Australian Edition Monopoly has each colour group borrowing its street names from an Australian capital city. Australia has eight capital cities, which is kind of nice when it comes to designing a Monopoly board. Represented are Darwin, Hobart, Perth, Adelaide, Brisbane, Melbourne, Sydney and Canberra. The stations are from Perth, Adelaide, Melbourne and Sydney, and the utilities are the two national communications providers Telecom (now Telstra, though this is still not reflected on newer boards) and Australia Post. The tax square just before Go is Sales Tax and carries a $100 penalty (though [Wholesale] Sales Tax may soon be replaced with a Goods And Services Tax).
English Edition Monopoly has borrowed its street names from London. The streets of this version are well known in Commonwealth countries, so don't expect Aussies, Brits or Kiwis to understand you when you spout the merits or otherwise of owning Boardwalk and Park Place. The corresponding English blue lots are Mayfair and Park Lane. The stations are also from London, and the utilities remain te same as the original US version. The tax square just before Go is Super Tax and carries a $100 penalty (and I expect refers to a British superannuation tax that might have once or may still continue to exist).
Original Monopoly was invented in the United States and borrows its street names from Atlantic City, New Jersey*. The stations are also from Atlantic City, although Short Line doesn't really exist. The tax square just before Go is Luxury Tax and carries a $75 penalty.
* The US board has a misspelling (apart from those usual American aberations) which is deliberately perpetuated to this day. The most expensive yellow lot is intended to be Marven Gardens (not Marvin Gardens, as printed on all versions since 1932), and this is how it will be referred to on these pages.
Last updated: Wednesday 4th November 1998