MONOPOLY Leeds Takeover

Finally, it’s here, the biggest board game in town, in fact the city IS the board game. From 27th July you can not only play Monopoly but also become a part of it. The notoriously dodgy areas of London, such as Park Lane and Mayfair, have been replaced by the far more upmarket Vicar Lane and King Edward Street, whilst the East End addresses in the capital, Old Kent Road and Whitechapel, have taken the same compass point in our great city – The Dockside and The Boulevard.

In the Leeds version you don’t have to throw a dice to find out where to move, you just choose an area and make your own way around it collecting clues and solving puzzles as you go. This means that your first task is to pick up a map, designed like a Monopoly board, with the appropriate sectors colour coded to match the squares.

The street banners indicate the colour of the sector you are in. Hint – this is the green one, but don’t tell anyone else.

There are two objectives; firstly to answer the questions on the back of the map, again they relate to the eight coloured districts, doing so gets you a stamp in the corresponding space; the second is to add up the total cost of the board to work out how much it would take to buy back Leeds from Mr Monopoly, who has acquired the whole place by stealth.

I wasn’t sure that I had got the hang of the game, but now I think I have quacked it!

Your map will be stamped by characters associated with the game who will be in the vicinity of the huge tokens dotted around the various areas on the map, they will also be on hand to help with any questions.

There are mini games to play on your way round and prize draws. The old favourites are present with the Utilities being the Electric Press and the water company at Granary Wharf. When in the Corn Exchange to solve the Yellow Clues, you might find yourself In Jail, tell them that you are Just Visiting!

There are some incredible prizes to be won by visiting the Red Hotel at The Junction each weekend (plus Bank Holiday Monday). They are getaway weekends in Leeds or London, with rail travel and hotel room as well as restaurant vouchers and other super stuff..

If you would like to meet Mr Monopoly in person then go along to the bridge in the Trinity Centre on opening day, 27th July when you will be able to get a photo op.

For full details please go to https://monopolyleeds.com/ and then head into town to enjoy the fun. Sadly there is no Free Parking, but if you look at the Offers page on the website, some companies are giving discounts.

It is not only the game itself which is happening, there are a lot of linked events so, while you are on the website why not check out the What’s On page for details.

Whilst on my travels I bumped into the delightful members of the Watson family, who ran Waddington’s for over 60 years during its heyday, and with whom I had a lovely chat whilst standing by the huge Scottie dog. Surreal doesn’t begin to cover the experience!

The Watson Family with Mr Monopoly, just before they were pestered by some other old geyser with grey facial hair in County Arcade!

Another aspect to this game is that you don’t have to do it all in one go, so why not concentrate on a sector and linger there to enjoy what else it has to offer. Although Leeds City Centre is pretty compact for a metropolis of so many inhabitants, a couple of the sectors are a short way out of town, thus ideal for an expedition. For example, the Brown Sector is Leeds Docks so, should the weather be playing ball, a stroll along the canal bank is a great way to get there, and, if you fancy something different, a trip back by water taxi takes fun to a new level.

When in the Blue Sector it is an idea to pop into Leeds City Museum either to attend one of the special events or just have a general peruse of the place. The Purple Sector includes Trinity Centre where you can find Maths City, not forgetting Waterstones in the Green Sector who are presenting a series of storytelling sessions. Wellington Place, which, being the site of the long-defunct Leeds Central Station, is not in a coloured sector but is home to The Junction where the weekend prize quiz is taking place, as well as the Wagon Lifting Hoist Mini Museum, so, again is worth a loiter!

There is even a designated area in Briggate where you can hang out your dosh to dry when you are money laundering.

I must declare an interest here, as I regularly write articles for Welcome To Leeds, but I would like to congratulate both them and LeedsBID for not only having had the idea for this attraction, but also the imagination and tenacity to bring it to fruition so professionally. It is truly impressive, but not as impressive as the fact that it is totally free of charge to play. That will appeal to every true Yorkshireman whilst making Mr Monopoly apoplectic!

MONOPOLY Leeds Takeover runs from 27th July until 1st September. Maps can be obtained at any of the tokens as well various locations throughout West Yorkshire and online. For full details please go to https://monopolyleeds.com/ Map distribution points are listed in the FAQs Section.

Most of all, enjoy this special event which has once again shown how innovative Leeds can be.

All photographs by Stan Graham. The feature image is Mr Monopoly with members of the Watson Family, LeedsBID, Welcome To Leeds and others involved in this venture.