Dates have been confirmed for family favourite board game Monopoly’s much-anticipated takeover of the streets of Leeds – birthplace of the game’s original UK producer Waddingtons – with the first ever city-wide Monopoly experience.
From July 27 to September 1, the iconic family board game will take over the city, providing immersive gameplay for the whole family.
Free and family-friendly, the Monopoly Leeds Takeover invites players to explore 22 key locations, solve puzzles, play mini-games and discover giant tokens scattered across eight themed zones.
The Monopoly Leeds Takeover, brought to the city by LeedsBID and under license from Hasbro, a leading toy and game company and Monopoly’s current owner, is a unique event celebrating Leeds’ rich gaming heritage while offering activities, entertainment and prizes for all ages.
Leeds was home to Waddingtons, Britain’s leading manufacturer of board games and playing cards from the 19th century until it was taken over by Hasbro in 1994. From the 1930s, Waddingtons produced the UK version of Monopoly and was responsible for the now famous London properties in the game. The Monopoly Leeds Takeover pays homage to the city’s heritage and marks the place that has become synonymous with the iconic game.
“A key attribute of placemaking is honouring a place’s rich heritage, and this year, LeedsBID has looked at a new and innovative way of animating the city centre that does just that,” said Andrew Cooper, chief executive at LeedsBID. “Monopoly Leeds Takeover is the ultimate placemaking game, paying homage to the city where it was produced so many years ago, with local streets and landmarks represented as the board. In collaboration with key partners, we are providing a free, large-scale, family-friendly activity during school summer holidays to inspire people of all ages to come by and have fun exploring Leeds, while helping drive that essential economic impact for businesses.”
Combining key elements of the traditional game with the feel of a scavenger hunt, the Monopoly Leeds Takeover will bring people on an adventure across the city centre. Key locations and landmarks across Leeds city centre will be featured as the board, with giant tokens, clues, games and puzzles around every corner for players to discover and solve.
The city centre will be mapped out like the Monopoly board and divided up into coloured zones, each with its own life-size Monopoly token housed in key retail locations. Players can hunt down the battleship, boot, duck, iron, racing car, scottie dog, top hat and wheelbarrow.
Like the board game, the Monopoly Leeds Takeover includes real streets – a total of 22 across the city centre – in addition to incorporating key transport locations, such as Leeds City Station, Leeds Bus Station, Wellington Place Lifting Tower and Leeds Dock Water Taxi. The game’s utilities are also represented with photo opportunities like a floating tap and light bulb, along with a cell, where people can ‘Go to Jail.’
To participate, players can simply pick up a map of the city, which highlights the main game areas, and then choose how to play their own game, with numerous starting points, games to play and attractions to visit.
The overall challenge is to complete a series of puzzles on the back of the map as people work their way around the game, with clues hidden in plain sight across key locations. In addition, each property has a value, which can be added up to work out how much it will take to buy back the city.
Students from the Leeds Conservatoire, posing as characters inspired by the Monopoly tokens, will act as guides at each zone to help with the game, check puzzles and hand out stamps for correct answers.
There’s an assortment of prizes up for grabs at the Community Chest and Chance locations, as well as getaway prize packages at the red hotel found at The Junction.
Monopoly will continue its takeover of the city with additional activities, including weekend workshops in Waterstones, hosted by the Bank of England, and mathematical games for those visiting MathsCity, an interactive discovery centre in the heart of Leeds.
Key partners working with LeedsBID in bringing the Monopoly Leeds Takeover to the city include Child Friendly Leeds, Leeds Corn Exchange, Merrion Centre, Royal Armouries, St Johns Centre, The Light, Trinity Leeds, The Junction and Victoria Leeds.
“Child Friendly Leeds was established with the ambition to make Leeds the best city to grow up in. LeedsBID has been on the forefront of making Leeds city centre a place to visit and have fun, while being inclusive for all children and families, especially during school holidays,” said Sadiya Salim, partnership development coordinator at Child Friendly Leeds. “Capturing the views of 80,000 children and young people in the city, we launched the 12 wishes for Leeds. One of them being that ‘children, young people and families feel that there is better promotion and communication of fun and free things to do and places to go within the city.’ The MONOPOLY Leeds Takeover is exactly that – and we want to ensure as many families as possible can experience this wonderful free event in the city.”
“For nearly 90 years, Monopoly has been a timeless classic enjoyed by many generations, bringing friends and families together through its engaging, thrilling, and – sometimes even – emotionally driven gameplay,” said Matt Proulx, senior vice president, global experiences, partnerships and music at Hasbro. “The Monopoly Leeds Takeover is sure to bring all of that to life through this free, immersive themed experience, and as we gear up for the brand’s milestone anniversary next year, fans can expect to see more fun, new brand offerings to celebrate the world’s favourite family board game.”
Find out more at MONOPOLYLeeds.com and across social media platforms @MONOPOLYLeeds.
