Jane Austen Board Game
Monopoly is probably one of the most famous board games available today. It comes in so many variations, from the classic versions of cities around the world, to Star Wars, Harry Potter and every other popular TV show and movie. My partner is a huge fan of the works of Jane Austen, but to my surprise, this is one of the subjects that doesn’t seem to merit its own version of Monopoly. So i decided to design and make my own.
I started with the box. It’s an old writing box that was found in a somewhat broken state and was lovingly restored by my father. It seemed an ideal starting point for the project, even if it was a bit on the small side.
This project had far more research go into it than almost any other project I have worked on. I have not read any of the Jane Austen novels. My only real exposure to the literature comes from the TV mini-series of both Pride and Prejudice and Emma (both of which were fantastic), so I started to research the locations and characters in the book. The Jane Austen fandom page was of great help to me, as well as The Jane Austen Society of North America and this fantastic Guardian article.
Much of what I wanted to do to make this a special gift was in the details. The historical accuracy was important to the game, but small details like the ‘House’ and ‘Hotel’ pieces being changed to ‘Cottages’ and ‘Manor Houses’ is what set it apart from the original game (this were printed by my friend Rob who did an incredible job - check out some of his work here https://www.instagram.com/robroachstudios/)
There was also the challenge of making the ‘Chance’ and ‘Community Chest’ more in keeping with the time period. I kept some favourites, but also included cards like “You’ve been invited to a regency dance. Advance to Uppercross” and other events that happen in the novels, such as “You’ve caught pneumonia. Pay Doctor £100”. These cards were also renamed to ‘Knock at the Door’ and ‘A Letter Arrives…’ as from my brief experience with the stories, the characters spent a lot of time having their fortunes changed by unexpected arrivals of new characters or news being delivered.
This is probably one of the more fun projects I have worked on in a while. Working through the process of research, design, production and even a little woodworking was very rewarding. Perhaps I’ve found my true calling in life. Please see a collection of photographs of all the different elements below.
If you wish to create your own version of this game, I have created an asset pack available to purchase in my store. This pack contains everything you would need to create your own version of the game, including assets I designed for the game and links to suppliers I used for the original project.
This pack contains:
Print ready PDF for the Game Board
Print ready PDF for Property Cards, ‘Knock at the Door’ and ‘A Letter Arrives...’ Cards
Print ready PDF for Jane Austen Money
Document with details on printers and other assets
Please note: This game is not currently for sale, and was not created to be mass produced. All trade marks used are the property of Hasbro.