![]() If we were to go down the road of censorship, then we would have to empty much of the stock in our stores. "It's just a game and we don't want to be censorial about what people can buy. ![]() "It's an irreverent take on Monopoly and it bears far more relation to modern life than buying hotels in Mayfair," a spokesman said. ![]() ![]() Virgin Megastores said last week that they would continue to stock the game, claiming that it has been selling "like wildfire" and have so far sold almost 3,000 copies in Britain. If this is thought to be appropriate, why not go the whole offensive hog and have a 9/11 board game?" In the USA, civil rights leaders have expressed their anger, describing the game as "the corporate denigration of African-Americans". "Virgin may care to consider whether they would sell Monopoly-type games which capitalise on the genocide in Rwanda, or community strife in Northern Ireland. It seeks to reinforce stereotypes of the way young black men are supposed to act and capitalises on their deaths as a result of gun crime in Britain and the US," he said. Peter Herbert, who is also the chairman of the Society of Black Lawyers, said that he would raise the question of the game at an authority meeting on Thursday: "I will ask Sir John Stevens, the Metropolitan Police Commissioner, to join me in calling for Virgin to stop selling this terrible game," he said. This week, the game will be examined by the Metropolitan Police Authority, the independent body that scrutinises Britain's biggest police force, after a member called for it to be withdrawn from all British shops. He is pictured on a card, scratching his crotch and saying: "I have an itch" - a parody of his "I have a dream" speech.Īmong the so-called "Hustle Cards", that replace the traditional Chance cards, is the instruction: "It's past midnight and you're feeling horny. Dr Martin Luther King, the revered civil rights leader, is also mocked in the game. Pay $150 for an abortion." This card is illustrated with a drawing of a coat hanger and a pool of blood. "Collect $50 from each playa." Another reads: "You just found out that you knocked up your old lady. "You got the whole neighbourhood addicted to crack," reads one. "Ghetto Stash" cards - which replace the Community Chest cards from the traditional game - have been singled out for their outrageous statements. Crack pipes, hookers and loan sharks all feature in the game. Players - or "playas" to use Ghettopoly's own slang - try to win by building up a collection of "crack houses" around the board. Ghettopoly uses inner-city American locations such as the Bronx and Harlem rather than the well-known places of the British version of Monopoly, such as Mayfair and Park Lane. While the original game's box shows a dandy wearing a top hat, tails and a monocle, the "gangsta"version shows an aggressive black man with a cannabis joint in his mouth and a gun in one hand. Mr Chang has previously admitted that the game is similar to Monopoly but added that there are significant differences. The game has already run into legal difficulties in the United States, where Hasbro, a US-based company, has launched legal action against Mr Chang for breach of copyright and trademark infringement. His inspiration was the music channel MTV and the lyrics of rap songs and hip-hop. Ghettopoly was invented by David Chang, 28, from Philadelphia, the son of Taiwanese immigrants. "HMV and Hasbro have settled Hasbro's claim." He declined to confirm that his clients would be suing Virgin. James Graham, the legal counsel for Hasbro Europe, the maker of Monopoly, said: "Legal action is pending against the importers and distributors of this game." He said that Hasbro Europe had already taken action against HMV, the high street music retailer, to stop the game's sale in more than 50 record stores. They have launched a High Court legal action against a number of companies in Britain that are selling and distributing the game. Solicitors working for Hasbro Europe, the games giant that owns the rights to Monopoly, claim that Ghettopoly is trading off their product's good name. They progress around the board by peddling crack cocaine, raiding banks or visiting sex shows. Instead of buying houses and hotels, participants buy crack houses and brothels. The traditional pieces of the dog, the hat and the iron have been replaced by the marijuana leaf, the pimp and the sub-machine gun. Ghettopoly, currently sold in Virgin Megastores to children as young as 13, uses a Monopoly-style board to portray in graphic form the extremes of urban ganglife. Philadelphia - A children's board game that glorifies drug-dealing, prostitution and armed robbery is at the centre of legal action because the makers of Monopoly claim that it is too similar to their game.
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