Pass Go and collect $200 because a Newmarket-themed version of the popular board game Monopoly has come to town.
The game is called Newmarket-Opoly and is made by Victoria-based company, Outset Media, and is sold in partnership with Walmart Canada.
“Outset Media is excited to help families across Canada celebrate where they live. These games were created to help people appreciate some things they cherish about their community,” said Jean-Paul Teskey, senior vice-president of the company. “The support that communities across Canada have given these games has made it possible for Outset Media to add dozens of additional cities and towns in brand new games that will be released throughout 2021.”
The game board features spots like Riverwalk Commons, Upper Canada Mall, Old Town Hall, and more.
“We always want to make sure that if someone was born and raised in Newmarket, they would look at that game and say this is a pretty good representation of our city,” Jared Clarkson, public relations coordinator at Outset Media, said.
However, he said they can’t include landmark since they are limited to the number of spaces on a Monopoly board. Clarkson added the board doesn't feature advertisers.
Local residents took notice online when a photo of the game was posted in a Newmarket Facebook group.
People were quick to react with their jokes, suggestions of what could be included, and a desire to get their hands on the game.
“I kinda feel like I need this in my life,” one comment said, and it appears many residents agreed as the games were quickly snapped up at that Walmart location on Yonge Street.
Newmarket-Opoly isn’t the only version Outset Media made to celebrate Canadian towns, with approximately 150 different versions already in existence.
In York Region, there is currently a Vaughan version that’s already in stores and an Aurora version that should be hitting shelves soon.
Richmond Hill-Opoly and Markham-Opoly are both coming later this summer, however, a specific release date has not been given.
There aren’t currently plans to make versions for the other municipalities in the region, but it could happen one day down the road.
“We’re basically going to keep doing it until there’s no more cities left,” Clarkson said.
They have made versions for big cities like Toronto, but found that the response is bigger in small communities.
“We find that the smaller cities have a little bit more, whether it’s the sense of community and being willing to celebrate those small towns that people come from,” he said. “If you go to Toronto, there’s so much media and so many things that are constantly trying to grab people’s attention so there’s just kind of an over saturation of those markets.”
According to Clarkson, their best-selling game has been the version from Sarnia, Ontario.
