A new board game has been launched which looks like a variant of Trivial Pursuit – but with a distinctly London theme. The “City of London board game” is also a fund raiser for the Lord Mayor’s annual charity.

The idea seems to be that the players vicariously roam around the City answering multiple choice questions to proceed with the aim of getting to the Mansion House and claim the prize of being the Lord Mayor. In real life, a poisoned chalice of sorts as the Lord Mayor has to pay for some of the annual entertainments out of his own pocket, so I’d guess the winner of the board game should pay for the next round of drinks in the pub?

Looking at the picture of the board game though, I am rather disappointed that the playing pieces are just lumps of plastic – I was expecting a “Monopoly style” collection of London themed playing pieces, such as the Lord Mayor’s coach, a cat, a miniature Monument etc.

The game is £30, or you can collect a copy in person from Mansion House and save on the P&P. Or from August the game will be available in John Lewis and Peter Jones London stores (but not Hamleys?).

The box also proudly exclaims that it is the “official boardgame”, which makes me wonder if there is an unofficial board game out there, and if they are about to be prosecuted under one of those quaint 800 year traditions that I tend to enjoy writing about.

City of London board game

More details to order a box for yourself here.

Now that the Lord Mayor has launched a board game, will the Mayor of London do the same? Maybe the playing pieces can be tiny blonde wigs.

NEWSLETTER

Be the first to know what's on in London, and the latest news published on ianVisits.

You can unsubscribe at any time from my weekly emails.

Tagged with: ,
SUPPORT THIS WEBSITE

This website has been running now for over a decade, and while advertising revenue contributes to funding the website, it doesn't cover the costs. That is why I have set up a facility with DonorBox where you can contribute to the costs of the website and time invested in writing and research for the news articles.

It's very similar to the way The Guardian and many smaller websites are now seeking to generate an income in the face of rising costs and declining advertising.

Whether it's a one-off donation or a regular giver, every additional support goes a long way to covering the running costs of this website, and keeping you regularly topped up doses of Londony news and facts.

If you like what you read on here, then please support the website here.

Thank you

5 comments
  1. M@ says:

    Oo, looks like a necessary purchase. Hope it’s better than Tour of London, which gets its buildings mixed up:

    http://www.flickr.com/photos/londonmatt/2955128346/

  2. IanVisits says:

    To be honest, I did initially think that £25 for a some cardboard and plastic was excessive, but it seems comparable to the price that other board games charge.

    Which is a bit depressing really.

  3. milly bland says:

    played this game at a london board game club yesterday and it was surprisingly great fun; suppose they used plastic parts to keep the costs down?

  4. Caroline says:

    Definitely added to the shopping list. Agree that some more exciting playing pieces would have been nice, though – perhaps the Mayor of London’s version should have taxis, routemasters and Boris on a bicycle!

  5. Jack Berkovi says:

    Have checked with Hamleys – they expect to stock it from September 2009.

Home >> News >> Miscellaneous