We’ve all been there: sitting around the table, clutching that last dollar as a family member gleefully claims Boardwalk and the game drags into its third hour. Monopoly is notorious for sparking family feuds, but Monopoly Lifesized: Travel Edition wants to change all that. Off-Center's latest immersive experience captures the spirit of the original game, but with a few twists to ensure that the outing does not become a central talking point with your therapist years later.
“A key part of our development process was recognizing the three primary reasons why people might not enjoy the game as much," says Tom Beynon, one of the original producers from London. “One, the length of time; two, most board games, by their nature, are very kind of one-at-a-time, which means others are just watching or passively engaging with it; and three, Monopoly has an awful lot of admin within it, such as counting money, having to do the math and that kind of thing, so those three things were the first things we tackled."
These concerns have all been addressed in Monopoly Lifesized: Travel Edition, which transforms Monopoly into a fast-paced, high-energy adventure on a massive board. Teams of up to 24 players are divided into groups of six, and everyone is constantly engaged as they work together to earn properties, avoid jail and tackle themed puzzles within each space on the board.
"You're busy the whole time and don't need to know the rules before you arrive," Beynon says. "The hosts, who are anthropomorphized versions of the playing tokens, support you through it. One of the key takeaways from when we were putting it together was that, despite all of the adaptations we've done, it still feels like a game of Monopoly. When you're playing it, everything is so recognizable. There's so much iconography within the board game; as soon as you step onto those boards, you really feel like you're stepping into that world."
The starting square lies in England's immersive theater scene, where Beynon and his team at London-based Path Entertainment Group began exploring opportunities with Hasbro to develop the game into an experience. "David Hutchinson, our chief executive, and I had been working in theater for years, and when we started conversations with Hasbro, we realized no one had properly converted a board game into a long-term immersive attraction,” says Beynon.
They formally submitted a pitch in 2018, and after a lengthy development process, in 2021 Monopoly Lifesized debuted in London, where its run continues today. Following the success of the original production, the crew wanted to take the experience across the pond and agreed that Denver's Off-Center was the ideal partner.
"We chose Denver because of what Charlie Miller [Off-Center's executive director] and his team want to accomplish with the Off-Center program, which is to build a network of touring immersive attractions across the United States," Beynon says. "Monopoly is an expensive project to construct, but the model that we're working on with Charlie and his team just makes it suddenly more viable for those local markets, which is just brilliant and really beneficial for everyone."
Miller took his team to London last May to experience the original show before collaborating on this Denver version.
"We had already sort of committed to the experience by then, and I had some colleagues who had kind of checked it out in London before, but then we verified that it was awesome and did a deep dive to study operations so we understood how it works," Miller says. "There have been a bunch of modifications to make it work in our space and for American audiences. In London, the boards are U.K.-focused, but in Denver, we use the classic American boards everyone knows and loves."
This is Off-Center's first show in its newly acquired location on South Broadway, which will house all of its programming for the next two years before being redeveloped. Preparing the space was no small feat: The team had only two and a half weeks after the set pieces arrived to transform a 27,000-square-foot building that had previously housed Ace Hardware, Dollar Tree and Sally Beauty Supply into a full-fledged Monopoly experience.
"We’ve got eleven trucks coming in that came across the ocean in eleven shipping containers, and fortunately made it through Customs," Miller says. "What we're creating is an art installation space, right? It's an exhibit, and so that's kind of how the city sees it. So we have permanent infrastructure that they need to approve one way, but then we have our performance space, which will be doing other projects here after Monopoly. We are working with the city to try and get them to understand this is temporary and this is not temporary, so you need to evaluate them in different ways."
This is Off-Center's largest project in terms of square footage to date, but despite its unique complications, Miller is pleased to report that it's on schedule for preview performances starting October 22.
That's also when Denver gamers will be able to try the venue's new Top Hat Bar, which serves Monopoly-themed cocktails with a local twist, such as the South Broadway Spritz and the Pearl Street Aperol. Groups can even rent out a private area for pre- or post-game celebrations, including family outings, date nights and office team-building activities.
But ultimately, Monopoly Lifesized: Travel Edition is a real gift for the holidays: an immersive adventure that’s fun for all ages without any of the Monopoly-inflicted trauma. "This is perfect for families because you can't flip the board here," Miller notes. "You're playing with your family rather than against them...and it'll be over in seventy minutes."
