Leeds Monopoly Board Game

Product Information

In 1935 Monopoly was first patented in the USA and Waddington's published a British edition based on London streets.This special limited edition based on Leeds was published by John Waddington Ltd., possibly to celebrate the centenary of the City of Leeds in 1993. John Waddington started off as a theatrical printer in Leeds in 1896 and the firm began printing playing cards in 1921. The game "Monopoly" owes its genesis to an American Quaker woman who believed in the common ownership of land. By 1935 when the Parker Bros in Philadelphia acquired the rights to the game, it had become the embodiment of capitalist speculation. The British rights to the game were acquired by the Leeds firm of Waddingtons in 1935 and the slightly bizarre choice of London streets was based on a flying visit to the capital by one of the firm's employees. Since then the game has been customised to many cities and institutions, including this Leeds edition. Waddington's are also reputed to have smuggled silk escape maps to British prisoners of war inside Monopoly sets. Waddingtons were taken over by the US firm of Hasbro in the 1990s.

During World War II Waddingtons helped prisoners of war by hiding escape maps pinned on silk inside the games. The tokens were made out of real gold and real money was put with the monopoly money, once it was found out that German guards were not searching the boxes themselves. This was achieved by MI9 and Waddingtons working together to produce the games and setting up fake aid charites, sending both regular aid and escapee maps hidden in everyday objects such as cards, pens and of course board games.Nominations for the design features closes on 31 August 2023, and it is expected the Yorkshire Dales version will be available to buy from May 2024.

But more recently, new versions of the game have been released for places such as Leeds, Sheffield, Harrogate and more. Image: Winning Moves UK

Frequently asked questions

Waddingtons were taken over by the US firm of Hasbro in the 1990s. Most of the firm’s archives reside at the West Yorkshire Archives Service and Abbey House. The Boys who are mad sports fans were also greeted with personalised shirts for the Leeds Rhinos and a lovely letter to offer us a training day and lunch with the Rhinos in summer. Thank you so much you have no idea how special this made the boys feel. They are beside themselves with excitement, me? I am a little nervous but sure it will be a fun day and a special memory for us all. It has been revealed that a brand new version of the board game Monopoly is to be based on the beautiful Yorkshire Dales.

Waddingtons was a family run company that started out as a theatrical printer in 1896 and then moved on to printing card games in 1921. Waddingtons got the rights to the game Monopoly in 1935 the same year that Parker Bros, in the United States of America got the rights to the game. In the original UK edition of Monopoly, the streets on the Monopoly board are named after London streets, after one of the Waddingtons employees when down to London for a short trip with this purpose in mind. On the original board there is one error; Marlborough Street should be Great Marlborough Street. With crown jewels like Bolton Abbey and Malham Cove we expect to be wonderfully spoiled for choices producing this edition.” Obituary: Master of Monopoly who twice trounced Maxwell', Financial Times, 28 February/1 March 2015, p. 11

Returns:

We loved our Queens visit. The boys’ felt thoroughly spoilt, but extra treats aside that were all so so special. The Queens is a wonderful warm friendly hotel. The location is just perfect, next door to the train station, in the heart of Leeds in skipping distance to amazing shops, restaurants and amazing attractions including the Leeds Armories, and amazing museums. The company was established as a printing business, and at first 'practically all its business related to the theatre'. [1] It entered into game production in 1922, due to a boom in demand for playing cards around World War I. [2] Waddingtons subsequently sold both original games (especially tie-ins for UK television programmes) and games licensed from other publishers. Beginning in 1994, Christmas-themed jigsaw puzzles were released annually until 2007. The first twelve in the series depicted a scene from a Victorian-era Christmas. The final puzzle depicted a scene from the fairy tale Cinderella. The small number of puzzles, combined with them being limited editions, has made these puzzles highly collectable. [9] Further jigsaws have been produced since 2010 by a new company, using the same brand name. [9] Games [ edit ] Brian McMahon (29 November 2007). "How board game helped free POWs". Mental Floss magazine . Retrieved 7 December 2007.

Designers have said famous landmarks featured on the board could include the Ribblehead Viaduct, Bolton Abbey, Jervaulx Abbey and Skipton Castle. Image: UnsplashHidden inside these games were maps, compasses, real money and other objects useful for escaping. They were distributed to prisoners by fake charitable organisations. [4] In 1935 Monopoly was first patented in the USA and Waddington's published a British edition based on London streets. David Thornton, Leeds: A Historical Dictionary of People, Places and Events (Huddersfield: Northern Heritage Publications, 2013), s.v. WADDINGTONS. Waddingtons became the UK publisher of the US Parker Brothers' Monopoly, while Parker licensed Waddingtons' Cluedo. [2] In 1941, the British Directorate of Military Intelligence section 9 (MI9) had the company create a special edition of Monopoly for World War II prisoners of war held by the Germans. [3] In a letter written in 1933/34 by Winston Churchill, he thanked Waddingtons for a game of Monopoly that he was sent. He described the game as “most interesting”.