OSAKA — A new Osaka take on the globally popular board game Monopoly is proving popular amid the economic slump.
Osaka native Mikihiro Ueda, 41, who came up with the latest version, said he felt his city was a "bit dispirited," so he wanted to liven things up.
Monopoly debuted in the United States in 1935. It is a Western version of the game "sugoroku" (snakes and ladders), in which a player tries to increase assets by buying and selling real estate and buildings, with the final aim of building a monopoly.