Back to the Boardwalk

Under the Boardwalk: The Monopoly Story – This documentary on the famous board game was pretty thorough, mostly providing information I already knew, but I HAVE read books about the subject. The movie covered the invention of the game and the reasons for its lasting popularity. It also demonstrated tournament play, which was new to me. Some tournament games use a red speed die, which has numbers on some of the sides and the image of Uncle Pennybags (AKA Mr. Monopoly) on others. If you roll triples, you can move anywhere on the board. If you roll Pennybags, you take your regular turn but then move on to the next property, which can be devastating if there are houses and/or hotels in play. I also learned that the “Go to Jail” policeman is named Officer Malloy and the guy in jail Jake the Jailbird, as mentioned here. I have to wonder what Jake is in for. Overall, the film provided a good overview of the game and its appeal.

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