Poleconomy
Encyclopedia
Poleconomy is a board game
invented by New Zealand
er Bruce E. Hatherley and first published in 1980. It is similar to Monopoly
but the board is divided into companies rather than properties. Players compete to acquire properties and investments through stylized economic
and political activity
. The playing time is set by agreement from all players, eg. 2 hours, and the winner is determined by the monetary sum of all player cash, companies, insurance or other assets. Another objective of the game is "to teach players some of the fundamentals of economics, and the ways in which the economy and the government interact." Different editions were published for several different countries. The name Poleconomy is a portmanteau of "politics" and "economy".
who was living in Sydney
at the time. He first filed a US patent claim for it in January 1981. It was published in 1980, first in an Australia
n edition, then a New Zealand edition. The New Zealand edition was produced by Tanner Couch and Robyn Larsen sold the squares on the board as advertising space to the actual companies represented. The New Zealand Stock Exchange was involved with the launch in Auckland
. It was also published by World Games.
Hatherley contacted Canadian think tank
the Fraser Institute
to help introduce the game to Canada in 1983. Michael Walker, an employee of the Institute, sold the first squares as advertising and the rest were sold by stock broker
s, who had little other work because of a recession
at the time. More than a million dollars was raised by the Institute and Poleconomy was credited with helping the Institute survive the recession.
It was later sold in South Africa
and the United Kingdom
in other localised versions. More than 1.5 million copies of Poleconomy have been sold internationally, incorporating the participation of 260 major corporate sponsors who leased advertising space in the separate national versions. US patent 4,522,407 was granted for the game in 1985.
and political activity
. This involves the purchase of real-world companies and advertising using artificial money. The players take turns moving around the board via the roll of the dice, landing on the gameboard squares and carrying out instruction according to the square's contents or player decision.
The game is unusual in its mirroring of real-world businesses for which it has licenses to use their trademarks. It also illustrates how political events such as government decisions and taxation affect the economy. The players take turns at being the Prime Minister
or President
through elections. Once in power they have the ability to dictate the levels of inflation and so increasing or decreasing rents for property owners. If a player cannot cover their rent, the debt is written off and they can continue, receiving a government salary; no-one becomes bankrupt. According to the rules the game ends when the central bank runs out of money.
Enterprise Australia sponsored the game to "improve understanding of the free enterprise
system" among schoolchildren, and sold over 100,000 copies. The introduction to the rules of the New Zealand version quotes Enterprise New Zealand, "The game reflects the way industry, finance and government interact when private enterprise operates within a system of parliamentary democracy."
Board game
A board game is a game which involves counters or pieces being moved on a pre-marked surface or "board", according to a set of rules. Games may be based on pure strategy, chance or a mixture of the two, and usually have a goal which a player aims to achieve...
invented by New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
er Bruce E. Hatherley and first published in 1980. It is similar to Monopoly
Monopoly (game)
Marvin Gardens, the leading yellow property on the board shown, is actually a misspelling of the original location name, Marven Gardens. The misspelling was said to be introduced by Charles Todd and passed on when his home-made Monopoly board was copied by Charles Darrow and thence to Parker...
but the board is divided into companies rather than properties. Players compete to acquire properties and investments through stylized economic
Economics
Economics is the social science that analyzes the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services. The term economics comes from the Ancient Greek from + , hence "rules of the house"...
and political activity
Politics
Politics is a process by which groups of people make collective decisions. The term is generally applied to the art or science of running governmental or state affairs, including behavior within civil governments, but also applies to institutions, fields, and special interest groups such as the...
. The playing time is set by agreement from all players, eg. 2 hours, and the winner is determined by the monetary sum of all player cash, companies, insurance or other assets. Another objective of the game is "to teach players some of the fundamentals of economics, and the ways in which the economy and the government interact." Different editions were published for several different countries. The name Poleconomy is a portmanteau of "politics" and "economy".
History
Poleconomy was invented by Bruce Hatherley, a New Zealander from ChristchurchChristchurch
Christchurch is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand, and the country's second-largest urban area after Auckland. It lies one third of the way down the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula which itself, since 2006, lies within the formal limits of...
who was living in Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
at the time. He first filed a US patent claim for it in January 1981. It was published in 1980, first in an Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n edition, then a New Zealand edition. The New Zealand edition was produced by Tanner Couch and Robyn Larsen sold the squares on the board as advertising space to the actual companies represented. The New Zealand Stock Exchange was involved with the launch in Auckland
Auckland
The Auckland metropolitan area , in the North Island of New Zealand, is the largest and most populous urban area in the country with residents, percent of the country's population. Auckland also has the largest Polynesian population of any city in the world...
. It was also published by World Games.
