Gay Monopoly, the unofficial version of the game that was originally released in 1983. It was released by a division of Fire Island Games called Parker Sisters (the Monopoly brand was owned by0 Parker Brothers didn’t see the funny side,) and the creators of Gay Monopoly were sued for copyright infringement and few board games actually made it to sale. Making it’s purchase a rare one and hard to find.

Created in 1983 (and with it’s historical content)  The game board features original artwork of men in leather jackets and denim jeans and the tagline ‘A Celebration of Gay Life’.

Properties have changed instead we are taken on a circular journey where the properties represent famous gay landmarks. Some of the places that you can buy include Castro Street, Provincetown, Oscar Wilde’s Waterworks, Fire Island, Cedar Springs Road, and Bourbon Street. When it comes to a property, you’re no longer buying houses or hotels, in Gay Monopoly, you’re investing in bars and bathhouses and Gay Monopoly comes with unique playing tokens you can choose to play as either a jeep, teddy bear, blow drier, leather cap, handcuffs, or a stiletto heel. And you no longer faced the risk of a policeman sending you to Jail. Instead, an evangelical ‘Immoral Moron’ instructed you from his pulpit to ‘Go straight to Straight City’ (slogan, ‘Home, Dull Home’).

And there are extra cards other than Community Chest to look for. The game also includes Camp Cards that make you perform a certain action. For example, one of the cards asks you to say ‘faaabulous’ in six different ways to receive $3.

Another new addition is Hanky Code Cards. These ask the player to recall what each color of hanky meant, and what it meant when worn in a different rear pants pocket. (Remember this was the 1983.)

And as with regular Monopoly, a banker was needed to undertake the financial transactions. The guidelines suggested: “…choose this person carefully. A good choose would be someone who watches ‘Let’s Make A Deal’ often or perhaps a person who frequents S&M slave auctions. If no one fits these descriptions, at least get someone who occasionally buys his own drinks. If you are still without a candidate, just settle for anyone who enjoys deposits and withdrawals and who looks cute wearing nothing but a banker’s visor. But with this last one, make sure she keeps her hands out of the till. She is likely to have had so many sugardaddies that she will confuse her own cash with that of the bank.”

We need this game back not only as a game but as a historical teaching tool.

Parker Bothers might still be nbitter, though: Gay Monopoly holds a geek rating of 5.4 on Board Game Geeks… which is higher than actual Monopoly on 4.4.

Which token do you choose?