Raleigh gets own Monopoly game. So what’s Boardwalk? Where’s Park Place?

On Tuesday, Raleigh will collect an honor any city would envy: its own Monopoly game, complete with barbecue squares, Wolfpack cards and — for the sake of accuracy — no free parking.

Such brand-name recognition has already landed on Boston, Chicago and, for some some reason, Fort Lauderdale.

But now the beloved tycoon in a top hat arrives at Raleigh City Hall, where flanked by Mayor Janet Cowell, he will take suggestions for which landmarks and specialties to slap on Raleigh’s game board.

Ahem. I have a few. Please accept them, Mr. Monopoly, as a columnist’s offering to his adopted hometown.

First off, the game tokens. No racecar, top hat or Scottie dog for Raleigh. Instead, choose from:

• The Drunktown Guy, leaning on his own telephone pole.
• The Barrel Monster, Raleigh’s legendary piece of art/vandalism.
• The Trolley Pub car, for extroverts only
• A Lime scooter, which is never in the box but always just lying around somewhere.

Moving on to the properties...

• Dix Park is obviously Boardwalk. There’s no nicer place to stroll around, and no place more developers drool about ruining.
• All of the red properties are NC State-themed: The Brickyard, the Hunt library and the Bell Tower.
• Let’s scrap the railroads — sorry, CSX — and replace them with breweries. I’ll pick Crank Arm, Trophy, Burial and Raleigh Brewing because I can walk to all four of them from here. One brewery costs this week’s paycheck. All four cost your life’s savings.
• Skip the utilities and replace them with Raleigh statues. Let’s pick Sir Walter, Jim Valvano, Andy Griffith and Martin Luther King Jr. — the world’s only depiction of the civil rights great in his clerical robes.
• Estey Hall at Shaw University gets its own space, as does the Briggs Hardware Building, Mitch’s Tavern and Dorton Arena, just because they’re samples of our most appealing buildings.
• Glenwood South, I’m sorry to say, is jail, because you were going there anyway.

Community chest cards tend to bring good fortune, so we’ll call them “Scratch-offs” in Raleigh-opoly and use them for Oak City rewards. A few:

• Score a Christmastime reservation at Angus Barn. Move ahead two spaces.
• Catch the sunset reflecting off the Shimmer Wall. Move ahead three.
• Finish the Krispy Kreme Challenge with contents of stomach intact. Pass Go and collect $200.

On the flip side, Chance cards normally spell bad Monopoly news, so we’ll add cards for negative Raleigh experiences and call them “Stupid Hats” in memory of former Gov. Pat McCrory’s hurricane advice.

• Turn left on Wade Avenue. Go back 29 spaces.
• Neighbor’s house torn down for McMansion construction. Lose three turns.
• Favorite band plays at Lenovo Center. Arrive at closing song.
• Finish Krispy Kreme Challenge with contents of stomach in a bush. Pay $200.
• Mandatory team-building outing on Trolley Pub. Lose whole game.

Let other cities win second prize in a beauty contest. Who wants a bank error in our favor? Raleigh-opoly brings all the tech-nerd, government wonk, academic, hockey puck, Petey Pablo fun you can have rolling a pair of dice.

Monopoly: Raleigh Edition will debut in 2026. The city and Monopoly representatives invite public input at 1 p.m. Tuesday at 222 W. Hargett St. downtown.

Staff writers Anna Roman, Tyler Dukes, Thad Ogburn, David Raynor, Jessica Banov, Lexi Solomon, Jordan Schrader, Kyle Ingram, Richard Stradling and Justin Pelletier contributed to this story.

This story was originally published September 8, 2025 at 5:00 AM with the headline "Raleigh gets own Monopoly game. So what’s Boardwalk? Where’s Park Place?."

Josh Shaffer

The News & Observer

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Josh Shaffer is a general assignment reporter on the watch for “talkers,” which are stories you might discuss around a water cooler. He has worked for The News & Observer since 2004 and writes a column about unusual people and places.