Controversial Boardgame Encourages Unethical Behaviour

With the economic world currently in turmoil, encouraging the monopolising of business and property hardly seems responsible. However, this is just what Hasbro proposes in their controversial boardgame, Monopoly.

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The aim of the game is simple: by controlling squares on the board, which represent streets or public works, the player can illicit money from other competitors. The winner is the last player with money left, or the richest if the game is played against the clock.

Gameplay is also simple, downplaying the complexity of real business. The player first selects a pawn to represent them in the city. These pawns include figures such as dogs, thimbles or tophats, seem to suggest the player is not human, and lends the game a perverse, magic undertone unsuitable for younger players. Having selected their pieces, the players role dice to decide how far they move on the board. Most pieces on the board represent streets in the city, and players can decide to buy these properties if they land on them. If they land on a property owned by another player, however, they must pay that player rent. Players can raise the rent to astronomical amounts by building more houses on properties they own, thus hoping to run other players out of business faster.

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The fog machine had gone, so had the whore. It seemed logical to assume one had stolen the other, so I assumed that was what had happened. Max, tired of his role-playing, had resorted to a superficially-similar subject; that of board games. Right now, he was in the basement, modifying his set of Monopoly. I still don't know why he always uses my house for his stupid antics, he's got a perfectly adequate house of his own, even if it lacks in walls and ceilings. But whatever...

 I settled back into my comfortable armchair. Ah, this was relaxing. Max hadn't disturbed me for a while, and I looked like I could drink some tea in peace and watch the news. For dramatic effect, I took a large mouthful of the aforementioned tea. Then, cheeks bulging, I paused as a thought occurred to me. "Modifying the Monopoly" he'd said. And he'd taken a lot of wires and crocodile clips. But no, that wasn't what was worrying me entirely, and the tea just dribbled inefficiently down my chin. Shrugging, I sank back into the chair and once again hamstered my mouth with boiling water. Then, it hit me. Tea sprayed from my mouth, covering the television, embracing and drowning pictures on the wall, dripping like the blood from a cosh, recently used to knock out an elderly man. Dripping like the blood from a cosh recently used to knock out an elderly man like the one Max had dragged into the basement.
 Rushing downstairs, I found a scene of unexplainable horror. Indeed, if I were to explain it, I would say Max had gone back to role-playing. But he was playing the role of GOD! Strapped to a chair in the middle of my basement, the elderly man. A pale moustache the only substantial hair on his head, he struggled to keep his head up and his consciousness conscious. "Urrgh!" He moaned crucially at me. Nearby, Max. Hunched manically over a sewing machine, he created. A suit. Trousers. Nearby, a top hat stood to attention, waiting for the right time. Nearby slightly less near, a dazed dog, a boat, a double-decker bus.
 Waiting, frozen, I saw Max make Mr. Monopoly in front of me. Taking his semi-macabre figures, he wandered over to a giant Monopoly board set up in the corner of my basement. Laughing an insane laugh, he produced giant dice.
 "Want to go first?"