Monopoly The Hamptons Edition Adds Local Flavor to a Timeless Classic

Just short of a year after it was announced last August, the official Monopoly The Hamptons Edition board game landed on the East End and it’s already a huge hit.

The local version of this classic family game was released on June 21 following much anticipation about which area shops, restaurants and landmarks would appear on the board. Even participating businesses were only told of their approval, but they were kept in the dark about which other Hamptons locales would replace the game’s famous Atlantic City squares.

“I had no idea what it was going to be like,” explains Roy Stevenson, of Stevenson’s Toys & Games in Southampton (69 Jobs Lane) and East Hampton (66 Newtown Lane). “They wouldn’t tell us who the other people were going to be, so it was a great deal of excitement to finally see the board, and I’m really well pleased with it.”

Stevenson’s occupies a red property, Illinois Avenue on the classic game board, and it’s also the only named business among six images on the board’s central section, sharing the Community Chest card area with a lovely photo of a sunset on the bay.

Monopoly The Hamptons Edition Participants

Other pictures in the center of the board include a shot of the Montauk Lighthouse (which also lives in the blue Park Place square), the historic Hook Windmill (also occupying St. Charles Place), Southampton’s Main Street (also Marvin Gardens) and a shot of Shelter Island, which also appears on the game’s most coveted square, Boardwalk — congrats to the smallest of our five East End towns!

The rest of the board offers an array of fun squares with recognizable places and businesses, such as Sag Harbor Books, Shadmoor State Park, East Hampton’s Main Beach, Atlantic Avenue Beach, Coopers Beach, Hallock State Park Reserve, Cedar Point Lighthouse, Southampton Inn, Hampton Chutney, Camp Hero Radar Facility, and even nonprofits East End Hospice and Hamptons United, among others.

Long Island Rail Road, Montauk Airport, Hampton Jitney and Hampton Ambassador stand in for the classic railroad squares. Community Chest and Chance cards are also customized to fit the Hamptons theme, as is the Monopoly money, which features a lighthouse and windmill motif.

The pieces players move around the board remain in the classic form — top hat, race car, dog, etc. — which Top Trumps says players like since most people have a favorite they’ve used since childhood.

“They did not put every square with somebody who was willing to sponsor a square,” Stevenson says, giving kudos to Monopoly The Hamptons Edition creators Top Trumps USA, who worked in partnership with Hasbro to make the game.

“They’ve got Montauk Lighthouse and Coopers Beach and a lot of the different scenic places here. I think they did a good job on it. I was pleased to see that it ended up as well as it did,” he adds. “It really resonates with me. I used to play that game a lot when I was a kid. I never dreamed I’d have my name on one of the squares, so it’s pretty cool.”

This nostalgia and love of the game clearly helped Stevenson decide to become one of the board’s most visible sponsors.

“They talked to us about taking a space on the board and to me it was just a no-brainer to get my brand out there,” he says. “Everybody who buys a game sees Stevenson’s Toys & Games on there, and I just thought you can’t beat this in terms of getting your name in front of people, Stevenson continues.

“And the great thing is, it’s not just going to be people who come and buy it from my store. It’s also being sold at a bunch of stores around the East End — it’s being sold at CVS, it’s being sold on Amazon, so anybody who buys that game is going to see Stevenson’s Toys & Games, and if they’re ever in town, they’ll say, ‘Wow, that’s the place on the Monopoly board,’ and they’ll come in here, so I thought it was a good idea.”

For their part, Top Trumps representative Dennis Gavaghen says, “We’ve spent months creating a portrayal of the area’s dynamic communities that we hope locals and visitors alike will enjoy for years to come,” adding, “We’ve incorporated important feedback from locals to truly make this a fun and engaging game for Hamptonites and beyond.”

Stevenson says Top Trumps brought Mr. Monopoly to his store for a short launch event on June 21, which was followed by a party for all participants at the Roundtree in Amagansett.

And since the launch, Monopoly The Hamptons Edition has been a smashing success. “It has been selling way beyond my wildest expectations. We’ve sold, I think, over 120 copies in four days,” Stevenson said following the launch. “It’s been pretty insane.”

 To learn more about Monopoly The Hamptons Edition, visit toptrumps.com or stevensonstoys.com, among other local and national retailers.