I designed a Monopoly-style game to celebrate the NYC subway. Here's how I did it
New York City has perhaps the best subway system in the western hemisphere. I designed a Monopoly-style board game to show it the love that it deserves.
This design case study was featured by PIX11 News on the web and also on television, as well as by WCBS NewsTalk 880 AM on the radio.
The subway is to New Yorkers what alcohol is to Homer Simpson: “The cause of and solution to all of life’s problems.” Both an indispensable part of daily commutes and also the source of never-ending complaints, the subway is a crucial fixture of New York City life.
As a transit enthusiast, I wanted to design a fun way to appreciate how meaningful the subway, and mass transit more generally, is to the people of New York City. So I created a lighthearted board game design in the style of Monopoly that both recognizes the importance of transit while also acknowledging its shortcomings.
I present: Transit Authority.
Overview
Be the most powerful transit authority in the city! Purchase exclusive rights to subway lines and other transit entities to become the ultimate service provider. Improve your stations to increase their value, but be careful of using lines serviced exclusively by your opponents – or you might be paying hefty fines!
This design case study is comprised of one Transit Authority game board, 12 examples of draw cards, two varieties of improvements, seven examples of Exclusive Rights cards, seven denominations of in-game currency, and a list of nine player-controlled game piece concepts.1
While I hope the game would be fun to actually play, the purpose of this design case study is to outline my creative thought process in making this game design.
Summary of Gameplay
The goal of Transit Authority is to be the last player standing!2 The quickest way to victory is to purchase exclusive rights to as many of the 22 subway lines on the the game board as possible.3 If opponents land on subway lines of which you own exclusive rights, they must pay you. And when you own all subway lines in a particular color, you are able to build improvements–info boards or info booths–that require your opponents to pay even more money.
Players start on the OMNY Reader space. Each time they pass the space in the midst of normal gameplay, they collect $200; if they land on the space, they instead collect $400.4
If you land on the Metro-North Railroad or Long Island Rail Road space, you must draw a card and follow the instructions written on it. May the transit odds be in your favor!
There are four Interstate Rail Service spaces on the game board: CTrail, PATH, NJ Transit, and Amtrak.5 There is a fixed price your opponents pay if they land on an Interstate Rail Service that you control. The more Interstate Rail Services you control, the more it will cost your opponents.
The Budget Cuts and Extreme Weather spaces force the player to pay the listed charges. Running a transit system is no easy task!6
Players can control the JFK AirTrain and Staten Island Railway, as well.7 Unlike controlling Interstate Rail Services, the price an opponent pays for landing on the JFK AirTrain or Staten Island Railway space you control will depend on what their dice roll was.8 Owning one of these will charge your opponent four times their dice roll; owning both will charge them ten times their dice roll.
You can end up in the Repair Yard if you roll doubles three times in a row, are sent there by a Metro-North Railroad or Long Island Railroad Card, or land on the Out Of Service space. While in the Repair Yard, you do not collect fees from other players who use the services you control. If you happen to land on the Repair Yard space outside of these aforementioned circumstances, then you are just there for Routine Maintenance; you gain nothing and lose nothing.
Any money that players have to pay that does not go to purchasing control over a service or go to other players is stored underneath the Congestion Pricing space.9 When players actually land on the Congestion Pricing space, they receive $500 plus any of the accrued money.
Colors
Part of what makes a board game not just fun to play but also easy to use is the intentional use of colors. Given that Transit Authority is an ode to the New York City subway, all colors have been taken from MTA maps and signage.
The green background of the board is taken from the color of parks in the current New York City subway map, the initial incarnation of which was debuted in 1979 by Michael Hertz.
The spaces for CTrail, PATH, NJ Transit, Amtrak, JFK AirTrain, and the OMNY Reader all use their official logos, which ads some visual diversity to the board. I initially wanted to use the official logos for the Long Island Rail Road and Metro-North Railroad spaces, but I ran into an issue - these two railroads lack distinctive logos.
