The famous “green bill” which wasn’t playable in-game but was really fun to poke around with.
Over the holidays I was able to unearth an old copy of MAD Magazine: The Board Game. I remember the best moments: post-dinner game night with my family and lunch breaks at school. I’d lug this huge board game box around.
For those unfamiliar, MAD Magazine The Board Game, or simply put, MAD was a once in a lifetime 1979 release (there were no reprints) that was quite similar to Monopoly except that instead of buying properties and winning the bank money, MAD’s objective was to lose money!
Such a classic board game cover with Alfred E. Neuman and various art from all MAD contributors including Don Martin!
In the similar Monopoly fashion players would have to tour the board game tiles performing actions that allowed them to gain or lose case. Instead of a Jail tile, MAD had “Tough Luck” where if a player landed there, he or she would have to collect a stockpile of money that players would deposit throughout the play time.
The game was made even more interesting because players could switch seating arrangement (and thus switch money), perform party stunts to lose money, and, if anyone was caught rolling the dice with the right hand, everyone had to give that person $500 in play money.
Perhaps the most hilarious item in the game was the green One Million Three Hundred Twenty Nine Thousand and Sixty Three Dollar Bill. It wasn’t used in-game but, as the sly kid I was in grade school, I’d always tell my friends that the goal of the game would be to gain the most money, just like in Monopoly and my friends would gladly take the green bill. Of course, the joke would be over after I tell them the real objective of the game.
This retro classic is, as I said no longer in print and you’ll probably be able to find a copy at a garage sale where there were kids born in the 80’s.
MAD Magazine: The Board Game isn’t going to win any awards in the gaming scene, but it sure had a special place in my childhood as a huge nostalgia trip. It was perfect for its time.
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