Monopoly lovers listen up, a Guelph version of the name called Guelph-Opoly is releasing this week.
Outset Media partnered with Walmart Canada to launch the brand new, limited edition board game that showcases the culture and landmarks of Guelph. It will be available for sale at Walmart in-store and online.
“This game was designed to serve as a way for the people of Guelph to commemorate all of the beautiful things it has to offer,” said Jean Paul Teskey, senior vice-president of Outset Media.
Guelph-Opoly gives players the chance to own some of the most famous landmarks in Guelph.
It takes a unique spin on the original version of Monopoly by featuring pillars of the Guelph community such as landmarks like the University of Guelph, Art Gallery of Guelph, Guelph Civic Museum, River Run Centre, schools and parks such as Exhibition Park, Eramosa River and Speed River as well as festivals such as Hillside Festival and even local businesses such as Sleeman Breweries.
Teskey said the company manufactured over 720 limited edition Guelph-Opoly games to be sold in local Walmart stores.
After developing a personal relationship with Guelph after visiting it for many years, Teskey said he chose Guelph for this game because it is the perfect city that shows pride in its strong community.
“It’s got a lot of history, but it is also not just a sleepy old town. It’s got a lot happening in it currently and not just in the university, but businesses and different events,” said Teskey.
For the past year, Outset media has been working on a program to create monopoly games based on cities and towns across Canada.
With sales of the Sarnia focused game Sarnia-Opoly thriving over the sales of games based on larger cities like Montreal or Toronto, Teskey said the team realized that it was mid-sized community-oriented cities that were doing really well.
“I thought a place like Guelph would be the perfect location because its large enough to be able to support and have an interest in something like this, but its also the size that has home town pride,” said Teskey.
“It’s exactly what we’re trying to do which is to try to celebrate communities across the countries.”