You all know my obsession with the 1939 film "The Wizard Of Oz," darlings. That has been set for a lifetime.
I call this game "vintage" by virtue of the fact that I am not so sure it is available anymore. One day, around this time of year, was walking down the street, somewhere on the Upper East Side--I must have been coming from a doctor appointment, because, for sure, it was not lunch at the Carlyle, which I would have preferred--when I passed a toy window, and spotted this game on display. This was well over a decade ago, if not more, by the way!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
It instantly caught my eye, and, of course, I wanted it. Even if I never played it, the game would make a great coffee table display, in any apartment. But I had one tiny moment of fear--if Parker Bros, could do this with "The Wizard Of Oz.," how about "The Song Of Bernadette?" Now, that would have been scary!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I recall walking in to the store, making inquiries. But it was then priced at a value I felt, at the time, I could not afford!!!!!!!!!!!
I feel like I have betrayed my love for this movie by not owning this game. How to connect Dorothy's journey with modern American capitalism? Now, that alone would have been interesting to see.
Anyone who owns, or knows more about how this game works, please feel free to tell me, on here!
And if you're wondering what to get me for Christmas, darlings, how about this??????????
Surprisingly, there are multiple variations of "Wizard Of Oz" Monopoly. You actually show two different ones in your pictures.
ReplyDeleteThe "rarest" most expensive version is pictured at the top of your blog entry: the 75th Anniversary edition. In terms of what you get, its extremely overpriced: other than a clumsy, fragile, cardboard "3d Wizards Castle" that you must assemble and plop in the center of the board, nothing distinguishes this edition from "lesser" variants aside from price.
This Anniversary edition costs an eye-watering $89 to $135, depending on store/website and demand at the time you want to buy it. The 3D castle is tacky garbage, no better than the folding cutouts they used to print in back of cereal boxes. The board itself is very sloppily produced in this version, misprinted and out of register in many copies. Overall, meh.
Far more common are versions based on the board you show in your second photo. That board is prettier, better made, and doesn't involve the cheesy dime-store castle prop (that no one knows how to store after building it). The metal tokens are also nicer, being the heads/faces of each main character. Approx three to four slightly different versions of this were mfd between 1994 and 2004, any of which you'd likely be happy with. Biggest difference is the box art, otherwise just a couple minor changes to the board, play money, etc. Typical price on eBay for a new, sealed set is around $29.
While researching this for you, I also discovered they made a "Game Of Life" Oz version! You drive around the board in Ruby Slippers instead of cars, and the highway is now Yellow Brick Road, traversing Oz landmarks. Cute! Sells for around $30.
ReplyDeleteI did not realize there were two versions.
When I saw that board with the castle, I was like,
WTF is that? That is not the board I remember. I
used the one I did.
Same with the cover. I liked the picture,
but I had no memory of their being a 75th
Anniversary special edition. I should have
known. You mentioned the period 1994-
2004, which was when I first discovered the
game. More like around '94.
But that disgusting castle? Who wants it?