The City Board
A Follow-Up to Mr. Monopology Goes to Kansas City and Pay to Play
After much anticipation, Monopoly’s Kansas City Edition hit select store shelves on October 26, 2022.
Published October 27, 2022
Back in January, when Top Trumps USA and Hasbro Gaming announced that they were releasing a Kansas City Edition of, perhaps, the most popular board game in the world, I cannot imagine that anyone in this city was more excited than me. I love Monopoly! For me, combining the city that I hold dear with a game that holds so many treasured memories from my childhood was almost too much. I could not wait to own this board!
In fact, I was so excited about the prospect that I took the time to carefully create my own version of what I thought Kansas City’s board game should look like and detailed my decisions on this page. But then, within a few days of publication, that balloon of excitement was cruelly deflated. As I made a few calls, and talked to iconic Kansas City brands and organizations about the prospect of Kansas City Monopoly, I learned about the Pay to Play reality of the game. As I realized, that, much like the game itself, every square on the board was up for sale, I lost hope. Suddenly, I looked to the atrocious Kansas City board from the nineties, and understood why it looked so poor. It was not about deservedness or representation, but it was just a paid billboard passing itself off as civic pride. I became concerned that having a modern day Monopoly board that truly represented this city was a pipe dream. And so given the incredibly high readership of my first Monopoly piece, I followed up by publishing an apology to the city. I felt so guilty for permitting myself to not only get my hopes up but for raising the expectations of so many readers to my own unrealistic level. And so I penned my apology, expressed my disdain for the supposed process, and put the prospect of Kansas City Monopoly to bed.
Or, so I thought.
You see, even knowing what I now knew, deep down I maintained a sliver of hope that this game would be what I thought it could be. At my core, I’m a cautious optimist. I always want to see the best in people but I simultaneously brace myself for disappointment. It’s like the old adage, “Plan for the worst but hope for the best.” In spite of all I had learned, my sense of optimism stood firm. I hoped that perhaps the new game board would not be as bad as I feared. I hoped that this still could be a point of pride for our city. And so, knowing the game was 8 months away, knowing that I had felt nearly every emotion on the spectrum over this game, I just sat back and patiently waited.
And then, yesterday afternoon, it was announced at Liberty Memorial that Monopoly: Kansas City Edition was here. I was lucky to be given a chance to get my hands on a copy of the new board and this is what I found.
On first glance, the game looked A LOT better than expected.
First Impressions
The original version of Monopoly looked like a low-budget stock car littered with the stickers of whatever sponsors they could find. Would the same be true this time around? I opened the box, grabbed the board, and took a deep breath before I unfolded it.
And what I saw? It was refreshing. It immediately grabbed my attention. As opposed to a number of corporate logos just being haphazardly slapped on the board and branded as “Kansas City”, this board was full of color and life. It’s vibrant and filled with images of the city I know and love. It shows Kansas City at its absolute best. It captures the beauty of the place that I call home. And suddenly, the despair that I once felt and had fostered for months was creeping towards something that felt a whole lot like acceptance.
What Made The Cut?
Of course, the very first thing I did once I was given a copy of the game to check out for myself, was layout the board and look at the properties. Here’s what Hasbro Gaming and Top Trumps USA chose to include (and which entities chose to pay to include themselves):
Brown Monopoly: Loose Park & The Scout
Sky Blue Monopoly: Western Auto Sign, Rosedale Memorial, and Fountain at Mill Creek Park
Magenta Monopoly: Linda Hall Library, Union Station, and Nelson Atkins Museum
Orange Monopoly: Zona Rosa, Made In KC, and Power & Light District
Red Monopoly: J. Rieger & Co., Cafe Cà Phê, and BBQ Capital
Yellow Monopoly: Museums at 18th & Vine, Crown Center, and Argosy Casino Hotel & Spa
Green Monopoly: Kansas City Speedway, Sporting KC, and GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium
Royal Blue: Country Club Plaza and National WWI Museum and Memorial
Railroads: Crossroads, Metro Center, North Loop, and River Market North
Utilities: Ferrelgas and Water Works
The Monopoly: Kansas City Edition properties are filled with a lot of familiar favorites and a few that don’t quite belong.
What Did They Get Right?
Selfishly, I would like to say they got about 53.5% of the board right as 15 out of 28 properties matched up with my own board which had 31 proposed KC-themed spaces. In all seriousness, beyond absolutely nailing the aesthetic of the board and highlighting the beauty of Kansas City, there were a few things that this board got absolutely right.
Engel & Volkers clearly paid a pretty penny to be included in this game, but the advertising was not nearly as offensive as I expected.
BBQ Capital: Kansas City is the World Capital of BBQ. One thing the board accomplished, that I had hoped it would, is recognize the greatness of Kansas City barbeque as a whole without favoring just one, or a handful, of iconic restaurants. A Monopoly board could be made that just highlights Kansas City barbeque and even then, I don’t believe 28 spaces would be enough. Aside from simply having a property that highlights this city’s most beloved nickname, they also captured the essence of it in a few Community Chest cards. One reads, “Your friend offers to get you burnt ends on a bun! Collect $10”. The beef burnt end is Kansas City’s greatest contribution to barbeque and was the only entrée that made sense here. And unlike purchasing GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium for $320, the $10 price tag is right here. The game-makers nailed this portion of the program.
