Thanks to Great River Bodywork and Massage for their support.
West St. Paul has its own board game. It’s a variation of Monopoly using local businesses for the famous properties.
What: Hometown USA is a series of real estate trading games created for specific communities. Businesses could advertise to appear in the game and then a limited number of copies were created and sold.
How many: It appears there were 1,500 copies of the West St. Paul game created. Each one is numbered.
When: The game appears to be created in the late 1980s or early 1990s, with a 1988 copyright date and the playing board emphasizing West St. Paul’s centennial in 1989. It’s a snapshot of businesses in West St. Paul at the time, many of which are long gone.
Which businesses: A number of local businesses appear, including Plaza TV and Appliance, Nowak’s Liquor Store, and Kent Optical, that are still around today. But many more are familiar but gone, including Camelot Cleaners, Wolters Greenhouse & Garden Center, Perkins, K-mart, Signal Bank, Jolly Hobby & Craft Center, and more.
Copyright issues?: “Your town has been monopolized” is as close as the packaging gets to referencing the classic game. It’s remarkably similar to Monopoly, though the rules have a few differences, including changing the classic houses and motels into branches of local businesses. Monopoly owner Hasbro has famously rolled out a number of licensed versions of the game, including similar city variations. It’s unclear if Hometown Productions, the maker of the West St. Paul game, ever faced litigation for copyright infringement.
West St. Paul connections: The game board highlights Robert Street in 1922 and today, the original city hall and current version, and West St. Paul’s first mayor, Philip Crowley.
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