Ever wondered what a Shanghai version of the classic board game Monopoly would look like? Well wonder no more!
British expat Ian Steele, formerly a four-and-a-half year Beijingren, and now a Shanghai newbie as Director of Admissions & Marketing at Nord Anglia International School Shanghai, Pudong, is the founder of Custom Beijing and Custom Shanghai.
As the name suggests, he makes customizable Beijing- and Shanghai-related products. We caught up with him to find out about the inspiration behind his creations.
British expat and founder of Custom Beijing and Shanghai, Ian Steele
What first made you think of the idea for customized Monopoly sets?
One of my hobbies is design and cartography, and I started out with the creation of customized maps of China and other cities around the world.
A custom-made map of Beijing
I randomly saw a basic piece of artwork in a bar with some locations in Beijing on something similar to a Monopoly board, and thought it would be fun to put something more technical together.
I created the artwork during COVID and thought it would be funny to make some situational cards based around our crazy experiences during that time, along with some other typical experiences we have as expats in China.
A Community Chest card from 北京OPOLY
A Chance card from 北京OPOLY
After those were created, I came across a board game manufacturer by chance and discussed the project further with them, and here we are with the actual game!
The Beijing version of Monopoly, 北京OPOLY
I had some excellent feedback for the Beijing version. It obviously focuses on Beijing locations and some specific situational content for that city, whereas the Shanghai version now has locations and Chance and Community Chest cards especially tailored to this city.
Those Chance and Community Chest cards seem to be what you had the most fun with?
Yes, they are the best part of the game, mostly because I think we can all relate to multiple situations from one time or another.
Whether it's buying dodgy items on Taobao, getting annoyed with work catch-up days, or getting frustrated with your lack of progress in Chinese language skills, they're all covered.
The Beijing version was very heavy with COVID content, whereas the Shanghai game is less so, even though it still gets a few mentions!
Anyway, there's something for everyone to laugh at, or reminisce over later, which is why I think it's such a great item to keep as a memory of the city, or to gift to someone who might be leaving in the future.
A Chance card from 上海OPOLY
A Community Chest card from 上海OPOLY
A Chance card from 上海OPOLY
A Community Chest card from 上海OPOLY
How did you go about choosing the corresponding properties?
I had multiple iterations of the board before going final. I had to take guidance from friends who've been here much longer than I have, but apart from a couple of spots, the locations are fairly random.
I actually got a lot of comments from people in Beijing arguing that their area of the city should have been 'higher' or 'lower' on the board, so I realized in the end that you can't please everyone.
The Shanghai version of Monopoly, 上海OPOLY
The Shanghai version of Monopoly, 上海OPOLY
The Shanghai version of Monopoly, 上海OPOLY
What other products have you made over the years?
I also made a limited edition 'Beijing Pub Crawl' version with bars from across the city instead of districts, which was a lot of fun – especially when a large group of us tried out the challenge of having a drink in each of the 22 bars in one day!
You can find pictures from that chaos on our @custom.beijing Instagram page!
Aside from the three versions of Monopoly, I also made a game called Beijing Nights. Shorter than Monopoly – probably 10 or 15 minutes per game – it is effectively a mystery role-play card game. It’s very similar to One Night Werewolf and somewhat similar to Secret Hitler, for those familiar with board games.
Beijing Nights
As with everything I do, I like to try to put a local spin on things. This game seemed an ideal format in which to add in some 'characters' from Beijing, such as 'Hutong Elders,' 'Bao'an,' 'Laowai' etc.
Once again, it also serves as a fun memory of the city to take with you when you eventually leave, while also being a really fun game to play at home or at a bar when you’re out and about.
And it may yet get a twist and an outing as Shanghai Nights in the future too!
READ MORE: Remember Beijing Monopoly? There’s a New Beijing Board Game Out
I'm also considering a playing card version of 上海OPOLY, but nothing is confirmed as of yet. We'll see how this one goes first!
As well as games, I used to make lots of customized maps in the past, but don't really have much time for those now.
I also lived in Thailand for almost five years and made an expat guide booklet for the city I lived in. I considered this for Shanghai too, but technology has moved on these days, and apps have pretty much taken over that market.
You don't seem short on ideas – any more new products in the pipeline?
There's always something whizzing around in my head in terms of new ideas, but all the focus is on 上海OPOLY for now. That's readers will be the first to know of anything new in future though!
上海OPOLY Discount for That's Readers
In an exclusive deal for our readers, message Custom Shanghai and say you heard about 上海OPOLY from us by quoting That's Shanghai, and receive RMB100 off the price (so RMB250 rather than the usual RMB350) if you place your order before the end of November.
You can add them through the WeChat ID: Shang23hai or by scanning the QR code below...
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