You can own Table Mountain with Monopoly Mzansi

You can now own a top uMhlanga hotel, King Shaka International Airport and Table Mountain thanks to Monopoly's Mzansi edition.

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Durban - Fancy using your hard-earned cash to snap up a top uMhlanga hotel, King Shaka International Airport and Table Mountain or perhaps a slightly less pricey stretch of Durban’s Golden Mile?

But you had better make sure that you save your “Mzansi moolah” first so you can afford the rent when camping out at a friend’s property in Cape Town or Johannesburg. And, of course, make sure you don’t end up on a trip that takes you straight to jail when playing the latest edition of the popular board game Monopoly Mzansi.

Hasbro, the world’s largest toy, game and entertainment experience company, launched the new edition of the game at Nelson Mandela Square in Sandton on Tuesday.

Monopoly Mzansi has 22 proudly South African locations and four transport stations up for grabs in the latest edition, including King Shaka International Airport, the Sandton Gautrain station and new properties such as uMhlanga’s iconic Oyster Box Hotel, Nelson Mandela Square, Maboneng and 4th Avenue Parkhurst. Some locations are old favourites, including Kruger National Park, Gold Reef City and the Union Buildings.

But which properties are the priciest on the board?

The V&A Waterfront and Table Mountain scooped the most expensive spots, followed by Boulders Beach, Chapman’s Peak Drive and Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens, while Durban Beachfront, Florida Road and uShaka Marine World vie for the most affordable locations on the board.

Siphiwe Thabethe, marketing manager for Hasbro South Africa, said other locations on the board highlighted the country’s natural heritage such as the Big Hole and Addo Elephant Park, the Cradle of Humankind and St Francis Bay.

“South Africans are known for their pride in their country, which is why we are excited to present the final locations that made it on the board as they truly represent South Africa’s rich cultural diversity and natural beauty. There is also a strong link to Madiba’s legacy with the inclusion of Vilakazi Street and Robben Island,” Thabethe said.

FNB Household and Property Sector Strategist, John Loos, said the new approach to Monopoly was “interesting” as players could buy a game reserve and a mountain, although Capetonians wouldn’t be happy to see hotels going up on their beloved mountain. However it was “a bit sad” Eloff Street had not made the cut along with the expensive properties.

“Every new edition of Monopoly in SA reflects the massive real life change that has taken place in our urban and other areas - the demise of old, previously fashionable CBD areas and the re-emergence of Cape Town as a prime city to rival Johannesburg. Every time I see a new monopoly board in SA I wonder if Monopoly boards in other parts of the world have changed as much as they have here,” Loos said.

“There is very little left of the areas and streets that populated Monopoly boards of old. And airports largely replacing train stations in the transport category is perhaps a sad reflection of where passenger rail travel in SA has gone as low-cost air travel has taken over,” he said.

Several regional country versions of Monopoly have been produced, including Monopoly Cape Town last year and an updated traditional Monopoly which featured places such as Westville, uMhlanga Rocks, Ballito Bay, La Lucia, Amanzimtoti and others from around the country in 2005.

The oldest version had the street names Marine Parade, Smith Street, West Street, Gillespie Street, Musgrave Road and the Durban train station. It has now probably been confined to the annals of history, church fetes and second hand shops.

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