Associate Director of Admissions Mark Pruitt first approached Harding administration about creating a Harding version of the classic board game Monopoly over three years ago, and last semester he watched his dream become a reality. Hardingopoly hit the bookstore just before Christmas break.
One of the main stipulations required by the administration was that all costs for the design and production of the board game — about $43,000 — come out of Pruitt’s pocket.
But Pruitt said he was not concerned about turning a profit when he designed the game, but instead was focused on creating a product Harding students and alumni would appreciate.
“I won’t ever become wealthy doing this, but I’m glad I did it,” Pruitt said. “Whatever money I do make is going to help send my kids to Harding.”
Pruitt said he fleshed out the major components of the board game in the course of just eight hours during an intense all-day brainstorming session. However, the process for designing Hardingopoly was lengthy, Pruitt said, because he had to avoid product infringement. He said that after contacting Hasbro, the toy company that currently produces Monopoly, he found out the best way to avoid a lawsuit was to make the game as different from the original version as possible.
As a result, Hardingopoly has five game pieces instead of six, the spaces and layout of the board were changed and all of the dimensions were altered. Hardingopoly also features a different color scheme and pictures of all of the major buildings on campus, which were provided by Director of Photography Jeff Montgomery.
Pruitt said that Harding employees and students were responsible for the graphic design of the game. Alumni Ben Arthur (‘13) and Laura Fitch (‘13) designed the tokens and many of the cartoon images found in the game while they were still students at Harding, along with graphic designer Rocky Colon.
Pruitt ordered 3,000 copies of Hardingopoly to stock the bookstore. So far, he said he estimates about 300 copies have sold.
Freshman Duncan Michael said he picked up a copy of the game as soon as it was available.
“My dad graduated from Harding, so I got him Hardingopoly for Christmas this year,” Michael said. “Our whole family loves to play.”
Pruitt said that he too plays Hardingopoly with his family.
“My daughter was the first one I played with, as soon as we got the game,” Pruitt said. “I like to play as the bell tower, because that is where I proposed to my wife.”
Hardingopoly is still on sale at the campus bookstore. The game costs $34.95.
