I saw an ad on Facebook the other day for a Kalamazoo themed Monopoly board at the Walmart on Gull Rd. Now don't get me wrong, I'm not mad at Walmart, but when I arrived to take pictures of the game, I began to get mad quickly. By the end of my observation of the game, I would discover just exactly why this whole thing was a total failure in my eyes. Personally, I've got some serious problems with the way this thing was designed, completely.

First off there are major inconsistencies with the board layout, game pieces, properties, and everything in general about it. Let's go through some general complaints before I reveal the reason this was done so poorly:

  • There is no Henderson Castle, Seelye, The Radisson, Pfizer, Stryker, Vine Neighborhood, or Kalamazoo Building, Homer Stryker Field properties.
  • They used U.S. 131 & I-94 as streets (Railroads) instead of Sprinkle & Westnedge?
  • There's huge inconsistencies in the properties and the colors that coordinate them. They have the KIA but no ArtHop.
  • "Yes, There Really Is A Kalamazoo." Where is that?
  • They have breweries that are mixed between colors. Where Boardwalk and Park Place should be, they have Downtown Kalamazoo & Western Michigan University. Shouldn't the universities be paired together by color? They left out KVCC & KCollege.
  • The pieces were all jacked up (Pretzel, Heart, Hand, Shoe, Teeth). Here are some logical ideas for board pieces: Fishing Rod (Shakespeare), Guitar (Gibson), Beer Bottle (Breweries), Plane (Air Zoo/Airport), Shopping Bag (Outside Mall), & a Horse (Broncos).
  • Why are the Kalamazoo Mall (First in America) & Gibson Smokestack the two cheapest properties even though they're two of the most prominent things Kalamazoo is known for?

Finally let's observe each picture and it will be revealed just why this was a failure:

This Is Why The Kalamazoo Monopoly Is A Failure...

I think Kalamazoo On Board may be the better of the two. Even if it wasn't designed by or thought up by someone in Ohio, whoever made it missed out big time. I get it, you won't be able to fit EVERY major thing into a property space, but when you get a cookie cutter made idea made, you miss out on the chance to fit most everything in on Chance & Community Chest cards. There's ways of sneaking them in. It's cool to have a novelty thing like this, but I feel like they missed out on some of the most important parts of our city. I went in as possible customer and walked out with nothing.

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