Georgian’s two favorite things have come together: luxury brands and the Georgian culture.
A new product has been created by a French entrepreneur, Sonny Brahmi, who has been living in Georgia for the past two years. It’s a new version of the classic board game everyone knows, Monopoly. Except now, it’s called Monopolia and has tokens such as khachapuri and khinkali on the board instead of a dog or penguin.
According to Brahmi, the concept of the product was of course inspired by the original game, but he wanted to find a way to incorporate Georgian attributes luxuriously since that’s what he specializes in. I think it’s safe to say his idea was accomplished.
The new board is made of wood, so it’s not foldable like traditional games that are kept inside a box. Instead, Monopolia is created specifically to be hung on a wall or put on a shelf. However, if you’re the kind of person who doesn’t want to look at a boring Monopoly game board all the time, the backside of the board is customizable, so the buyer can put whatever photo, design, or color they want.
The production team is partly comprised of specialty designers who will customize your board to whatever your heart desires within two days. This is where the luxurious part comes into play. However, even though this might sound like a nice concept, I think people living in Georgia will be more excited about the new components on the game board.
In the traditional game, the spaces that players land on are utilities, properties, railroads, etc. In Monopolia, it works the same with rules, but the spaces that players land on are named after places in Tbilisi, such as Chavchavadze, Vake Park, Marjanishvili, etc. So, while I was playing the game, it was fun to say that I owned Pekini Avenue and Abashidze Street!
In addition to the names of the different places, the currency used is even made to look like the Georgian Lari and has both Georgian and English translations written on it. However, the best part of the “Georgian” flare is the characters, or silver tokens, that each player uses as an identifier. In Monopolia, you can be a khachapuri, khinkali, a man drinking wine, qvevri (clay pot used for making wine), or a botsa (container used for holding wine).
Since this is a new concept that just launched, Brahmi wanted to find a way to spread the word about his product and decided to host an immersive version of Monopolia called “Les Soirées Monopolia.” On December 4, I showed up to the fourth floor of Stamba, where all creative events take place. Brahmi greeted me while I grabbed a welcome glass of wine.
The event had various vendors and partners who had volunteered some of their products, including the winery, Shumi. They offered three variations of wines to guests and next to the glasses were cheese charcuterie boards to enjoy as a break between sips. In the front of the room was a table set up with items related to the game that guests could purchase, such as scarves, ties, home decorations, etc., and a set up for the Sakartvelo Insight Podcast.
The first hour consisted of networking with people until the event started. We then entered the main area of the room, which was surrounded by 360 screens projecting scenes from Monopolia. There were around eight tables, each set up with four to six chairs, and each guest was asked to take a seat and play the game.
All the tables played for about an hour straight, until Brahmi made the final announcement that the winner of each table was to play the other table’s winners to compete for a highly rewarding gift card. This made everyone excited and eager to win the final prize. Some gift cards were also hidden within the game for players to find and take home.
From what I’m aware of, Tbilisi doesn’t have many immersive events like this. These events are the perfect way to meet people, have fun, try something new, and put your heads together to accomplish something as a team. This is the goal Brahmi had in mind, and I think it was achieved.
Right now the board is only sold through its website, with the hopes of it being integrated into Stamba and a high-end furniture store. I truly believe that the more immersive experiences that entrepreneurs, businesses, or organizations come up with, the more people they’ll attract because of the opportunities that come with them. It’s also good to know that whenever there is food or beverages included, especially at a decent price, it makes everything ten times better.
Blog by Shelbi R. Ankiewicz
