Monopoly Game

[Vermonter]

McDonald's is running their Monopoly game again this year. Anyone been collecting pieces? I've got a bunch so far, but I'm always one away...

[mickal555]

Cool!

I used to love that

[soylentgreen]

You got 'Broadway'? We'll split the prize! ;)

[Ilya]

Did it ever struck you as odd that one of the most popular board games ever is named after an illegal business practice? Suppose someone invented a game called "Usury" or "Protection Racket"?

A disclaimer -- I like Monopoly. I just find the above amusing.

[pghnative]

You got 'Broadway'? We'll split the prize! ;)I think you mean "Boardwalk".

There ain't no Broadway Avenue (or street, etc.) in Atlantic City NJ. (Presumably everyone knows why that's relevant).

I've stopped keeping the game pieces (except for the instant winners) but always have this nagging fear that on the last day of the contest I'll collect Boardwalk, and then be rummaging through the trash to find a "Park Place"

[Vermonter]

I'll have to check. I have 2/3 of the $50,000. I wonder, when is the deadline for turning them in? When I get back tonight I'll post the ones I've collected thus far, if that's Mod-OK.

[farmerjumperdon]

Did it ever struck you as odd that one of the most popular board games ever is named after an illegal business practice? Suppose someone invented a game called "Usury" or "Protection Racket"?

A disclaimer -- I like Monopoly. I just find the above amusing.

That's funny.

How about Insurance Fraud? Or Identity Theft?

[Fazor]

I'll have to check. I have 2/3 of the $50,000. I wonder, when is the deadline for turning them in? When I get back tonight I'll post the ones I've collected thus far, if that's Mod-OK.

:) Me and the g/f collect them (mostly her as she goes there often for lunch). We're 1 away on all the colors (except need 2 more RR's). Kinda takes the fun outta it tho 'caus now anytime we eat there we already have all the stickers that we get. I guess it would make up for that boringness if we ever got one that we actually still need as that would mean $$$ for me :-p. I tend to not eat fast food tho, so I guess this is more a game for her.

[tlbs101]

Originally Posted by Ilya
Did it ever struck you as odd that one of the most popular board games ever is named after an illegal business practice? Suppose someone invented a game called "Usury" or "Protection Racket"?

A disclaimer -- I like Monopoly. I just find the above amusing.

That's funny.

How about Insurance Fraud? Or Identity Theft?
We (childhood friends, and I) used to play a board game called, "Lie, Cheat, and Steal". It was a neat game.

[soylentgreen]

I think you mean "Boardwalk".

Yeah :o woops, I did mean Boardwalk. Heading into Manhattan tomorrow so that must have been fresh on mind. :rolleyes:

[Donnie B.]

Monopoly (the board game) dates back to 1930 -- it was released in 1935 -- a time when monopoly (the practice) may have had a somewhat more neutral connotation.

After the "robber baron" era of the 19th century, it was surely seen as a bad thing by those victimized by monopolies... but also something to be aspired to. The Sherman Anti-Trust Act was only 40 years old when the game was developed, so "Monopoly = Evil and Illegal" may not have sunk into the public consciousness so thoroughly.

Interestingly, the game itself has been accused of some questionable ethics -- some say its developer plagiarized the idea from an earlier game!

[Moose]

I used to play a game called Land Grab.

Another that was modelled after OPEC-style politics in a region that was vaguely modelled after the Middle East. My friend and I liked its premise, but didn't fully understand the game well enough to do more than blunder around. I can't remember the name of that game. Anybody recognize it? [Edit: Game of Nations (http://www.boardgamecompany.co.uk/GameofNations(VG123).htm). That's it.]

Then, of course, there's Clue. Hey, murder is a good premise, right? Scotland Yard is another one that has a player taking the role of some kind of generic crook.

[NEOWatcher]

And don't forget about Risk.

There's nothing like battling it out for world domination. (mwah ha ha http://www.cosgan.de/images/smilie/teufel/n055.gif )

[Jim]

Risk.

There's no better way to spend an afternoon than trying to destroy your friends and dominate the world.

(Oh, man, the coincidence factor must be astronomical! Well, great minds and all that...)

[Moose]

Oh yeah, I love Risk. My entire playgroup learned (the hard way) to fear me. Muahahaha.

The PC based Risk II is a real bear. The non-traditional maps have virtually no chokepoints. It seems to come down to who can get luckier on the dice and manage their cards better. The traditional map plays the same as the live game.

Axis and Allies is a great game, but if you're playing five players, and without an egg timer set to "very soft boil", you need to have something else to do while waiting your turn. Ye gads. We had a player who would easily take up 20 minutes to decide on his moves.

[DaveC426913]

McDonald's is running their Monopoly game again this year. Anyone been collecting pieces? I've got a bunch so far, but I'm always one away...

You do realize that the ones you don't have are the ones everybody else doesn't have too eh? 99% of the properties are a dime a dozen, it's the 1 or 2 that they only make a set number of. If you find out what those ones are, you don't even need to bother looking for the rest, since you can come by them easily.

