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Tabletop trivia: 5 fun facts you may not know about board games

Hindustan Times | ByAs told to Poorva Joshi, Mumbai
Mar 22, 2016 08:57 PM IST

Did you know the longest game of Monopoly went on for 70 days? Read more to find out

1) The party game Uno has more than 50 versions. For instance, the game comes in a special deck of Avengers, Angry Birds, Doctor Who and The Simpsons, among others.

In an internet-driven lifestyle, board games are simple, analogous fun.(Photo: Aalok Soni/HT)
In an internet-driven lifestyle, board games are simple, analogous fun.(Photo: Aalok Soni/HT)

2) Monopoly celebrated its 80th anniversary in December 2015. However, the current version is different from the one originally created in 1903, in the USA. The game was a way to demonstrate that an economy which rewards wealth creation is better than one in which monopolists work under few constraints. It also promoted the theories of economist Henry George and his ideas about taxation and women’s rights.

Monopoly celebrated its 80th birthday in December 2015.
Monopoly celebrated its 80th birthday in December 2015.

3) During World War II, the Nazis let Allied prisoners of war play board games. The British government was even allowed to send incarcerated soldiers a game or two. One of the games it sent was Monopoly. Instead of sending the game apparatus, the box contained tools for escape. The British government, with the cooperation of the game’s publisher (the Parker brothers), hid real bank notes among the Monopoly money. Compasses, metal files, and a folded silk map were also concealed to help the POWs flee their captors. It worked; the soldiers escaped.

4) For Scrabble’s 50th Anniversary in 1988, a giant game was played in Wembley Stadium. Each tile was six feet across.

The game of Scrabble is 78 years old.
The game of Scrabble is 78 years old.

5) In 2008, 3,000 Monopoly fans around the world united to set the world record for the most people playing the game at the same time.

- By Mihir Vorra, co-founder, Mumbai Boardgames Bash

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