Ghettopoly


Ghettopoly is a parody of Monopoly released in 2002. Invented by David Chang, it uses Monopoly-like mechanics but is themed around a caricature of a black ghetto in the United States.

Gameplay and differences from ''Monopoly''

The four railroad properties are replaced by liquor stores. Other properties include a massage parlour, a peep show and a pawn shop. The Community Chest and Chance squares become Ghetto Stash and Hustle squares, while taxation squares are replaced by police-shakedown and carjacking squares.
Instead of building houses and hotels, property owners can build crack houses and projects. The seven game pieces include: a pimp, a ho, a 40 oz, a machine gun, a marijuana leaf, a crack rock, and a basketball.

Official description

Contents

Game Board, Loan Shark Tray, 40 Crack Houses, 17 Projects, Pink Slip Cards, Ghetto Stash and Hustle Cards, 7 Game pieces, Counterfeit Money, and 2 Dice.

Controversy

The game was criticised as offensively racist by a local chapter of the NAACP and by black clergy, among others.
The game was pulled from the market by Urban Outfitters, just one of its many retailers. Chang still marketed the game without their support. According to Chang's website, which still sells the game, it is also available on Amazon. Redneckopoly is also available at ghettopoly.com. Further such games were planned, including Hoodopoly, Hiphopopoly, and Thugopoly. In October 2003, Hasbro sued David Chang over the game's similarities to Monopoly. In January 2006, Chang was found in contempt of court for failure to produce documents.
The court thus entered a "default judgment" for Hasbro's continued use of "Monopoly" as a trademark, and dismissed Chang's counterclaims, which were to revoke trademark status on "Monopoly." In May 2006, the court estimated that Chang generated US$8,790,000 in profits from the sale of Ghettopoly, and that damages of $400,000 were reasonable as reflected in the court documents.