Virginia Beach will get its own official Hasbro Monopoly game, and residents have time to submit places to be featured.
Katie Bradshaw, the sales executive in charge of the Virginia Beach Monopoly project, said community members have until Sept. 7 to submit landmarks, local businesses and other Virginia Beach staples to be added to the game. Top Trumps, a U.K.-based game company, has created city-based Monopoly boards around the world for 20 or so years, but has only worked with United States cities since about 2020, she said.
“We just look for places that have a lot of natural beauty, parks, beaches, as well as a strong sense of community and lots of local businesses,” Bradshaw told The Virginian-Pilot on Friday. “We do want to feature local businesses only. We wouldn’t really put a Starbucks or chain restaurants on these boards — unless they were founded there, of course — so it’s super authentic to whatever city we’re in.”
Once submissions close, Bradshaw said there is a thorough process to choose what businesses and locations are selected.
She said they check for credibility, how long they have been in the area and what they do to contribute to the community. Once those are narrowed, developers will put the game together.
After completion, Bradshaw said there will be an event for local leaders, featured businesses and others to attend where each place on the board game will be announced. March is the target date for completion of the game.
Nearly every part of the game, including the money, will be Virginia Beach-themed. The game pieces — the race car, thimble, shoe, Scottie dog, battleship, top hat, iron and wheelbarrow — used to hop around the board will remain faithful to the original game.
To submit location suggestions, Bradshaw recommends the online form on the Top Trumps website. Categories include landmarks, nature, hospitality and attractions, among others.
“So many of the places that end up on this edition are from those submission, so it’s super important,” Bradshaw said. “I’m not from Virginia Beach. I’m from Tulsa, Oklahoma, so I need to know what the locals love in Virginia Beach and what they would want to see on the edition.”
Eliza Noe, eliza.noe@virginiamedia.com
