A recreation of the classic board game that many of us lost entire childhood weekends to, themed to the city of Mumbai. This special edition is crafted around the unique story of daily metropolitan life in the south of the city. Cultural and political references play out on a game set designed to match the textures and materials of Indian craftsmanship.
Humour & Familiarity
The goal for this Monopoly design was to create a game that is at once familiar, and yet funny — tongue-in-cheek references to life and stereotypes that make Mumbai the city that is it: colourful, lively, and highly competitive. The logo plays on Bollywood lights, Indian colours, the ubiquitous truck painted with a ‘Horn Ok Please’ sign and the Maharashtrian lotus.
Colour Palette
For most people, it is instinctive that brown is a cheap property and navy blue is an expensive one. I wanted to make use of this familiarity, maintaining the hues of monopoly but adjusting the shades to recall the ubiquitous pink, teal and saffron of India. I selected colours upon which both black and white text are legible.
Typography
Rooted in the Italian Art Deco that still adorns many of Mumbai’s monuments, Mostra Nuevo’s form embodies the volume of character Mumbai has: old Bollywood, a rich architectural heritage, and the everlasting desire to be a ‘World Class City’. I paired it with Univers, a simple sans serif, for body content.
Movers
Players can choose one of seven movers, each referencing different aspects of the city: culture, trade, film, transport and entertainment; decorated with colourful hand-tied ‘phungtas’ or tassles, popular in Indian textiles.
Storeys & Skyscrapers
Instead of the usual Houses and Hotels, this Monopoly references the Mumbai skyline. Stackable custom-made wood building levels go four storeys high and then are replaced by skyscrapers.
Rupees
Printed in lakh (1,00,000) and crore (1,00,00,000) denominations, these translucent water-resistant banknotes give players the wild spending power needed to play south Mumbai real estate.
Bindaaas & Chalta Hai
Mumbai’s version of Chance and Community Chest. The items on the 30 cards reference city problems, nuances, and jokes, sometimes in Hindi or Marathi, to appeal to a Mumbaikar’s humour.
Bindaaas is an exclamation that means ‘do without inhibition,’ or to refer to a person who is carefree and independent-minded. Chalta Hai is a phrase Mumbai is notorious for. It literally means ‘it walks,’ that is to say ‘it’ll do/it works/it‘s okay’ — a generally make-do approach to life.
Packaging
A hand-crafted wooden box houses compartments for all the components of the set and fits the four-folded board just under the lid. The card and money sections are slotted to hold the contents in an orderly manner. The top of the box has an engraved logo, made visible with the wood veins using a special combination of polish, paint and sandpaper.
