Queen’s Brian May has unveiled a new video detailing the forthcoming Queen Monopoly game, which takes fans through pivotal moments in the band’s history.
“I’ve always been honored and understanding of the weight and legacy of the band,” singer says ahead of summer tour The guitarist says in the new unboxing video that they worked on the Monopoly project for a year and a half and compared it to making an album. He explains that the game is designed to mimic being in your own band. “You’ve got your band on the road and you have a career, and all the milestones that happen in real life will happen to you,” he says. “All the good stuff and all the bad stuff, too.”
In the 18-minute clip, he discusses the rules, and shows off the game pieces and the board. “This is all about live, this is about Queen live,” he says. As the game is played, he explains, “You’re out there facing the challenges that people actually do face on the road.”
As players advance around the board, they land on various concert venues that have been significant to Queen’s career. In this version of the game the cards are also Queen-specific: Stations are Global Hit Records, Chance is a “kind of magic,” Community Chest becomes In the Lap of the Gods and the Water and Electric Company become Lighting and Sound Company cards.
While the guitarist jokes about it being a “very, very dangerous game,” he seems to be enjoying himself while building staging blocks and full stage production pieces. Game tokens include a Brian May guitar, a News of the World robot, a lady on a bike (“she’s a Fat Bottomed Girl or she’s a bicycle rider,” May says), a vacuum cleaner that nods to the “I Want to Break Free” video, a hammer for “Hammer to Fall” and a wartime radio representing “Radio Ga Ga.”
“Monopoly has always been about the pursuit of money, I guess,” he says. “But in this case, you’re pursuing not just money but in a way excellence in your craft because as Freddie [Mercury] used to say, when they asked him if he liked being rich, he said, ‘Yes, I like getting lots of money because it tells me that people like what I do. It tells me that what I do has some value.’ So there is that kind of ethos behind this game.”
Queen Monopoly will be released on June 23rd and can be ordered via Queen’s online store.
