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Number of versions: 2
Edition: February 8, 2009
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Malta is the largest island of a group of 7 in the Mediterranean Sea,
together forming the Republic of Malta. The other 2 large islands are
Gozo and Comino.
Around the year 870 Malta was taken in possession by islamic Arabs and in 1091
by the Vikings.
As from 1565 the meanwhile more christian island came in possession of the Maltese
Knights. They built large settlements in amongst others Valletta, Mdina and Rabat
on Gozo. From 1800 till 1964 Malta was a British colony and in 1974 it became a
republic. In 2004 the country joined the European Union and on Januaru1,2008 the
Euro was introduced.
During W.W. II Malta was heavilly bombed and shooted by the German
Luftwaffe, particularly during the Siege of Malta.The British King awarded the
island a high decoration for bravery, the George
Cross. This George Cross also appears in the upper hoist corner of the flag
and in the Coat of arms.
Version: Monopoly Malta - Country Edition, Art.Nr. 41375
Publisher: Hasbro/Winning Moves/gamebox Ltd. - dec.2008
Dimensions of the box: 27.0 x 40.2 x 5.0 cm
The game:

This is the first Monopoly edition ever published on Malta. It has the special
mention "Country Edition", however in the centre of the game board
only.
The Maltese
people got the opportunity to choose the best out of three pictures for the box cover.
It was Rene Rossignaud who was commissioned by gamebox ltd to take all the
photography of the Maltese Islands for a selection to be featured.
The three final options (from the
selection of photos) for the front cover were shortlisted by a panel of judges
and consisted of: 
 | Valletta Waterfront (by night)
This image was shortlisted due to the historical value of the waterfront
together with a modern touch, as well as the fact that a very large
portion of tourists land at the waterfront through cruise liners. The waterfront is also
part of Malta’s historical capital city whilst showing
the sea as part of
Malta’s assets.
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 | L-Imnajdra Temples
They one of the oldest structures in the world, older
than the Pyramids and Stonehenge. In 1992, L-Mnajdra, together with Hagar Qim,
Ta’Hagrat, Ta’Skorba and Tarxien Temples were declared by UNESCO as world
heritage sites joining Ggantija in Malta’s prestigious
list which was listed
in 1980. L-Imnajdra therefore presents an impeccable representation of the
Maltese historical value.
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 | The Malta Cross on a flag
Again, the Maltese Cross was chosen due to
it’s historical value to Malta. Inherited by the Maltese in the 15th Century
from the Sovereign
Military Order of Malta also known as the Knights of St.John,
the cross represents Loyalty, Piety, Frankness, Bravery, Glory and Honour,
Contempt of Death, Helpfulness towards the poor and sick and Respect for the
church; a symbol which the Maltese ancestors have earned
during the Great Siege
in 1565. |
Sabrina Mulligan, Director of gamebox Ltd.,
reports: "The result was overwhelming, over with 80% of votes in favor of L-Imnajdra
Temples. The public has spoken! This front cover will be there for the next 25
years, by when the producers will have the opportunity to change this image,
should circumstances be different then."
Michel Matschoss, Managing Director of Winning Moves
- D remarks: "Monopoly Malta is surely one of our most exciting projects this
season."
The
back side of the box tells following story:
"Monopoly now finds its home in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea
with the idyllic Malthese Islands. Malta is one of the 27 European Union
member states, having joined in 2004 and adopting the Euro in 2008. You can
now enjoy playing the classic game buying and selling the Maltese and Gozitan
Localities that give the Maltese Islands their unique and positively mythic
character. The genuine friendliness the Maltese are known for welcomes you to
a country with exquisite historical wealth dating back 7000 years, blended
with a modern lifestyle, superbly sunny weather, expansive beaches and a
thriving nightlife. The narrow meandering streets of their towns and villages
are crowded with Renaissance cathedrals and Baroque palaces and as the
countryside is dotted with the oldest known human structures in the world,
including UNESCO World Heritage sites and grand palaces, the Islands have
rightly been described as an open-air museum. The long relationship between
the Islanders and the various nationalities that have occupied Malta over the
centuries has created a marriage of styles and traditions, giving the Islands
a facinating eclectic culture."
The first Winning Moves city games were issued in Great
Britain, later followed by many other countries.
They are all socalled "Authorized Opoly Games", i.a. they are
issued under the approval of and in cooperation with Hasbro.
The prices of the streets
and other properties are always the same as those of the standard Hasbro editions.
All editions are made according to the same pattern an the
features of this edition are:
 | The colorfull lid shows under the Monopoly bar an
impressive picture of L-Imnajdra Temples, with in perspective mid-under the first and last spaces at the left and the right of
IBDA |
 |
In the lower right corner are 6 of 10 standard tokens
shown, i.e. car - boat - thimble - canon - wheelbarrow and rider-on-horse.
