Exclusive Interview: World of Women Unveils Monopoly Collaboration
World of Women has partnered with WS Game Company, the parent company behind Monopoly, to unveil a special edition version of the popular board game. The game, “MONOPOLY: World of Women (WoW) Galaxy Edition,” is set to launch on Oct. 17 at noon ET and is a fresh adaptation of the classic, with a web3 twist.
The game is available for everyone— you do not need to be a WoW holder to purchase the game, though there will be special benefits and rewards for those who are holders.
The design pays tribute to WoW’s web3 community, featuring custom illustrations of its renowned characters and including elements from other NFT collections. WoW COO Shannon Snow sat down with nft now for an exclusive look inside the partnership, the game, and beyond.
This unique version of Monopoly introduces players to a novel economy as they journey through the WoW Universe. The game features innovative elements, like currency represented through Ethereum and gold-hued tokens celebrating renowned Web3 communities such as Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC), VeeFriends, CryptoPunks, CloneX, and Cool Cats. The board’s creative vision was crafted under the guidance of World of Women’s co-founder and Chief Creative Officer, Yam Karkai.
nft now: Tell us how this collaboration came to be. How did this become an idea?
Shannon Snow: We got the opportunity in 2022. I think that Monopoly is obviously an iconic brand. And if we look at the history that they’ve had in this space, I mean, it’s pretty incredible that they’ve had an estimate of over a billion people that have played Monopoly worldwide. But I think they are also really open to collaborating with new audiences. And I think what Galaxy really offers is a new take on this board game. And so we really saw the opportunity to celebrate the incredible history that WoW has with the most popular board game ever.
nft now: And the theme is Galaxy edition, after WoW’s second NFT collection. Can you expand on that?
Snow: Absolutely. For us, you know, because we’ve been really focusing on expanding World Women’s IP, with WoW Galaxy, that was the last big expansion. We really saw it as a way to let people be immersed in the lore and the storytelling of World of Women. With Yam, the founding artist, being the creative director for the entire collaboration, and really giving the community an opportunity to learn more about our lore, our planets, and what it really feels like to be in the wild galaxy.
nft now: We saw a couple of the photos that you guys have posted on the socials. The little gold players have different NFTs, like a Bored Ape. Are you integrating other NFT collections into this game?
Snow: That was definitely one of the goals. I mean, I know that for me, you know, I grew up learning about money from playing Monopoly, and so I really envision a future where the next generation is gonna learn about digital currency and Web3 from playing Monopoly. But we wanted the whole Web3 space to be included. We have a Cool Cat, A Bored Ape, which is actually owned by our co-founder Yam and her husband. We love using the IP. You know, in June, as we were getting finalized on the samples, we actually did a small preview event with key members of these communities to get their feedback on how the tokens were coming to life. The one token where we needed to get special permission was for Vee Friends. So, actually, Gary Vee personally signed off on the use of VeeFriends in this game.
nft now: And so, in the game, it takes place in a decentralized world. There is no cash; everything is in crypto?
Snow: The whole game takes place in the future, and the wild Galaxy has become this beacon of hope in the cosmos. So it’s all set in each player. Each token has to embark on this galactic journey to build allyship across all of these different planets. It’s powered by ETH, which is the fuel. So every time you pass “Go,” you get ETH, and that’s access to your fuel to continue exploring the galaxy.
nft now: We’re really seeing in the space mainstream brands collaborating with NFT collections, like what we saw with Pudgy Penguins and Walmart recently. And that really is a huge factor in bringing, you know, Web3 to the masses. I know that that’s a huge goal for you guys, especially as you joined the team. What do you hope to get out of expanding the audience and having people discover the World of Women for the first time?
Snow: It’s a great question. I mean, I think everything that we do is to expand our brand and expand our community. Our hope is that we continue to find new and unique ways to introduce World of Women to new audiences. So Monopoly was a no-brainer for us because, you know, they have such a strong history. It’s so iconic, it’s so educational, and it really aligns with our mission of trying to create an educational but also really fun space for diverse people to discover the next wave of technology.
nft now: How long will the game be available for? Is this a limited run?
Snow: It’s a limited run, and I’m anticipating that we will sell out the run. It opens on October 17 because we want people to be able to purchase it and have it arrive by Christmas. I anticipate that that sale will be open for about eight weeks if it doesn’t sell out beforehand. If you order in, you know, that first eight weeks, you’ll be able to have delivery by Christmas.
nft now: How will the game be integrated into Patio? I know that you guys recently launched the Patio platform as a way to connect with the community.
Snow: So, actually, the special benefit that will be given will be given to those that log into the Patio. So, they will log into our community hub in order to receive that benefit. We want Patio to be the go-to place for all things happening with WoW, whether it’s special events like the WoW gala or special content. My gosh, I mean, I think what is honestly just so cool is, like, how, how excited the community is. Wow has always been a community-led brand. We did two sneak peeks of the board over the previous months with holders. For every person who sees the board, it’s almost like just an emotional connection of the memories that they made playing Monopoly as kids.
This interview transcript has been edited for concision and clarity.