Hatherley contacted Canadian think tank
Think tank
A think tank is an organization that conducts research and engages in advocacy in areas such as social policy, political strategy, economics, military, and technology issues. Most think tanks are non-profit organizations, which some countries such as the United States and Canada provide with tax...
the Fraser Institute
Fraser Institute
The Fraser Institute is a Canadian think tank. It has been described as politically conservative and right-wing libertarian and espouses free market principles...
to help introduce the game to Canada in 1983. Michael Walker, an employee of the Institute, sold the first squares as advertising and the rest were sold by stock broker
Stock broker
A stock broker or stockbroker is a regulated professional broker who buys and sells shares and other securities through market makers or Agency Only Firms on behalf of investors...
s, who had little other work because of a recession
Recession
In economics, a recession is a business cycle contraction, a general slowdown in economic activity. During recessions, many macroeconomic indicators vary in a similar way...
at the time. More than a million dollars was raised by the Institute and Poleconomy was credited with helping the Institute survive the recession.
It was later sold in South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
and the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
in other localised versions. More than 1.5 million copies of Poleconomy have been sold internationally, incorporating the participation of 260 major corporate sponsors who leased advertising space in the separate national versions. US patent 4,522,407 was granted for the game in 1985.
The game
Players compete to acquire properties and investments through stylized economicEconomics
Economics is the social science that analyzes the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services. The term economics comes from the Ancient Greek from + , hence "rules of the house"...
and political activity
Politics
Politics is a process by which groups of people make collective decisions. The term is generally applied to the art or science of running governmental or state affairs, including behavior within civil governments, but also applies to institutions, fields, and special interest groups such as the...
. This involves the purchase of real-world companies and advertising using artificial money. The players take turns moving around the board via the roll of the dice, landing on the gameboard squares and carrying out instruction according to the square's contents or player decision.
The game is unusual in its mirroring of real-world businesses for which it has licenses to use their trademarks. It also illustrates how political events such as government decisions and taxation affect the economy. The players take turns at being the Prime Minister
Prime minister
A prime minister is the most senior minister of cabinet in the executive branch of government in a parliamentary system. In many systems, the prime minister selects and may dismiss other members of the cabinet, and allocates posts to members within the government. In most systems, the prime...
or President
President
A president is a leader of an organization, company, trade union, university, or country.Etymologically, a president is one who presides, who sits in leadership...
through elections. Once in power they have the ability to dictate the levels of inflation and so increasing or decreasing rents for property owners. If a player cannot cover their rent, the debt is written off and they can continue, receiving a government salary; no-one becomes bankrupt. According to the rules the game ends when the central bank runs out of money.
Enterprise Australia sponsored the game to "improve understanding of the free enterprise
Free enterprise
-Transport:* Free Enterprise I, a ferry in service with European Ferries between 1962 and 1980.* Free Enterprise II, a ferry in service with European Ferries between 1965 and 1982....
system" among schoolchildren, and sold over 100,000 copies. The introduction to the rules of the New Zealand version quotes Enterprise New Zealand, "The game reflects the way industry, finance and government interact when private enterprise operates within a system of parliamentary democracy."
Companies featured in the game
| New Zealand Edition | Canadian Edition | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Company | Advertising | Company | Publicite |
| DRG | Permaglide | Crane | Pentax Pentax Pentax is a brand name used by Hoya Corporation for its medical-related products & services and Pentax Ricoh Imaging Company for cameras, sport optics , etc. Hoya purchased and merged with the Japanese optics company on March 31, 2008. Hoya's Pentax imaging business was sold to Ricoh Company, Ltd... |
| Mitsubishi Forklifts | Sellotape Sellotape Sellotape is a British brand of transparent, cellulose-based, pressure sensitive adhesive tape, and is the leading brand of clear, pressure sensitive tape in the United Kingdom. Sellotape is generally used for joining, sealing, attaching and mending... |
I.P. Sharp Associates | Global Television Network Global Television Network Global Television Network is an English language privately owned television network in Canada, owned by Calgary-based Shaw Communications, as part of its Shaw Media division... |
| Armourguard | Pakatoa Island Pakatoa Island Pakatoa Island covers and in the Hauraki Gulf of New Zealand. Purchased in the early 1900's by the Salvation Army it was used as an alcohol treatment centre for women, isolated from the Army's male rehabilitation facility on Rotoroa Island.... |
Bombardier | Central Trust |
| Anchor Anchor Milk Anchor is a brand of dairy products that was founded in New Zealand in 1886 and is one of the key brands owned by the New Zealand based international exporter Fonterra Co−operative Group... |