The other tokens of the set are dog - hat - shoe and iron. |
 |
Mr. Monopoly (who was Rich Uncle Pennybags until 2000) with
his red bow tie is in the middle O
of Monopoly in the red bar. |
 |
The back of the solid game board is red. |
 |
The Banker's tray is a square tray of red
plastic on top of which the double folded game board is placed. |
 |
A second, slightly higher tray of green
plastic has 7 slots to store the banknotes
during the play. |
 |
The back side of the Is-Senduq (Community
Chest) cards is blue
and show the treasure chest; the Ix-Xorti (Chance)
cards have a red
back with a red question mark.
Both the instructions on the cards as well as the text on the spaces for these cards are
bilingual
(Maltese and English). |
 | The property cards are in Maltese only but that
will bring no troubles because it are only the figures that count. |
 |
The money consists of banknotes of 7 neutral Monopoly
notes, packed in a set of "generic money" with ref.nr.
100645350021.
For this edition the currency of the notes is Euro (€). |
 | The set is supplied with a socalled property pouch.
According to Winning Moves it is to store the houses and hotels.
However, I think the small, transparant case, also going with the
set is better suitable to store them. |
 |
The well finished, hollow green
plastic houses and red
plastic hotels have overhanging roofs and a chimney. |
 |
The dice are white and have black pips. |
 | There are 2 Rules booklets of 15 pages, one
for each language. In the English version page 14 serves as a quick
translated reference tool for the property deeds, while it is unused in the
Maltese version. The back side of both booklets show all properties in a row
and the name of the publisher in large characters.
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A
few of the Ix-Xorti and
Is-Senduq cards
say:
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Xtrajt
rigal tat-tieġ lill-kuġina. Ħalles €20.
= Buy your cousin's wedding gift. Pay €20.
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 |
Mur
In-Nadur. Jekk Tgħaddi minn fuq
"IBDA" ħu €200. = Advance to 'In-Nadur'. If you pass
"Go" collect €200. |
 |
Tat-taxxa
jagħtuk lura €50 bħala benefattur tal-YMCA.
= Receive a tax refund of €50 as a YMCA benefactor. |
 |
Ħallas €100 biex terfa' L-vara Tal-Festa. =
Pay €100 to carry the 'Festa' statue. |
The properties of this Malta edition are from IBDA/Go onwards:
L-Imsida
- Is-Senduq/Community Chest - Ħaż-żabbar -
IL-Port Tal-Imġarr
- Marsaskala - Ix-Xorti/Chance - Ħal Qormi - Marsaxlokk
- Il-Ħabbs/In
Jail - Il-Mosta - Tad-Dawl/Electric
Company - Birkirkala - In-Naxxar
- Ix-Xatt Tal-Belt - Victoria - Is-Senduq/Community Chest
- Ħaż-żebbuġ
- IL-Birgu - Free Parking/Tipparkja B'xejn -
IL-Mellieħa - Ix-Xorti/Chance
- Ħal
Għargħur
- In-Nadur - Ix-Xatt Tal-Kottonera - San
Ġiljan
- Tas-Sliema
- Tal-Ilma/Water Works - Ħal
Balzan - Go to Jail/Mur-IL-Ħabs - Portomaso -
Tigné - Is-Senduq/Community Chest
- IL-Wardija - IL-Port IL-Kbir - Ix-Xorti/Chance
- Valletta and L-Imdina.
The first edition of 5,000 copies published in December 2008 was immediately
sold out so time for a new order!
The price of this set was € 60 at the introduction.
Edition:
McDonald's Promotion Junior edition M happy
meal,
no ref.nr.
Publisher: Hasbro/McDonald's/IPLPerseco GmbH-D - Jan. 2009
Dimensions of the box: 13.0 x 13.0 x 2.6 cm
of the paper board: 29.6 x 41.9 cm
The game:
For a promotion activity McDonald's gave a Mini Junior Monopoly set away in many European
countries and probably on Malta as well.
Because of the very small box the paper game board has to be folded 4
times. The game is somewhat simplified compared to the regular Junior editions,
in such a way that:
 | The long sides of the board have 8 spaces instead of 10; the short sides
have the same number, so 6 spaces. |
 | The properties have no names; there is even no wording on the Start space. |
 | Instead of stations in the middle of the sides these spaces are a
kind of Chance field where Mr.Monopoly shows a -2 or +2
banknote. |
 | The "Café corner" now is Restaurant Lounge, to which you
are sent from the McDonald's corner, for what you must pay 3 pieces
of Monopoly Money to the "Mr. Monopoly's Money Corner" (= Fortune
corner). |
 | There is no question of "ticket booths", but houses
of the same color as your token. Such a house on your property shows it is
yours. Players that land on your property have to pay you the same amount
for rent as you'd paid for the purchase! |
 | The 4 tokens have to be pressed out a small cardboard; there is
even no wording on the Start space card and
represent: a car - shoe
- dog
and hat, instead of 4 plastic cars of
these 4 colors. |
 | There are only banknotes of one
"Monopoly Money", instead of 5 ranging from 1 to 5. |
 | The die is replaced by a spinner. |
The moment a player runs out of money the game has ended. All other players
total their money and the player with the most money wins.
This set was "Made in China."
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