I find myself owning more board games at this juncture of life. Could it be the under age group residing in my household that dictates this use of time and mental bandwidth? It certainly contributes.
The real reason is the weather. As we await the impending weather here in Toronto we do what any California transplant does- buys more non-local wine of the red varietal, and more board games.
The newest of the boxed bunch- City Monopoly. This version allows you to build high rises and sewage treatment plants next door to your neighbors with very little regard for local planning. This newest variety got me thinking about how many genres of Monopoly there really could be. The capitalist bent of the game is always the competitive, capitalistic, money hoarding and free wheeling American psyche brought to it's simplest form: an evening of togetherness. Capitalist tendencies do coincide with Canadian cultural habits but in such a humbled form the tendencies seem like the mere shadow of what they represent.
Enter the newest idea for a board game (yes, it's my own idea) Cunuck Monoploy.
This version of the game has very little in common with it's sibling from the states. First off, it's all about complacency. And hockey.
The rules of my version of Canadian Monopoly would be as follows: If you say something rude to the TTC driver you must attend a class. Instead of jail, we have Canadian charm school where one learns the ever popular passive -aggressive way of smiling and waving at your neighbor vs flipping em the bird.
The real estate around the board is heavily suburban-cottage country focus, since the cottage country adjective is so tightly knit to Canadian Identity that it only seems authentic to the rules of the game to include it. Other key real estate on the game board includes bankrupt hockey teams in Arizona. Don't worry though, you'll never be able to buy them.
The big GO on the American gameboard would be replaced with the LCBO or the liquor control board, which exists on the corner end where collecting a salary would be on the American version of the game. Instead of free parking, there's Canadian Tire.
Chance cards offer the following advice and direction: "Go directly to your television and find a curling game. Watch this television channel for 20 min" (which will seem like 2 weeks.) Another chance card might read "go directly to Swiss Chalet and order the french fries with poutine."
( American's who have never head of this: think Denny's greasy french fries smothered in gray gelatinous gravy.)
The game pieces would be as follows: a mitten, a hockey skate, a hockey stick, a hockey puck, a zamboni, a can of Labatt's beer, a woolen hat in red, a chain saw, and a snowmobile.
The winner of the game will be the one with an average amount of money, driving a Buick SUV, and owning a piece of the cottage county with a winter get away at Blue Mountain.
It's so very nice and civilized, this game of Canadian Monopoly. Just remember that complacency replaces strategy. And don't forget to smile a great deal.
Can you tell that today I miss California?
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