The Op co-founder, Dane Chapin, reveals how and why he built a company on the appeal of MONOPOLY

Dane Chapin! Thanks for making time. We’re celebrating 90 years of MONOPOLY… A game on which you built your company! Tell us about that: what’s the origin of The Op?
We’ve been around quite a while! We started in 1994, making city editions of MONOPOLY, under license from Hasbro. At the time, it was just me, my two sisters, and our secretary.

Oh! Very much a family business?
Oh, yes! In our first year, we made MONOPOLY editions for San Diego, La Jolla, Atlanta, Boston, San Francisco and New York City. Since then, we’ve expanded to more than 70 employees. We now do all kinds of special editions of Clue and Yahtzee – and we even make our own original games. But we still make more MONOPOLY editions than anything else. It is absolutely at the core of our company’s DNA.

And on that, Dane… Why MONOPOLY? What is it that makes the game so suitable for adaptation?
It’s a very simple goal that MONOPOLY is built around… You want to collect the most and you want to be the best. There’s hardly a concept that doesn’t lend itself to collection and competition. If I like a band, I want to see all their shows. If I like a movie, I want to know all the characters. Similarly, any special MONOPOLY edition can be built starting from that goal.

Great answer! And does that relate, do you think, to the reason that MONOPOLY is still tremendously popular 90 years after it first came to market?
Yes, I think so – because the goal I just mentioned is really quite timeless. People are never going to get bored with collecting and competing. But there’s also this generational component…

Oh?
MONOPOLY isn’t a game designed exclusively for – or played exclusively by – one age group. So you’re far more likely to see parents playing it with their kids, and grandparents playing it with their grandkids. That creates a much more enduring legacy.

That’s very true! Just to revisit your origin story, you listed a number of city editions that you made in the early days… What other kind of specialty MONOPOLY sets have you created over the last 30 years?
It’s almost easier to say what we haven’t created! Ha! We’ve published hundreds of editions to date… We started with cities, but now we have editions based on The Beatles, Godzilla, The Golden Girls, Dr. Suess… So many great editions! Our work’s covered film, television, video games, cartoons, comic books, music, cars, sports – and anything else you can think of.

Dare I ask you to name a couple of your favourite editions, Dane?
If I had to pick a couple of favourites, it would have to be Golf and The Wizard of Oz…

The Wizard of Oz! Great shout! Tell me about your creative process… When a new IP is on the table for a licensed version of MONOPOLY, where do you start?
My days of getting involved in our design process are mostly over. We have a great design team that handles all of that now. But whether it was then or now, the first question is always “What are we collecting?” Answer that and you know what kind of story you’re telling and what kind of experience you’re providing.

Interesting starting point… Then what?
Then it’s time to do the research! It’s not enough to put a logo and some names on the game. We want fans to know we took the time to show real admiration and care. There are always going to be some compromises in meeting the design of the theme, but we want fans to feel like we made their version just for them!

I’m glad you said that, actually – it’s worth saying that your MONOPOLY editions are full of love for the game, the brands and the fans. Tell me: what’s next for The Op and the MONOPOLY brand?
We’re always looking for new ways to step up the fandom component of our games. In the past, we’ve done premium player tokens and bonus collectible novelties. This year, we’re looking at continuing that with a couple of releases. Can’t say much more than that at this time…

But you could come back and say more later! Ha! Well, you’ve been very generous with your time, Dane; I know how busy you are. Let’s wrap it up with this… What’s the one question I could’ve asked you today but didn’t?
Well, this is about MONOPOLY, right? The one question we almost always get asked when we talk about a new MONOPOLY edition is “What’s on the Boardwalk space?”

Is that right?!
Yes! It’s another way of asking “What’s the most valuable thing in the game?” So you could have asked me, “What’s your personal Boardwalk space?”

Oh, wow. And what’s the answer?
I’d have to split it four ways between my parents, my wife, and my daughter. And I’d like to sneak in my grandparents, too!

Consider it done: that’s your Boardwalk space. Thanks, Dane.