The Long Island Rail Road and Metro-North Railroad both use the MTA logo next to their respective names, with no other distinctive visual features. So, I took a look at the past: for the Metro-North Railroad, I went with the old MTA logo in use from 1968 to 1994, which was present when Metro-North debuted in 1983.
For the Long Island Rail Road, I went with their “keystone” logo, which originated in the late 1910s. In order to make the Long Island Rail Road spaces visually distinct from the shades of blue in the logo of the Metro-North Rail Road spaces, I used the color pink found on the official map of MTA tunnels and bridges.
The backs of the Long Island Rail Road cards have the logo in white with a pink background. The Metro-North Railroad cards have a white and gray logo, with a dark blue background; this color was taken from the circulate Staten Island Railway bullet that appears on the New York City subway late night service map. For unknown reasons, this bullet seemingly appears darker on the late night service map than it does in other official publications.
The color on the front of the Metro-North cards is taken from the directional compass on the official MTA Railroads map. The color on the front of the Long Island Rail Road Cards is taken from the Specialized Cleaning section of the NYC Subway Group Station Manager Program map.
The light blue found on the Repair Yard space comes from the default color for land on the New York City subway late night service map; the cream color comes from the default color for land in the regular New York City subway map.
The green on the dollar signs on the Congestion Pricing space is taken from the Express Bus Routes found on the Bronx Bus Service map. The color for the triangular warning sign (⚠️) found on the Out Of Service space is taken from some of the bus routes on the same map, including but not limited to the Bx2, Bx15, and Bx39.
The green in the info boards and red in the info booths comes from Metro-North’s Hudson and New Haven Lines, respectively. As these are 2D depictions of 3D objects, the other shades of red and green are merely how they would look as physical objects with the light reflecting off of them from various angles.
The currency comes in seven denominations: $1, $5, $10, $20, $50, $100, and $500. Their dominant colors are white from the NYC Subway Severe Winter Weather map, pink from the S92 Limited bus route, yellow from the airplane glyph accompanying the M60 SBS bus route, lighter blue from the water on the official map of MTA tunnels and bridges, darker blue from the labels of parks on the NYC Subway Large Print map, lighter orange from the background of the B103 Limited bus route, and darker orange from the background of the B49 Limited bus route, respectively. The background of each piece of currency displays the NYC Subway map, MTA Railroads map, and the bus routes of each of the Five Boroughs.
Finally, the dark blue background of the logo for Transit Authority was taken from both the MTA logo which is the same color as the round bullets for the A, C, and E trains.
Game Board
Players have a total of 40 spaces on the square game board upon which they may land, comprised of four large squares on each corner and nine vertical rectangles on each side. There are 22 subway lines for which players may purchase exclusive rights and upon which improvements can be purchased.
The real-world New York City subway lines’ associated colors work very well for grouping on the game board. The J and Z trains use brown; Shuttles use dark gray; B, D, and F use orange; 1, 2, and 3 use red, R, Q, and N use yellow; 4, 5, and 6 use dark green; and A and C use dark blue. Although utilizing different shades, these are the same colors used on traditional Monopoly game boards.10
Unfortunately the E train with a dark blue bullet, M train with orange, and W train with yellow have no room along with lines that use their respective same-color bullets. These lines are thusly represented on the Metro-North Railroad and Long Island Rail Road draw cards.
Additionally, the L train with a light gray bullet, 7 train with purple, G train with light green, and upcoming T train with light blue all have bullet colors that are not shared with other lines.11 As a result, I grouped the 7 train, G train, and T train under the purple color of the 7 train bullet, as the light gray bullet for the L train is too visually similar to that of the Shuttle trains’ dark gray bullets. The L train representation can also be found on the Metro-North Railroad and Long Island Rail Road draw cards.
