Post by tufta on Sept 6, 2010 11:49:10 GMT 1
Alex Webber -
Few games captivate and capture the imagination as much as Monopoly, a game where placid individuals transform into bullying landlords, gleefully stripping their closest family of all their assets, and smirking acidly as their best friend finds himself carted off to the clink.
Even fewer board games manage to conjure such a cut-throat competitive spirit; smarmy winners will proudly point out their success on the board is a reflection of life while humbled losers squirm with barely concealed resentment. Monopoly is not just oneupmanship, it’s war; a chance to see evil in-laws vanquished and painful cousins reminded of their lowly position on the ladder of life.
As each humbug season draws closer, so does the chilling realization you will be spending the day with your nearest and dearest. As such there is absolutely no better time to be cracking open the sacred board than Christmas Day, before plunging into the whisky and reminding your family of your commercial acumen. If you find yourself trapped boardless in Poland, or if you’re looking for an unpredictable present for some unwitting associate back home, you’ll be delighted to learn that Hasbro produce a Polish version of Monopoly available from stores like DH Smyk.
Complete with hats, dogs, boats and thimbles, the eight player version also includes a horseman and a cannon, as well as a baffling series of cards – otrzymujesz zwrot podatku dochodowego 20zł (receive an income tax return of 20zł). So not only do you get the chance to prove your entrepreneurial spirit, you also have the opportunity to show off your linguistic abilities (and better still, cheat on people who don’t know the difference between winning a beauty contest or being nicked speeding).
In an ideal world a game of Monopoly should act as a precursor to a Monopoly pub crawl, though the seemingly lunatic selection of streets makes this a Herculean effort involving travelling the four corners of the city, spending a fortune on taxis, and narrowly avoiding getting your head knocked off in one of the less salubrious parts of town, like for example the maligned suburb of Praga. Which is exactly where the Warsaw monopoly board begins. Namely ulica Konopacka, a working class street which once separated the plebs from the 19th century manor of Count Konopacki. Nowadays filled with a collection of glum 60s housing blocks you can go the whole way and buy a 25m residence for 160,000zł. Fit for royalty it is not.
Second on the board is ul. Stalowa, found in an area so decrepit and depressing that Roman Polański shot scenes of his Warsaw Ghetto epic, The Pianist, in the region. The lads that lurk in the courtyards and corners give a good impression that this is their turf, and you could have better ideas than giving them a cheeky wink.
On the blue squares you’ll find Targowa, Jagiellońska and Radzymińska, a triangle of streets that encompass the Soviet War Memorial and the Orthodox church. This was once home to a large Russian community, in particular railway workers ferried in to work on the construction of the nearby railway station, and Jagiellońska was formerly known as Peterburska. Again, the buildings appear bruised and battered, some of the natives look like they feast on children and it’s with no irony at all that the square after the blue colours is ‘jail’. Be brave, the area is enjoying a renaissance, in particular thanks to the artists that are settling in droves in the area of Old Praga. Traces of bullet holes still mark walls, and a journey into the courtyards often reveals stunning shrines to the Virgin Mary.
Onto the pinks and it’s the no-mans land of east Warsaw. If you choose to buy a hotel on Płowiecka you’ll be following in the footsteps of Zajazd Napoleonski, nowadays a four star effort, this is where Napoleon allegedly stayed on his march to Moscow. Operating as an inn through the centuries its on this spot that the Battle of Wawer was launched during the 1831 Uprising. Now, time for that taxi and a trip to completely the opposite side of town. Get your shopping shoes on to visit Górczewska’s Wola Park, a typically bland suburban mall. If you fancy picking up a WWII Iron Cross or some pre-war cigarette cards then Bazar Na Kołe is unmissable – a must visit if you want your home to resemble a time machine.
Go past free parking, which is where in Warsaw, we have no idea, to hit the reds up in Żoliborz. Mickiewicza is possibly best known by long term expats as the former home of the White House. Not the one where you find presidents pressing red buttons, but one where you would find creepy men paying to press the buttons of women from Belarus. You’ll find all the reds (Wilsona, Słowackeigo and Mickiewicza) in the suburb of Żoliborz, an upper middle class area that takes its name from the French Jolie Bord, on account of the stretches of parkland. Several villas were erected for high-ranking army officers, and the area is noted in history as one of the key battlegrounds of the Warsaw Uprising.
Somewhat surprisingly the old town is completely missed on the Monopoly board, something of an oversight we suggest - after all, who wants to stay there. But that’s the bad news, the good news is that from the yellows in you find yourself in the city centre, more notably, pub crawl territory. Find everything from round-the-clock drinking on pl. Trzech Krżysży to 40th floor bar room views on Jerozolimskie to nameless dives tucked off Nowy Świat.
History
Like anything good, Monopoly has a controversial history, shrouded in urban myth. The official party line has it being invented by Charles Darrow in the 1930s. Originally a domestic heater salesman from Philadelphia he lost his job during the Great Depression, during which time he coined the idea for a property game. Originally rejected by Parker Brothers for containing ’52 fundamental errors’ they later reconsidered their decision and snapped up the rights to the game in 1935. Monopoly became America’s best selling game that year, making Darrow the first millionaire games designer. Indeed, it’s a great feel good story that would be worthy of an appearance by Tom Hanks. The truth, however, is that Darrow simply tweaked a property game called ‘The Landlord’s Game’ that can be traced back to the early 1900s, developed by Elizabeth Magie.
