Life-size Monopoly game coming to Leeds city centre this summer

The iconic board game Monopoly is coming to Leeds this summer delivering a life-size treat.

Free and family-friendly, the Monopoly Leeds Takeover invites players to explore 22 key locations, solve puzzles, play mini-games and discover giant tokens scattered across eight themed zones. All you have to do is grab a map and join the fun.

The Monopoly Leeds Takeover, brought to the city by LeedsBID and under licence from Hasbro, is a unique event celebrating Leeds’ rich gaming heritage while offering activities, entertainment and prizes for all ages. It will launch on Saturday, July 27 and run until Sunday, September 1.

Read more: 25 photos which brilliantly sum up Let's Rock Leeds 2024

“A key attribute of placemaking is honouring a place’s rich heritage, and this year, LeedsBID has looked at a new and innovative way of animating the city centre that does just that,” said Andrew Cooper, Chief Executive at LeedsBID. “Monopoly Leeds Takeover is the ultimate placemaking game, paying homage to the city where it was produced so many years ago, with local streets and landmarks represented as the board. In collaboration with key partners, we are providing a free, large-scale, family-friendly activity during school summer holidays to inspire people of all ages to come by and have fun exploring Leeds, while helping drive that essential economic impact for businesses.”

Combining key elements of the traditional game with the feel of a scavenger hunt, the Monopoly Leeds Takeover will bring people on an adventure across the city centre. Key locations and landmarks across Leeds city centre will be featured as the board, with giant tokens, clues, games and puzzles around every corner for players to discover and solve.

The city centre will be mapped out like the Monopoly board and divided up into coloured zones – each with its own life-size Monopoly token housed in key retail locations. People can hunt down famous options such as the battleship, boot, duck, iron, racing car, scottie dog, top hat and wheelbarrow .

Like the board game, the Monopoly Leeds Takeover includes real streets – a total of 22 across the city centre – in addition to incorporating key transport locations, such as Leeds City Station, Leeds Bus Station, Wellington Place Lifting Tower and Leeds Dock Water Taxi.

Key partners working with LeedsBID in bringing the Monopoly Leeds Takeover to the city include Child Friendly Leeds, Leeds Corn Exchange, Merrion Centre, Royal Armouries, St Johns Centre, The Light, Trinity Leeds, The Junction and Victoria Leeds.

“Child Friendly Leeds was established with the ambition to make Leeds the best city to grow up in. LeedsBID has been on the forefront of making Leeds city centre a place to visit and have fun, while being inclusive for all children and families, especially during school holidays,” said Sadiya Salim, partnership development coordinator at Child Friendly Leeds. “Capturing the views of 80,000 children and young people in the city, we launched the 12 wishes for Leeds. One of them being that children, young people and families feel that there is better promotion and communication of fun and free things to do and places to go within the city. The Monopoly Leeds Takeover is exactly that – and we want to ensure as many families as possible can experience this wonderful free event in the city.”

To find out the latest event news in our city you can visit our Best in Leeds homepage. There you will also find a guide to great things to do in Leeds. Stuck at home and wishing you were there? Download your favourite artists from Amazon and Apple music.

Yorkshire Live has launched Explore Yorkshire, which will look at Yorkshire's unique identity and destinations and celebrate God's Own County for what it is - the best place in the world. Whether you are looking for a day out, a weekend away or to try somewhere new, Explore Yorkshire is here to help. Our brilliant new newsletter will bring all of this content together for you in one place - sign up here to get it direct to your inbox.