Museums at 18th & Vine: A great way, and cost-saving way, to make sure that this neighborhood and both the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum and the American Jazz Museum were represented on this board! You cannot tell the story of Kansas City without baseball, jazz, or our black community.
The Railroads: The KC Streetcar was never going to be in a position to pony up the money necessary to be included in the board, nor as a public service should they have. However, Monopoly found the perfect way to incorporate the Streetcar by making its four most frequented stops the four railroads in the game. While, of course, I prefer my own proposal for these squares, I can’t be mad at this decision and appreciate the recognition of our beloved rail.
The Advertising: It is very clear who paid their way on to the board, but at the same time, the sponsorships and advertising are not the abomination that the nineties board was. There is very little that is visually offensive about this board. In fact, the creators found tasteful ways to incorporate these partners into the cards and properties. Partnerships like Ferrellgas, Engel & Volkers, and Kansas City Credit Union were some of the easier ones to swallow. The logos on the Community Chest spaces were not distracting. Accepting the reality of this game and the need to turn a profit, I can live with the advertising as it exists.
Community Chest Spaces: As mentioned there is advertising on the Community Chest spaces but you will also notice, they aren’t just businesses. They are beloved Kansas City nonprofits. Now I am unaware of the process that led to these being included but Alphapointe, KC Pet Project, and Ronald McDonald House being represented? It’s just wonderful.
One City, Two States: Kansas City is a metropolitan area that spans 14 counties in Missouri and Kansas. No matter which side of Stateline you call home - it is all Kansas City. In the nineties, the game-makers missed that memo. This time around, they most certainly did not. While it still overwhelmingly favors the Missouri side (as is to be expected), there are 3 properties in the game specifically from Kansas. The BBQ Capital space is an acknowledgement of both sides and the BBQ Capital property which acknowledges both sides of Stateline. Going from zero Kansas properties to three-and-a-half is a win.
It’s not just the properties. The Community Chest and Chance cards incorporate so many aspects of this city.
What Seems Wrong?
Now, I could be THAT GUY and say that the game-makers got 13 out of 28 spaces wrong because they were not in my own proposed version of the game. However, I understand that not everyone is going to see things the way that I do. Even in making my own board, there were a lot of difficult cuts. More importantly, I have to understand that not everything can be an altruistic endeavor. Companies exist to make money. They create products that they can profit off of and selling inclusion in the game is a great way to ensure its viability before printing a single copy. The game-makers need to make money in order for them to make the game. This is something I had to accept before I ever opened the box. Additionally, I knew going into it that the four corner spaces which I had chosen to customize would be the standard “GO”, “JAIL”, “FREE PARKING”, and “GO TO JAIL”. I also knew a few other things were not up for KC customization. And still, there were a few things that did not sit right.
Vanilla Tokens: This one may be unfair because going into this, Hasbro made it clear that the game pieces would be the standard automobile, battleship, cat, dog, hat, shoe, thimble, and wheelbarrow. It makes for more standard production. And to be fair, that’s exactly what they delivered. However, this is one of the few things that the nineties edition actually got right with that version featuring a shuttlecock, steak, saxophone, football, heart and steamboat among the tokens. I would have loved to play with Kansas City pieces.
Kansas City Speedway: What is it? Is the Kansas Speedway re-branding? Is that the legal name of the venue? Regardless, there is a property and Chance card highlighting the Kansas CITY Speedway and this is literally the first, and only, time that I have ever heard it called that.
The Surprise Spaces: While J. Rieger & Co. is a wonderful company with a great history, who operates out of a registered landmark, I would anticipate there are few who expected to see them so prominently featured on the board. Still, they are a historic brand and their inclusion gives an unheralded neighborhood, the East Bottoms, some much-needed love on this board so I’m happy that they paid to be a part of . There are a few others that don’t sit quite right. The worst offender, by far, is Cafe Cà Phê. While it is a lovely spot, the food/coffee trailer turned brick & mortar is hardly a Kansas City icon. If I were pressed to list 100 Kansas City restaurants that had “landmark status” and even if I were told that the list could not include a single BBQ joint, my top 100 would still not produce Cafe Cà Phê as an option. It just feels awkward and out-of-place. Perhaps I am in the minority on this one but I just don’t see it. The same could be said for the inclusion of Argosy Casino, Hotel, & Spa or Ferrellgas, but hey, this was a paid advertising opportunity and these brands, clearly, paid. Good on them.
The Utilities: First of all, Ferrellgas feels a little forced upon us as one utility but they paid for their square and I am already over it. What I am not over is when did Water Works lose the water droplet in the logo? More so, in a city known as the City of Fountains, this seems like a missed opportunity to recognize that tradition. Sure, the game-makers get credit for still having a fountain property but having a square dedicated to water that could have been rebranded to one of our city’s most iconic reputations just feels like a miss.
