This is why my invention idea would suit those that would perfer a less competitive, less contentious Sunday afternoon family game - "Communist" the game. Instead of having the great value distinction (classism) between the slums of Baltic Ave to the ritzy Broadwalk, the board would be ridden with rice paddies, blacksmith shops, and coal mines. All places would cost the same and as soon as a player makes a profit on anything, the money must be equalized between all players or go to the central government. Instead of having "Chances" and "Community Chest" cards in the middle, it would have "Corruption" and "Coercion" cards. Corruption would have cards like "Pay the central government $100 yuan for your DVD bootlegging establishment". As for coercion, it would have cards like "Face the firing squad for having capitalistic ideas" or "Go to labor correctional camp for going to church". There are no such thing as free parking in China. When you pass GO, instead of collecting $200, you have to instead rehearse a verse from Mao's little red book. Instead of having only one going to jail spot at the northeast corner of the board, this game would have at least six. Now of course the "get out of jail free" card would have to come from the corruption pile. I can even picture the pewter character pieces already, instead of having a car, a shoe or a thimble, the "Communist" game would have characters like Joseph Stallin, some random Chinese guy, a sickle, a hammer, even Sputnik! Now such a game you can imagine would last quite a while and probably be pretty boring. I guess the only way the game would end is when you buy the expansion set to the "Communist" game where companies like McDonalds or Cadillac are allowed to build restaurants and factories on your rice paddies, then things would really start to shake up.
P.S. - Props to Killen and Andy for encouraging me to put this up.
8 comments:
Hehe. Yesterday, Tyler and I went for a walk and spun the balls in the dragon's mouth on the corner of Marsh and Santa Rosa and thought of you. We actually didn't know that the balls would spin until we got a book for Lillian from the library called "Round is a Mooncake." It talks all about how mooncakes and lanterns are round, bags of rice and money envelopes are rectangles, and dim sum and name chops are square. All we have to do is buy "Communism, the game" and she'll be Chinese in no time.
Patrick, you made me laugh out loud at work.
I was also laughing (well, not at work, but at home). I love your idea!! It's hilarious! I think I'll tell my dad about it.
Does Raytheon know about your affinity for communist things?
Sssssh, LIZ!?
Pat- this is good. Maybe we can even come up with a 5yr plan to make it better. Maybe you could combine it with risk, so that everyone will get the satisfaction of bringing the capitalist pigs to their knees. Maybe you should market this. I still think we should sell "Baby's first book of engineering" or whatever it was we called it, to Baby Einstein or another company
PS - I get to be sputnik
I'd buy the expansion set! How could you turn down the culture clash that would create?
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