Few games captivate and capture the imagination as much as Monopoly, a game where placid individuals transform into bullying landlords, gleefully stripping their closest family of all their assets, and smirking acidly as their best friend finds himself carted off to the clink.
Even fewer board games manage to conjure such a cut-throat competitive spirit; smarmy winners will proudly point out their success on the board is a reflection of life while humbled losers squirm with barely concealed resentment. Monopoly is not just oneupmanship, it’s war; a chance to see evil in-laws vanquished and painful cousins reminded of their lowly position on the ladder of life.
As each humbug season draws closer, so does the chilling realization you will be spending the day with your nearest and dearest. As such there is absolutely no better time to be cracking open the sacred board than Christmas Day, before plunging into the whisky and reminding your family of your commercial acumen. If you find yourself trapped boardless in Poland, or if you’re looking for an unpredictable present for some unwitting associate back home, you’ll be delighted to learn that Hasbro produce a Polish version of Monopoly available from stores like DH Smyk.
Complete with hats, dogs, boats and thimbles, the eight player version also includes a horseman and a cannon, as well as a baffling series of cards – otrzymujesz zwrot podatku dochodowego 20zł (receive an income tax return of 20zł). So not only do you get the chance to prove your entrepreneurial spirit, you also have the opportunity to show off your linguistic abilities (and better still, cheat on people who don’t know the difference between winning a beauty contest or being nicked speeding).
In an ideal world a game of Monopoly should act as a precursor to a Monopoly pub crawl, though the seemingly lunatic selection of streets makes this a Herculean effort involving travelling the four corners of the city, spending a fortune on taxis, and narrowly avoiding getting your head knocked off in one of the less salubrious parts of town, like for example the maligned suburb of Praga. Which is exactly where the Warsaw monopoly board begins. Namely ulica Konopacka, a working class street which once separated the plebs from the 19th century manor of Count Konopacki. Nowadays filled with a collection of glum 60s housing blocks you can go the whole way and buy a 25m residence for 160,000zł. Fit for royalty it is not.
Second on the board is ul. Stalowa, found in an area so decrepit and depressing that Roman Polański shot scenes of his Warsaw Ghetto epic, The Pianist, in the region. The lads that lurk in the courtyards and corners give a good impression that this is their turf, and you could have better ideas than giving them a cheeky wink.
On the blue squares you’ll find Targowa, Jagiellońska and Radzymińska, a triangle of streets that encompass the Soviet War Memorial and the Orthodox church. This was once home to a large Russian community, in particular railway workers ferried in to work on the construction of the nearby railway station, and Jagiellońska was formerly known as Peterburska. Again, the buildings appear bruised and battered, some of the natives look like they feast on children and it’s with no irony at all that the square after the blue colours is ‘jail’. Be brave, the area is enjoying a renaissance, in particular thanks to the artists that are settling in droves in the area of Old Praga. Traces of bullet holes still mark walls, and a journey into the courtyards often reveals stunning shrines to the Virgin Mary.
Onto the pinks and it’s the no-mans land of east Warsaw. If you choose to buy a hotel on Płowiecka you’ll be following in the footsteps of Zajazd Napoleonski, nowadays a four star effort, this is where Napoleon allegedly stayed on his march to Moscow. Operating as an inn through the centuries its on this spot that the Battle of Wawer was launched during the 1831 Uprising. Now, time for that taxi and a trip to completely the opposite side of town. Get your shopping shoes on to visit Górczewska’s Wola Park, a typically bland suburban mall. If you fancy picking up a WWII Iron Cross or some pre-war cigarette cards then Bazar Na Kołe is unmissable – a must visit if you want your home to resemble a time machine.
Go past free parking, which is where in Warsaw, we have no idea, to hit the reds up in Żoliborz. Mickiewicza is possibly best known by long term expats as the former home of the White House. Not the one where you find presidents pressing red buttons, but one where you would find creepy men paying to press the buttons of women from Belarus. You’ll find all the reds (Wilsona, Słowackeigo and Mickiewicza) in the suburb of Żoliborz, an upper middle class area that takes its name from the French Jolie Bord, on account of the stretches of parkland. Several villas were erected for high-ranking army officers, and the area is noted in history as one of the key battlegrounds of the Warsaw Uprising.
Somewhat surprisingly the old town is completely missed on the Monopoly board, something of an oversight we suggest - after all, who wants to stay there. But that’s the bad news, the good news is that from the yellows in you find yourself in the city centre, more notably, pub crawl territory. Find everything from round-the-clock drinking on pl. Trzech Krżysży to 40th floor bar room views on Jerozolimskie to nameless dives tucked off Nowy Świat.
History
Like anything good, Monopoly has a controversial history, shrouded in urban myth. The official party line has it being invented by Charles Darrow in the 1930s. Originally a domestic heater salesman from Philadelphia he lost his job during the Great Depression, during which time he coined the idea for a property game. Originally rejected by Parker Brothers for containing ’52 fundamental errors’ they later reconsidered their decision and snapped up the rights to the game in 1935. Monopoly became America’s best selling game that year, making Darrow the first millionaire games designer. Indeed, it’s a great feel good story that would be worthy of an appearance by Tom Hanks. The truth, however, is that Darrow simply tweaked a property game called ‘The Landlord’s Game’ that can be traced back to the early 1900s, developed by Elizabeth Magie.