The JFK AirTrain and Staten Island Railway spaces were picked because they are, subjectively, almost a part of the New York City subway system. Both are accurately depicted on NYC subway maps, but are actually separate entities.
Game Pieces
In order to traverse the game board, each player controls a game piece. I wanted the game pieces each to represent representative aspects of New York City. My design also ensures that each of the five boroughs are individually represented.
The game pieces are one of two elements that are 3D; the other being the info boards and info booths. Given that 3D design is not my forte, I chose to represent these designs with emoji, which are regulated by the Unicode Consortium and considered public domain.12
Bagel (🥯), featuring one of New York City’s most iconic foodstuffs, and a tip of the hat to our noted food scene more broadly.
Rat (🐀), symbolizing the nature and wildlife that can be found within the Five Boroughs. The persistence of the humble rat also speaks to the grit and determination that characterizes New Yorkers.
Statue of Liberty (🗽), highlighting not just the historical importance of the Big Apple, but also its commitment to justice and liberty for all.
Staten Island Ferry (⛴️), ensuring that the so-called “Forgotten Borough” is not forgotten, and paying homage to the importance of waterways in and around New York.
Broadway Ticket (🎟️), demonstrating Manhattan’s legendary performing arts legacy, as well as NYC’s enduring cultural significance.
Baseball (⚾️), representing the city’s storied athleticism, in particular the New York Yankees, also known as The Bronx Bombers.13
Wonder Wheel (🎡), showcasing the world-famous attraction in Brooklyn’s Coney Island, which speaks to the fun found within the City That Doesn’t Sleep.
Unisphere (🌎), exemplifying the diversity of not just Queens–where its namesake is located–but also of New York City as a whole.
BONUS: Flaco the Owl (🦉), memorializing the tragic loss of Flaco, the male Eurasian eagle-owl who escaped from the Central Park Zoo and spent his days exploring the city. He was 13 years old at his time of death.14
Conclusion
Board games do not just provide enjoyment for players in the present day, but also showcase glimpses of the time period from when the game was crated. In Monopoly proper, the Flat Iron game token was retired, as were the “Pay school tax of $150” Chance card and “We’re off the Gold Standard, collect $50” Community Chest card.15 As virtually no one uses flat irons anymore, schools are almost always funded by property taxes these days, and the gold standard was fully abandoned over five decades ago, these game items can tell a lot about their respective eras.
Likewise, Transit Authority showcases nods to the past–such as the designs of the Metro-North Railroad and Long Island Rail Road draw cards–the present nature of the New York City subway system, and, hopefully, the future–with congestion tolling and the T train. The game’s design portrays the transit system as a living, evolving entity, mirroring the ever-changing NYC skyline.
And, if this board game design were ever to actually be produced, ideally it would be fun to play, as well.
Disclaimer
My sole interest with this design case study is to celebrate the important role that public transportation has played in the New York City metropolitan area. At the time of publication, it is not my intent to profit off of this board game design in any way. In the unlikely event that I ever aim to directly make money from this design, I would of course seek to fulfill any and all legal obligations to relevant stakeholders.
Hasbro, Inc. has owned the rights to Monopoly in the United States since 1991.16 Elements inspired by the following government agencies are credited as such: Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA), Port Authority of New York and New Jersey (PANYNJ), Connecticut Department of Transportation (CTDOT), NJ Transit, and Amtrak.17
The working title for this project was “Subwayopoly.” It’s not particularly creative, but I still think it has a certain ring to it and it gives players an immediate hint of its relation to Monopoly. I then landed on calling it The Transit Authority’s Game as an homage to the initial incarnation of Monopoly which was called The Landlord’s Game. From there the title was shortened to simply Transit Authority.
In real life, transit agencies do not typically feel this way about one another. If anything, as I noted in my CTrail eTix app redesign case study, they often just ignore that the others exist!