The Presentation: While this board beautifully displays a lot of this city, the fact that it is still being presented as a collection of the most iconic properties in Kansas City as opposed to “the properties in Kansas City willing to pay” still bothers me. It is important that people understand this entire board was a paid advertising opportunity before getting in the debate of what should have been included.
The Brick Red Squares: I don’t understand what has happened to the classic mint green, or even white. As much as I like the board, the red backing on spaces like “GO”, “Community Chest / Chance”, and the railroads seems odd. A lighter color would have given this board a much cleaner look. Whoever approved all the brick red should not be allowed to design any more boards.
What the heck is Kansas CITY Speedway? Also, where are the Royals and the Current?
Biggest Omissions?
While this may be contradictory to everything I just said about the board being a paid advertising opportunity, there were still a few omissions that just felt off.
Sports: This is very much a sports town so two of our major sports teams, the Kansas City Royals and the Kansas City Current, not making the cut is a bit surprising. I am certain that both had their reasons for not wanting to be on the board. Given the fact that this board opted for photos over logos, one could speculate that this played into it. With the Kansas City Current’s new riverfront stadium under construction, what would they have shown? Their state-of-the-art training facility? Children’s Mercy Park? As a newer team with a lot going on, the Current get some slack. However, with our ladies in teal playing in the NWSL Final this weekend, it doesn’t seem right to have a board without them. And what about the Royals? Perhaps a team that just had record lows in attendance didn’t feel comfortable putting up the money? Perhaps an ownership groups that is aggressively pushing for a move downtown was not willing to pay to highlight the beauty of Kauffman Stadium? Whatever the reason, surely the team that threw $55 million at Gil Meche could have thrown a few thousand at Hasbro to take their rightful place on this board.
Swope Park: I have to give credit where credit is due, because the board did include one of Kansas City’s most beautiful parks in Loose Park. However, Swope Park is one of the largest municipal parks in the nation and it is impossible for me to imagine Kansas City without Swope Park, or the Kansas City Zoo or Starlight Theatre contained within. Once again, I understand the factors that determined inclusion but it feels like without any recognition of Swope Park, this “map of Kansas City” is woefully incomplete.
Kansas City Infrastructure Woes: The classic board game already has Chance and Community Chest cards dedicated to both street repairs and automotive ones. The Kansas City inside jokes write themselves! And yet? No mention of needing car repairs because you crashed into the Independence Avenue Bridge (the undefeated, undisputed, undeniable champion of the city). No quips about having to pay to fill pot holes that the city won’t. Nothing about not being able to park your car inside the white line and getting hit by the Streetcar. The opportunity to capture this city was ripe for the picking and Monopoly just ran out the same boilerplate cards that every other version of the game gets.
Honest Question: Why does the board feature essentially the same view of downtown Kansas City, Missouri twice? There are so many beautiful places in this city that there was no need to be redundant. I would have welcomed a picture of a Kansas site, maybe Kaw Point, in the center.
Final Thoughts
The pay to play nature of the board is incredibly obvious given the inclusion of a few select spaces but overall, I am pleased with how the board turned out. Months ago, I could have never anticipated this response. It is so much better than I could have reasonably expected it to be. Of course there are several things I would change but the look and feel of it, and knowing that it represents both sides of Stateline, makes me happy. Knowing that people can unfold this gameboard and see how beautiful my home is and the very best of Kansas City, is a definite win. Even if there is a misplaced store or restaurant here or there, this board is Kansas City.
I spent much of this year, dreading the release of this board game because I expected a letdown. I anticipated the equivalent of Who’s Who but in board game form. And now, after flipping through the cards and examining the gameboard for myself, I definitely want to play this version of Monopoly. While my largely millennial audience would probably prefer to purchase ONLINE, this game is available in market at locations like Made in KC, the National World War I Museum, Argosy Casino, and J. Rieger & Co. Not only does buying in-person give you a chance to support local business, and visit some of the Monopoly properties, but you also have the benefit of saving five dollars off the price (and that’s before the cost of shipping!). If you have someone in your life who loves this city, this may be a great holiday gift.
And who knows? I may actually have to go pick up a copy of this game for myself! I am adding it to my Christmas list now for sure.
And for that matter, maybe Mayor Quinton Lucas might open up the complimentary copy he surely received and actually play a round for the first time in his life. While I felt a number of emotions throughout this whole process, nothing trumps the overwhelming embarrassment I felt back in January when the game was announced and I realized that my city had a mayor who had never played Monopoly.
“No longer do you have to bet just on Baltic Avenue and all of those things you’ve long known. Atlantic. If you don’t know, that’s where I tend to let my pieces stay. But instead, we’ll have a chance, hopefully to, you know, bet on, or have our pieces on the Chiefs, the Royals, Zona Rosa, any number of places. So, this is great.”
#NeverForget
What did Monopoly get right? What did they get wrong? Do you plan to buy a copy?
