Hotels at Wharariki Beach and the Centre of New Zealand at the drop of a top hat.
Nelson Tasman’s turn at the board game titan, Monopoly, has passed the GO tile after a successful roll of the dice from the local Chamber of Commerce.
Nelson Tasman Chamber of Commerce chief executive, Ali Boswijk, says the game plan for Nelson Tasman’s version began in early 2024, after citing a wealth of other regions’ Monopoly boards featuring its resplendent assets.
“The [Nelson Tasman] board comprises of natural features and beautiful places that we all know and love, but also businesses in the region to show our diverse economy, which is something we want to promote at all times as a business chamber,” she says.
“People love Monopoly, and I think for people living here, it’s also really nice to have a Monopoly that actually represents the place where you live, as opposed to Park Lane and Old Street [Old Kent Rd] and things that don’t have any real connection to Nelson.”
Ali says more than 60 businesses drew a chance card to sponsor the project and they are acknowledged, often humorously, in different facets of the board game.
“We want to be able to provide mentoring and other business support services to businesses in the region and securing revenue from initiatives like this enables us to then deliver services to businesses,” she says.
The region’s popular culture in the board game is also utilised in the playing pieces, including the Nelson Giants mascot G.I. ANT, a mako shark to represent the Tasman Mako, a peanut butter jar for Pic’s, and glasses for The Spectacle.
Players can also fight over a pewter waka and bicycle, and Split Apple Rock, which was the winner of a list of token options submitted by the community.
The board game rules uphold tradition including a Go to Jail tile.
Ali says it was “a great relief” when the boards, which were produced by Australia-based company Winning Moves, arrived in January’s second week.
She says 5000 are up for grabs at Paper Plus stores, Pic’s Peanut Butter World and on the Nelson Tasman Chamber of Commerce website.
A regional version of the Top Trumps card game is also available. Ali says some players were already vying to remain financially solvent after taking advantage of the game’s presale.
“We’re finding people are buying them and sending them to their family overseas to remind them of where they’re from, which has been quite nice,” she says.
An official rollout of Monopoly Nelson Tasman was held at the top of Trafalgar St on 14 February with a giant Monopoly board, giveaways and the suited, portly old man with a curled handlebar moustache symbolising his fortune.