Nylex http://www.nylex.com.au/ | Molson Molson Molson-Coors Canada Inc. is the Canadian division of the world's fifth-largest brewing company, the Molson Coors Brewing Company. It is the second oldest company in Canada after the Hudson's Bay Company. Molson's first brewery was located on the St... |
Iona |
| Mount Cook Line | Decrabond | William Mercer Limited | Avco Financial Services |
| Van Camp | Amalgamated Marketing Ltd | Allied Van Lines Limited | Edmonton Oilers Edmonton Oilers The Edmonton Oilers are a professional ice hockey team based in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. They are members of the Northwest Division in the Western Conference of the National Hockey League .... |
| Tux | Air New Zealand Air New Zealand Air New Zealand Limited is the national airline and flag carrier of New Zealand. Based in Auckland, New Zealand, the airline operates scheduled passenger flights to 26 domestic destinations and 24 international destinations in 15 countries across Asia, Europe, North America and Oceania, and is... |
Penmans Canada | Wynn's |
| NZ Forest Products | Team McMillan Ford | Maple Leaf Mills | Loblaws Loblaws Loblaws is a supermarket chain with over 70 stores in Canada, headquartered in Brampton, with stores across Ontario and Quebec. Loblaws is a division of Loblaw Companies Limited, Canada's largest food distributor... Companies Limited |
| Europa Europa (New Zealand) Europa was a New Zealand-owned oil company that was operated by the Todd family in New Zealand, in competition with overseas firms such as Texaco , Plume , Shell and Atlantic.... |
Stewart Wrightson Ltd | Kaufman Footwear | Lepage |
| Hallmark Hallmark A hallmark is an official mark or series of marks struck on items made of precious metals — platinum, gold, silver and in some nations, palladium... |
Pizza Hut Pizza Hut Pizza Hut is an American restaurant chain and international franchise that offers different styles of pizza along with side dishes including pasta, buffalo wings, breadsticks, and garlic bread.... |
Dynamic Funds | Teleglobe Canada |
| Hertz The Hertz Corporation Hertz Global Holdings Inc is an American car rental company with international locations in 145 countries worldwide.-Early years:The company was founded by Walter L. Jacobs in 1918, who started a car rental operation in Chicago with a dozen Model T Ford cars. In 1923, Jacobs sold it to John D... |
Kiwi Bacon | Fraser Institute Fraser Institute The Fraser Institute is a Canadian think tank. It has been described as politically conservative and right-wing libertarian and espouses free market principles... |
Cheerios Cheerios Cheerios is a brand of breakfast cereal by General Mills introduced on May 1, 1941 as the first oat-based, ready-to-eat cold cereal. Originally named CheeriOats, the name was changed to Cheerios in 1945 because of a trade name dispute with Quaker Oats. The name fit the "O" shape of the cereal pieces... |
| IBM IBM International Business Machines Corporation or IBM is an American multinational technology and consulting corporation headquartered in Armonk, New York, United States. IBM manufactures and sells computer hardware and software, and it offers infrastructure, hosting and consulting services in areas... |
Dulux Dulux Dulux is an internationally available brand of paint. It is produced by AkzoNobel . The brand name Dulux has been used by both ICI and DuPont since 1931 and was one of the first alkyd-based paints.-History:... |
Midland Bank Canada | Caldwell Luxury Towels |
| ICI Imperial Chemical Industries Imperial Chemical Industries was a British chemical company, taken over by AkzoNobel, a Dutch conglomerate, one of the largest chemical producers in the world. In its heyday, ICI was the largest manufacturing company in the British Empire, and commonly regarded as a "bellwether of the British... |
Marac | Kraft Kraft Foods Kraft Foods Inc. is an American confectionery, food and beverage conglomerate. It markets many brands in more than 170 countries. 12 of its brands annually earn more than $1 billion worldwide: Cadbury, Jacobs, Kraft, LU, Maxwell House, Milka, Nabisco, Oscar Mayer, Philadelphia, Trident, Tang... |
Golden |
| NZIG | Mitre 10 Mitre 10 Mitre 10 is the trading name of retail and trade hardware store chains, over 700 locations throughout of Australia. Operations are based on a co-operative system where the store owners are members of the national group and each has voting rights... |
Delta Hotels Delta Hotels Delta Hotels is a chain of 45 hotels and resorts across Canada, primarily in the 4 star range of standard. Delta once had a hotel in the United States, the Delta Court of Flags Hotel, located in Orlando, Florida, however, it was closed sometime after 1996 and has subsequently been demolished... |
Actualite Newsmagazine |
| Watties | Heylen Research Centre | Neilson Neilson Dairy William Neilson Dairy Limited is a Canadian dairy company owned by Saputo Incorporated. Their products are sold at Loblaws, Real Canadian Superstore, Giant Tiger and Fortinos. The company is based in Toronto, Ontario... |
Texmode Fashion Sheets |
| Whitcoulls Whitcoulls Whitcoulls is a major national bookstore chain in New Zealand, formerly known as Whitcombe & Tombs. It has 62 stores nationally. Whitcombe & Tombs was founded in 1888, and Coulls Somerville Wilkie in 1871. The companies merged in 1971 to form Whitcoulls... |
Choysa | Dow Chemical Canada | Scott |
| Reidrubber | Amco Amco The Amco was an American automobile manufactured primarily for the export market, designed by D.M. Eller and built by American Motors Incorporated of New York City.... |
Victor | |
| Donaghys | Hylin Laundry Services | CP Air | |
| Lucas Service | Ralta | Ikea | |
| Winstone | Atlantic and Pacific travel | Esso | |
| Network consultants | David Ingram's CENTRA | ||
| GSI | |||
| Northern United Building Society | |||
| NZSE | |||
| Heylen Research Centre | |||
| New Zealand Times | |||