An Austenesque Version of Monopoly | Austen Authors

I made the unfortunate mistake of giving my two boys the electronic version of Monopoly two Christmas? ago. ?If you?re not familiar with the electronic version, just know that the electronic version is modernized with ATM cards and a very noisy card reader. ?You can?t turn the card reader off or even turn down the volume. ?Every single swipe of a card makes an irritatingly chipper sound that always seems to ring out before I?m ready to get up in the morning. ?Over and over and over again.

Monopoly has never really been my favorite game. ?My favorite part was always organizing my color-coded money in denominational stacks and keeping my property cards aligned in perfect staggered stripes. ?I also very much enjoyed rounding ?Go? and adding $200 to my personal bank account. ?But playing until someone must declare bankruptcy and sell off everything they own? ?No thank you! ?And I absolutely won?t play with an ATM card reader involved!

If there was a Jane Austen version though, I just might be inclined to take a turn around the board.

When I decided to write a post on this topic, I did a quick Google search to see if perhaps a JA version already existed. ?Seemingly not, but there is a National Trust version that features Lyme Park in Cheshire (the scene of Darcy?s pond-soaking in the 1995 A&E/BBC adaptation of Pride & Prejudice)?as the Boardwalk equivalent property. ?But that?s not at all what I was imagining. ?I was thinking to have Pemberley, Netherfield, and Longbourn (P&P), Hartfield, Randalls, and Donwell Abbey (Emma), and so forth. ?The railroads could perhaps be coaching houses or stage coaches lines? ?Or maybe even the military. ?I?m open to suggestions. ?Maybe each character could begin by owning her family home.

And maybe, while working your way around the board, you are filling your dance card or sharing important moments with desirable (or undesirable) gentlemen, rather than anything so ill-bred as collecting money. Just imagine a pretty beribboned dance card for each player to fill with little cardboard ?calling cards? from the owners of various properties! ?Or rakes? ?This would shift it from a property game to a marriage game. ?And seeing as the two were indelibly linked in Jane Austen?s lifetime, I think that?s perfect.

The Jane Austen version of the game would certainly do away withe bright pops of color and cartoonish graphics on the traditional playing board. ?Instead there could be watercolors, perhaps in the style of our own Jane Odiwe. ?(I found the print below here.)And the game pieces could be styled, one for each Austen heroine. ?Perhaps a book to represent Elizabeth Bennet, a miniature set of paints for Emma Woodhouse, and a tiny horse for Fanny Price. ?You get the idea.

Chance and Community Chest could feature game changers like, ?Snubbed by the richest man at the ball. ?Lose a turn.? ?or ?Family home entailed to a horrific cousin. ?Go to debtor?s prison.? ? Or what about, ?Invited out for a drive about the countryside with a very eligible gentleman. ?Add his name to your dance card.? ?I?m getting excited just thinking about it!

But wait, what if there are men who wish to play! ?Then perhaps there must be tokens for Austen heroes (or villains!), looking for marriageable misses as well? ?Oh, the possibilities!

Obviously this is deviating quite a bit from the original version of the game, but it is still similar enough, I think, to make it a viable alternative for the company. ?Although, I haven?t settled on a good way to actually finish out the game. ?If the game stays true to its original focus (adjusted for Austen?s time period), then the goal should really be to land an eligible husband (property). ?How should that be accomplished? ?Each landing on a?particular property could be like one further step in a couple?s courtship? ?Naturally there would be setbacks and pitfalls, dealt via Chance and Community Chest? ?I already want to play!

What do you think? ?What would make this version of the game a pleasant pastime for an afternoon tea party with friends, complete with cake and scones?or gelato, the official dessert of Austen Authors. ?The setting in the picture to the left (via here) looks simply perfect! ?The one above (with whiskey barrel planters in the shape of teacups!) would be lovely as well (via here).

Alyssa Goodnight

Alyssa Goodnight currently lives between Houston and Galveston with her husband, two sons, and their adventure dogs, Indiana Jones and Short Round. She does her writing with an ice-cold can of Dr Pepper and her reading with cake whenever possible (now gluten-free!) Her writing has been described as clever, quirky, captivating and delightful. She is the author of Austentatious, Austensibly Ordinary, and Unladylike Pursuits.

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