Ghettopoly
| Designer(s) | David Chang |
|---|---|
| Players | 2–8 |
| Setup time | 5–15 minutes |
| Playing time | about 3 hours |
| Random chance | Medium |
| Skill(s) required | Simple mathematics (such as counting, finding percentages and multiplication); Social skills; Negotiation |
Ghettopoly is a parody of Monopoly released in 2003. Invented by David Chang,[1] it uses Monopoly-like mechanics in the atmosphere of a caricaturized United States ghetto.
Contents
Gameplay and differences from Monopoly
The four railroad properties are replaced by liquor stores. Other properties include a massage parlour, a peep show and a pawn shop. The Community Chest and Chance squares become Ghetto Stash and Hustle squares, while taxation squares are replaced by police shakedown and carjacking squares.[2]
Instead of building houses and hotels, property owners can build crack houses and projects. The seven game pieces include: a pimp, a ho, a 40 oz, a machine gun, a marijuana leaf, a crack rock, and a basketball.[2]
Official description
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Buying stolen properties, pimpin hoes, building crack houses and projects, paying protection fees and getting car jacked are some of the elements of the game. Not dope enough?...If you don't have the money that you owe to the loan shark you might just land yourself in da Emergency Room.
Contents
Game Board, Loan Shark Tray, 40 Crack Houses, 17 Projects, Pink Slip Cards, Ghetto Stash and Hustle Cards, 7 Game pieces (Pimp, Hoe, 40 oz, Machine Gun, Marijuana Leaf, Basket Ball and Crack), Counterfeit Money, and 2 Dice.
Controversy
The game was criticised as offensively racist by a local chapter of the NAACP[3] and black clergy[4] among others.
The game was pulled from the market by Urban Outfitters, just one of its many retailers. Chang still marketed the game without their support. According to Chang's now-defunct website, further such games were planned, including Hoodopoly, Hiphopopoly, and Thugopoly. In October 2003, Hasbro sued David Chang over the game's similarities to Monopoly. In January 2006, Chang was found in contempt of court for failure to produce documents.[5]
The court thus entered a "default judgment" for Hasbro's continued use of "Monopoly" as a trademark, and dismissed Chang's counterclaims, which were to revoke trademark status on "Monopoly". In May, 2006, the court estimated that Chang generated US$8,790,000 in profits from the sale of Ghettopoly, and that damages of $400,000 were reasonable as reflected in the court documents.[5]
According to eBay's Offensive Material Policy, neither Ghettopoly nor "any of its variants" can be sold.[6]
See also
- Life as a BlackMan (game)
Notes
- ↑ Ghettopoly at BoardGameGeek
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Ghettopoly official site (US) cache from the Internet Archive
- ↑ "Game's street theme upsets NAACP" — St. Petersburg Times
- ↑ "Black leaders outraged at Ghettopoly game at Urban Outfitters" — USA Today
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 http://www.websupp.org/data/DRI/1:03-cv-00482-58-DRI.pdf
- ↑ "Offensive Material Policy"
