Met considers ghetto board game ban (From This Is Local London)

Met considers ghetto board game ban

11:07am Monday 19th January 2004

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London politicians have backed calls to ban the "Ghettopoly" board game, which replaces the traditional houses and hotels with crack houses and brothels.

The makers of the board game are already facing legal action from Hasbro, which owns the rights to the famous board game Monopoly and alleges Ghettopoly is trading off its good name.

The Metropolitan Police Authority will this week consider calls to ban the game, which is sold at Virgin Megastores, and London Assembly Conservatives have condemned the game.

Ghettopoly, which was invented in America and is said to be inspired by the lyrics of rap and hip-hop music, replaces traditional player pieces with a sub-machine gun, marijuana leaf, and a pimp.

Players move around the board buying crack houses and brothels, instead of houses and hotels, and can also choose to peddle crack cocaine or raid banks.

The Community Chest cards are replaced by Ghetto Stash cards, one of which rewards players with "You got the whole neighbourhood addicted to Crack: Collect $50 from each playa".

Eric Ollerenshaw, leader of the London Assembly Conservatives and member of the Metropolitan Police Authority, said the game was in poor taste.

"It is nothing more than an offensive attempt to cash in on the glamorisation of drug dealing and a law-breaking lifestyle."

Ghettopoly would do little to help break down racial stereotypes, given its depiction of black men as drug dealers and thieves, he said.

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