Edinburgh icons and landmarks feature on official Monopoly game board

THEY are the Capital icons and instantly recognisable Edinburgh landmarks that give the city its world renowned status '“ and they could be yours for as little as £60.

For the first time in 20 years, the Capital has been immortalised on an official Monopoly game board, giving players the chance to purchase the likes of Edinburgh Castle, the Scott Monument and the Scottish Parliament – even the Evening News is up for sale.

And the brand new edition of the game even features six custom playing tokens to replace the traditional pieces, with Greyfriars Bobby, Mons Meg and one of the zoo’s famous King penguins guiding players round the city in place of the race car, Scottie dog and old boot.

Winning Moves UK, which is releasing the game under licence from toy giant Hasbro, said it marks the first time customised playing pieces have been used in a Scottish edition of the board game.

You can buy the Castle or Scott Monument in the latest edition of Monopoly.

A comedic mask, a rugby ball and a set of bagpipes make up the rest of the tokens.

Benjamin Thompson, custom games manager at Winning Moves, said: “Our aim has been to produce unique tokens that sum up and define Edinburgh – a tourist magnet of the world.

“The game features all the great and the good of Edinburgh and is in effect a love letter to Scotland’s capital city. We are very proud of it – and extremely grateful to the public who have been the inspiration for this board.”

The King penguins have been a fixture of the Capital’s zoo since 1919 and Mr Thompson admitted they faced stiff competition from giant pandas Tian Tian and Yang Guang to be included.

He added: “We absolutely had to have a symbol representing Edinburgh Zoo. The world public may have opted for the panda but we feel the Edinburgh public wanted the King penguin, dating back just about 100 years, with the giant pandas a far more recent phenomenon.”

Royal Zoological Society Scotland chief executive Barbara Smith said: “The inclusion of a penguin playing piece is very fitting as we have a long history with penguins and are home to the world’s most famous penguin, Sir Nils Olav.

“We are really pleased to be featured on the new Edinburgh Monopoly board after being a landmark in the city since opening in 1913.”

The new edition of the board game will mark 20 years since the Capital became the first city outside London to receive its own version.

In that edition, released in 1998, landmarks included the former Bank of Scotland headquarters on The Mound, the St James’ Centre, Jenners and the former Evening News building on Holyrood Road.

However, this time players will be able to “Pass Go” and purchase the likes of Edinburgh Airport, the Museum of Childhood and the Omni Centre.

Edinburgh Castle and the Scott Monument take over Mayfair and Park Lane on the board, setting players back a whopping £400 and £350 respectively, while Waverley Station, the Royal Mile, the University of Edinburgh and the Forth Bridge are also included.

Arthur’s Seat and Calton Hill occupy the two lowest-value squares on the board, while the Capital’s sporting heritage is celebrated in the form of Murrayfield Stadium and football clubs Hearts and Hibernian.

Three popular city charities, Big Hearts Community Trust, Cash for Kids and Social Bite, feature as community chests.

Craig Wilson, Big Hearts general manager, said: “We are thrilled to feature in this new edition of the Monopoly game amongst iconic landmarks and fantastic organisations who make our city so special.”

“It’s a privilege to have a dedicated community chest space on the board and we are very grateful to the many supporters across the city who helped support Big Hearts nomination.”

The Scotsman features as one of the “chance” spaces.

And many of the cards which can be obtained from landing there are also customised, including one which makes players a “keeper for the day at Edinburgh Zoo” – paying a wage of 50 Monopoly dollars for the privilege – and another granting a reward for spotting dolphins while on a boat tour in the Firth of Forth.

The game hits shelves today at all major toy and book retailers and is also available online.