Subway lines are generally listed in alphabetical or numerical order. As players traverse the board in a clockwise fashion–meaning that they move their game piece from right to left–I designed the board so that a player would encounter subway lines in alphabetical or numerical order. For example, the 1 Train space comes before the 2 Train and 3 Train spaces. However, English is read from left to right, meaning that upon first glance spaces are organized in reverse-alphabetical and reverse-numerical order.
In Monopoly, players typically receive only $200 for landing or passing Go. However, I chose to implement a popular-but-unofficial Monopoly “house rule” wherein players who pass the OMNY Reader space–the equivalent of Go in Transit Authority–still receive just $200 but landing on the OMNY Reader space nets a $400 reward instead.
Although PATH functionally operates as a subway, it is legally classified as commuter rail.
I should be clear that I first started working on this project months before New York Governor Kathy Hochul decided to “indefinitely pause” congestion pricing, which would have charged vehicles who drive on city roads south of 60th Street. This move has amounted to a tremendous budget cut of $16.5 billion from the MTA.
The JFK AirTrain is controlled by the PANYNJ, not the MTA.
The Staten Island Railway (SIR) is not technically a part of the New York City subway system. But due to Staten Island having no subway of its own, the SIR is often still shown on NYC subway maps.
To reiterate what I said before: I started designing this part of the board way before congestion pricing was put on an “indefinite pause” by Governor Kathy Hochul. However, if I were designing the board today I would likely make the same decisions: in addition to honoring the past and reflecting the present, I want this design to look toward the future of transit in NYC.
The one exception to this is that the dark gray Shuttles’ spaces in Transit Authority replace the Light Blue spaces in Monopoly, the latter of which is comprised of Oriental Avenue, Vermont Avenue, and Connecticut Avenue.
The T train, a part of the Second Avenue Subway plans, are also on hold as they are yet another victim of Governor Hochul’s “indefinite pause” of congestion pricing.
Although emoji themselves are in the public domain, the visual interpretations of emoji might not be. For example, the moose emoji (🫎) goes by the codepoints “U+1FACE”. Each device interprets these codepoints differently, which is why emoji look different across various platforms. The designs big corporations such as Apple or Samsung create to interpret each emoji codepoint are protected by copyright.
New York City also has two other prominent baseball teams: the New York Mets based in Queens and the Staten Island FerryHawks, the latter of which is a minor-league professional team.
I considered adding a game piece for Astoria the Wild Turkey (🦃), Manhattan’s newest fowl friend.
The proper title for the token depicting a flat iron used in the past for pressing clothing was officially simply entitled “Iron.” I referred to it as “Flat Iron” in the text for clarity.
The current copyright status of Monopoly in the United States is a bit complicated. The origins of the game can be traced back to Lizzie Maggie’s The Landlord’s Game in 1903. The game had some success, including a number of imitations. Parker Brothers officially bought the rights to Maggie’s original game and officially launched Monopoly in 1935. Therefore, in theory, Monopoly should be in the public domain. However, according to the American Bar Association, “the systems or processes that make up the core of a game—generally referred to as the “game mechanics”—are not subject to copyright, even though the written rules, game board, card artwork, and other elements—often referred to as the ‘theme’ of the game—may be.” Hasbro, which acquired Parker Brothers in 1991, is known for being litigious against those who attempt to profit from games that they believe are infringements on their intellectual property.
For this design case study, I primarily used Figma, as well as Adobe Photoshop and Apple SF Symbols 6. Fonts utilized include Sree Krushnadevaraya by Purushoth Kumar Guttula, NBA Knicks by Eriq P. Jaffe, The Fishermans Neighbor by Vladimir Nikolic, and San Francisco by Apple.
I saw this and as a NYC transit lover NEED this, love it excellent work! ! !
As someone who works for the MTA I can say this is phenomenal!! I’m certain the higher ups in Transit would sign off on such a game & sell it at the Transit museums in Grand Central & Brooklyn.