UK Metro has unearthed a circa 1960’s board game:BR Offshore Oil Strike. I am not shitting you. What I’ve heard about the game itself is seriously creepy since it foreshadows the current oiltastrophe in the Gulf.
Who hell wants to play a game sponsored by a multi-fucking national oil company? Not me. I was never even that into Monopoly when I was a wee lad in knee pants or whatever the hell it was we wore back then. I preferred Risk, which means that world conquest was more up my alley. I was a ruthless Risk player and always tried to control the Asian provinces of the then Soviet Union as well as Turkey. I never fooled with Afghanistan; even a little kid knows that nobody will ever rule that unruly land. The great game threw snake eyes a long time ago.
The follow-on sequel game, “Offshore Oil Catastrophe,” should be a smash hit.
Can’t wait to see the advertising copy for that one…
Monopoly actually is an appropriate game for our economic situation:
First, everyone scrambles to buy up property, resulting in a property boom. (okay, you don’t have all the leverage, derivatives, etc., but hold on)
Second, the players are seriously depleted of cash and the result is a classic deflationary economic depression. Some go bust, others hang on.
Slowly, cash comes back in the game (at $200 a pop from passing go), and things start up again, until the fat cats screw everyone else for the win.
A modern version would have leveraged buyouts, CDOs, etc.
My preferred Risk strategery was attempt to control North and South America, which conferred a huge advantage for a modest price (only three borders if you controlled both continents.)