Monopoly Lifesized: Travel Edition, in previews Tuesday, October 22, through Saturday, October 26; official run goes from Sunday, October 27, through Sunday, January 25, at 407 South Broadway. Learn more at denvercenter.org.
“A key part of our development process was recognizing the three primary reasons why people might not enjoy the game as much," says Tom Beynon, one of the original producers from London. “One, the length of time; two, most board games, by their nature, are very kind of one-at-a-time, which means others are just watching or passively engaging with it; and three, Monopoly has an awful lot of admin within it, such as counting money, having to do the math and that kind of thing, so those three things were the first things we tackled."
These concerns have all been addressed in Monopoly Lifesized: Travel Edition, which transforms Monopoly into a fast-paced, high-energy adventure on a massive board. Teams of up to 24 players are divided into groups of six, and everyone is constantly engaged as they work together to earn properties, avoid jail and tackle themed puzzles within each space on the board.
"You're busy the whole time and don't need to know the rules before you arrive," Beynon says. "The hosts, who are anthropomorphized versions of the playing tokens, support you through it. One of the key takeaways from when we were putting it together was that, despite all of the adaptations we've done, it still feels like a game of Monopoly. When you're playing it, everything is so recognizable. There's so much iconography within the board game; as soon as you step onto those boards, you really feel like you're stepping into that world."
Whether you are dodging lasers in a Park Place art heist or navigating a mini escape room to get out of jail, the Denver version promises plenty of surprises. But how did a life-sized version of Monopoly make its way to the Mile High City?
The immersive experience takes place on a life-sized Monopoly board, with players completing escape room-style challenges.
Courtesy of Monopoly Lifesized
"We chose Denver because of what Charlie Miller [Off-Center's executive director] and his team want to accomplish with the Off-Center program, which is to build a network of touring immersive attractions across the United States," Beynon says. "Monopoly is an expensive project to construct, but the model that we're working on with Charlie and his team just makes it suddenly more viable for those local markets, which is just brilliant and really beneficial for everyone."
Miller took his team to London last May to experience the original show before collaborating on this Denver version.
"We had already sort of committed to the experience by then, and I had some colleagues who had kind of checked it out in London before, but then we verified that it was awesome and did a deep dive to study operations so we understood how it works," Miller says. "There have been a bunch of modifications to make it work in our space and for American audiences. In London, the boards are U.K.-focused, but in Denver, we use the classic American boards everyone knows and loves."
This is Off-Center's first show in its newly acquired location on South Broadway, which will house all of its programming for the next two years before being redeveloped. Preparing the space was no small feat: The team had only two and a half weeks after the set pieces arrived to transform a 27,000-square-foot building that had previously housed Ace Hardware, Dollar Tree and Sally Beauty Supply into a full-fledged Monopoly experience.
"We’ve got eleven trucks coming in that came across the ocean in eleven shipping containers, and fortunately made it through Customs," Miller says. "What we're creating is an art installation space, right? It's an exhibit, and so that's kind of how the city sees it. So we have permanent infrastructure that they need to approve one way, but then we have our performance space, which will be doing other projects here after Monopoly. We are working with the city to try and get them to understand this is temporary and this is not temporary, so you need to evaluate them in different ways."
This is Off-Center's largest project in terms of square footage to date, but despite its unique complications, Miller is pleased to report that it's on schedule for preview performances starting October 22.
That's also when Denver gamers will be able to try the venue's new Top Hat Bar, which serves Monopoly-themed cocktails with a local twist, such as the South Broadway Spritz and the Pearl Street Aperol. Groups can even rent out a private area for pre- or post-game celebrations, including family outings, date nights and office team-building activities.
But ultimately, Monopoly Lifesized: Travel Edition is a real gift for the holidays: an immersive adventure that’s fun for all ages without any of the Monopoly-inflicted trauma. "This is perfect for families because you can't flip the board here," Miller notes. "You're playing with your family rather than against them...and it'll be over in seventy minutes."
Monopoly Lifesized: Travel Edition, in previews Tuesday, October 22, through Saturday, October 26; official run goes from Sunday, October 27, through Sunday, January 25, at 407 South Broadway. Learn more at denvercenter.org.
