Wainwright-opoly
 

I came across this rather nice web-site: click here to see it. 

I particularly liked the "Go to Sellafield" square. This got some of us talking and we wondered what other changes we could make to enhance the Lakeland feel of the concept. The suggestions included:

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Change "Free Parking" to "Public Footpath". There's no such thing as free parking in the Lakes.

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What player tokens would you use? The boot has got to stay but in a more high-tech styling; a Meindl Nepal perhaps. Other possibilities are a border collie, a Herdwick, a finger post, a bobble hat and a trig point.

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If you've got 4 tents on a mountain, are you allowed to build a bothy?

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Alter "Community Chest" to "Rucksack" and "Chance" to "Weather Conditions".

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Instead of the two Tax squares, have George Fisher's and Rathbone's. The penalty is having to buy an extravagant piece of gear. Fisher's will be the more expensive.

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If one remained true to the spirit of Wainwright, the water utility would be the Manchester Corporation Water Undertaking. You could even use 1930s prices like Monopoly.

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Or, even better, have pubs instead of utilities. This gives plenty of scope of arguing over the two best walkers' pubs. I'll suggest the Kirkstone Pass Inn and the Old Dungeon Ghyll to get the debate started. Anyone voting for the Old Dun Bull in Mardale Green is clearly a smartarse.

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Is Sellafield really the worst place that we could send someone. Ian reckons that it should be "Go to Mungrisedale Common" I suspect that there are even worse places eg that bog between High Tove and High Seat.

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You can't possibly have a banker. In deference to Wainwright, this has got to be renamed as the Borough Treasurer of Kendal. Thus you collect £200 for passing Kendal Town Hall, en route for the hills.

It was when we got to thinking about the Rucksack and Weather Conditions cards  that we realised that this is not just a piece of fun but potentially it has a sinister aspect. The cards need an outcome which helps or hinders in trying to win the game. But what do you have to do for win? If you followed real Monopoly you would have to own all the mountains and charge people for entering them. That has got to be anathema to us all. I’m with Ewan McColl on this: "No man has a right to own mountains any more than the deep ocean bed" (The Manchester Rambler)

What to do then? We came up with these options:

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Bury the whole thing where no one ever goes. Like Mungrisedale Common before Wainwright-bagging came into vogue.

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Change the name to The National Trust Game. Their strategy seems to be buying up all the spare land, turning it into car parks and charging for their use.

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Alter the object of the game. The new aim is to lose all your money by spending all your time walking rather than in gainful employment (with lots of opportunities to buy Gore-tex, fleece and nifty little electronic devices)

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Convert the game from Monopoly to Go (my sister had this game ages ago) In this you follow your choice from a range of preset routes around the world, collecting souvenirs. Convert this to map of the Lakes with major footpaths marked; insert a sub-routine to show how you get from the start of one walk to another (the equivalent of changing currency in “Go”). The winner is the first person to climb all the Wainwrights. In “Go” disaster takes the form of being shipwrecked to Heard Island, New Zealand. What would be the equivalent here? Snowed off and spending an endless day in B&Q picking wallpaper? (Miss 3 turns cos you’ll be putting the damned stuff up for weeks to come instead of getting out on the hills)

Rucksack Cards

We did come up with a few:

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YHA Membership due: pay £x

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Get stuck behind large, slow-moving party of Japanese tourists; go back 3 squares

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Friend offers you lift to Wasdale: go to Scafell Pike

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Find map case and NW Lakes map; take £y from Borough Treasury. (NB: the map case is mine. I left it on Seat in 1996)

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No signal on mobile phone: miss a turn (Alternatively: throw again)

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Tent repairs due. Renew waterproofing: £z per tent

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Miss footpath on Glaramara: take a Weather Conditions card

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Caught using GPS gadget: pay a fine.

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Wife tells you she is pregnant. Go directly to Sellafield. In fact, get a job there! Do not expect to finish the Wainwrights for at least 15 years. You are the Meekest Gink – goodbye!

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Wife takes lover: collect one Mountain card from each other player. (Think about it: you'll have no bother getting a pass-out to go to the hills)

 

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