[Larry Jacks]

I can only hope they have better security procedures to prevent fraud this time. From Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/McDonald's_Monopoly):

History

In 2001, the U.S. promotion was halted after a fraud scheme was uncovered. The subcontractor hired by McDonald's to organize and promote the game, Simon Marketing (a then-subsidiary of Cyrk), failed to recognize a flaw in its procedures, and the chief of security, Jerome P. Jacobson,[1] was able to remove the "most expensive" game pieces, which he then passed to associates who would redeem them and share the proceeds. It turned out that almost all of the grand prize and top prize winners over several years had been participants in the scheme, netting over $24 million. At first only eight people were arrested, but in the end 51 individuals were indicted,[2] and the relationship between McDonald's and the promotions company broke down in a pair of lawsuits, which were eventually settled out of court.[3]

In 2003, McDonald's resumed the Monopoly game in the U.S. with new security precautions. The game is usually offered in late summer or early fall. Game tokens are provided on selected food items and through the mail by sending a self addressed stamped envelope. In the 2006 U.S. version, there are two kinds of tokens: game pieces and guaranteed win pieces. Game pieces are the standard board pieces in the Monopoly game, and offer instant prizes and can be collected for larger prizes. Guaranteed win pieces guarantee either $1 or $5 in Best Buy credit. An interesting thing to note is that the counter on the official site used to count down until 12:00 am on October 3rd, the starting day of the 2006 game. However, on October 3, the counter was counting down again until 12:00 am on October 4th.


McDonald's Monopoly Game scandal

The McDonald's Monopoly scandal in the U.S. resulted from the revelation in 2001 that an employee of Simon Marketing, the promotion company that had been responsible for administering McDonald's contests, had actually been using proxies who were given the winning contest tickets and claiming the prizes instead of ensuring that the pieces were distributed to the general public. The fraud was perpetrated without McDonald's knowledge, but McDonald's voluntarily offered to pay out new contest prizes to its customers to compensate for the prizes misappropriated by the promotion company. It also appears that only one key employee of the promotion company, and not its management, perpetrated the fraud. Despite the name, the fraud was perpetrated with all of McDonald's contests, and not just the popular one based on the game of Monopoly. In total, it is believed that about $13 million (U.S.) was embezzled in this manner from 1995 to 2001.

[clop]

Did it ever struck you as odd that one of the most popular board games ever is named after an illegal business practice? Suppose someone invented a game called "Usury" or "Protection Racket"?

Or Grand Theft Auto.

clop

[mickal555]

Riskopaly?

[Serenitude]

I've been grabbing breakfast at McDonald's almost every morning just to get two pieces from the hashbrowns :lol:

So far, haven't won anything but free small McFlurries, but I did win 4 of them in a row :shifty:

[NEOWatcher]

All this time, and nobody mentioned the odds (http://www.suntimes.com/news/roeper/89961,CST-NWS-roep10.article):

1 : 7.2 Food prizes
1 : 91,697 $50
1 : 91,697,000 Sony Dream System Home theater
1 : 114,621,250 Trip for two to Vegas
1 : 3.5 Billion $50,000 prize
1 : 41.5 Billion $5 million
Odds on a 40x6 number lottery? 3.8 Million to 1
Assuming you spend $1 for a lottery ticket, and on average .5 for food to get a Monopoly Piece:
Monopoly is about 500 times harder to win the 50k.

and the $5 Million is about 5500 TIMES HARDER TO WIN THAN A LOTTERY

[Jim]

Speaking of lotteries...

I was living in Louisiana when the state began holding a weekly lottery. After it had been going for a few months, a TV reporter did a fluff piece on it. She interviewed (among others) an elderly lady who said she had bough five $1 tickets every week since it started... except once. The reporter asked about the once, what happened then?

"Well," said the little old woman, "it came up to 9:59pm Saturday night, they were about to hold the drawing, and I realized I hadn't bought my tickets that week."

"So, what did you do?" asked the reporter.

"I took a five dollar bill and flushed it down the toilet. Same thing."

[crosscountry]

I don't eat at McDonalds

[peter eldergill]

Last time I went to McDonalds, I thought I noticed that there are no longer game pieces, but that you have to go online (as with many contests now, such as under the coke bottle top), register to receive junk mail, spam, etc and then find out if you won....

Takes all the fun out of it now

Pete

[jrstar]

:dance: :dance: :dance:


this is what i have....
4 of 3605 connecticut ave
1 of 3602 baltic ave
1 of 3621 park place
2 of 3618 pacific ave
4 of 3619 north coarolina ave
1 of 3623 reading railroad
4 of 3624 pennsylvania railroad
5 of 3625 b&o railroad
2 of 3606 st. charles place
2 of 3607 state ave
2 of 3615 atlantic ave
2 of 3617 marvin gardens
5 of 3613 indiana ave
4 of 3614 illinois ave
4 of 3609 st.james places
2 of 3611 n.y ave
3 of 3603 oriental ave

pls: emaIL ME ..SPLIT THE PRIZE..jrstarquest1@sbcglobal. net.......

[jrstar]

:wall: :wall: :wall:


this is what i have....
4 of 3605 connecticut ave
1 of 3602 baltic ave
1 of 3621 park place
2 of 3618 pacific ave
4 of 3619 north coarolina ave
1 of 3623 reading railroad
4 of 3624 pennsylvania railroad
5 of 3625 b&o railroad
2 of 3606 st. charles place
2 of 3607 state ave
2 of 3615 atlantic ave
2 of 3617 marvin gardens
5 of 3613 indiana ave
4 of 3614 illinois ave
4 of 3609 st.james places
2 of 3611 n.y ave
3 of 3603 oriental ave

pls: emaIL ME ..SPLIT THE PRIZE..jrstarquest1@sbcglobal. net.......