asia. Its first ever was in 1998 for Edinburgh, Scotland.

He expects the first printing for Manchester Monopoly will be between 15,000 and 20,000 games.

Marano said a game will be available in November at Barnes & Noble, Amazon and selected local retailers. The suggested retail price will be $49.99.