Ever thought of trying a co-op version of Monopoly? The idea makes sense. After all, the original game has a reputation for tearing friend groups and families apart. So why not have a version where everyone works together towards a common goal? That was my thought process as I passed a display for Co-opoly at the recent Indiecade festival. Based solely on that name, and the fact that the board is identical to the Monopoly board, I expected a game mod aimed at creating a friendlier experience. Instead I learned the terrible truth about one of America's favorite board games.

It turns out that the original concept for Monopoly came from a woman named Elizabeth Magie. She was an activist who saw the dangers in letting the wealthy grab up all the power and land. She created the game in 1903 as a sort of propaganda tool to show people the dangers of real estate monopolies. Unfortunately, her design was stolen and sold to Parker Bros., where it became the example of cutthroat competition it's known as today.

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That brings us to today, where the power of the wealthy is again a hot topic of debate. After learning of Magie's story, and seeing similar patterns in today's climate, Monkey Mind Games created Co-opoly.

Co-opoly is is indeed a co-op take on the famous game. But it also seeks to return the experience to its original socially-minded roots. So now all the players play against the monopolists, who are a singular, sort of AI player. At the beginning of every turn, the monopolists put up luxury condos on empty pieces of land. This jacks up the price of the land and makes it harder for the players to live there.

To battle this, the players have to gather activists. The activists can establish tiny homes on the land before condos have a chance to exist. The challenge starts when more mechanics come in, all stacked against the activists. The monopolists can bulldoze tiny homes to build condos in one swift move, whereas the activists must use time and resources to protest and eventually legally take back the land. The police are also always on the move. If the cops pass through an activist-occupied space, they send everyone to jail. Then the players have to spend resources getting their people out.

Co-opoly did make for a fun game. Our group of strangers came together, got swept under a wave of condos, and still had some laughs in the end. But Co-opoly was also a sobering reminder that games can be more than fun. They can have a message, and they may even make people think. But that's enough of that soapbox. Here's the website if you want to learn more. Now back to our regularly scheduled livestream articles.

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