Summit Avenue or Rice Street? The Minnesota state Capitol or the Cathedral of St. Paul? Union Depot or Holman Field?

All of the above, perhaps.

The public has several more days to nominate their picks for iconic landmarks, businesses, places, spaces, organizations, events and more — anything, really — for a St. Paul edition of the Monopoly board game.

“The nominations are pretty diverse so far,” said Tim Barney, game manager for Top Trumps USA, the Rhode Island-based game company that is creating the St. Paul edition. “Outside the iconic locations everyone thinks of — a number of local restaurants, businesses of all types — there are also schools, charities and events.”

The iconic nominations so far include the Cathedral of St. Paul, the state Capitol, the Minnesota State Fair and the Xcel Energy Center.

But … the State Fair is held on the Fairgrounds in Falcon Heights.

“Unless the public comes at us pretty hard, we like to stick to the city rather than the surrounding areas,” Barney said.

However, there have been exceptions, like the Portland Head Light, Maine’s oldest lighthouse that was included in the Monopoly game for Portland, Maine, even though it’s not located within the city limits.

“People said it would be weird to have a game without highlighting it,” Barney said.

For St. Paul, Barney encourages people to think “outside the box” and nominate events (such as the Pioneer Press Treasure Hunt!) or a business that could symbolize a “luxury tax” (a local jewelry store) or an organization that could appear on a community chest card (such as Hmong American Partnership).

“What is something unique that could represent utilities?” Barney asked as an example.

Metro Transit’s Green Line, a light-rail train, might represent transportation in St. Paul, or is there something else people could nominate? And St. Paul has the Mississippi River — perhaps Padleford Riverboats will be a contender.

“I love variety,” Barney said. “So if we have one airport, it’s not too common we’d have two. If we have one boat, it’s not likely we’ll have two. We want a wide spectrum.”

The nominations can be as big as Maplewood-based 3M Co. (yes, we know it’s not in St. Paul) or as small as the St. Paul-based Minnesota Roller Derby team.

“It’s nice to include businesses and organizations that wouldn’t normally get this kind of platform,” Barney said.

Chosen sites will likely share three attributes — longevity (long-standing attractions); credibility (authentic St. Paul institutions, not franchises); and community engagement (businesses or organizations that do things with and for the community).

Nominate a St. Paul icon — which can also be a museum, a public space, a club or more — at US.TopTrumps.com/SaintPaul. While nominations will be accepted through Nov. 29, the game maker asks for suggestions to be submitted by Friday, Nov. 22, if possible.

The board game

Monopoly as consumers know it today has been a popular game since Parker Brothers began marketing it in 1935; players buy and sell property as they go around the board, a lesson in real estate, banking, economics, wheeling-and-dealing and more.

Hasbro, a game and toy company that acquired Parker Brothers in the early 1990s, has partnered with Winning Moves International to create city-specific versions of the popular board game featuring well-known local landmarks, businesses and nonprofit organizations.

In September, Barney visited St. Paul for ideas and as part of a publicity tour.

Local suggestions

On Friday, we asked readers of the Morning Report — our free newsletter — which locales they would suggest for the St. Paul edition of the game. Here are some of their nominations (per our style, we only ask for first names from Morning Report readers):

“What a cool game idea!” a reader named Mollie suggested. “Mancini’s on West 7th for sure!”

“I think Mickey’s Diner should definitely be a candidate,” Mark wrote.

“The St. Paul Chamber Orchestra (SPCO),” Cass suggested.

“For sure the game should include Como Zoo and Conservatory, and the pavilion at Lake Como,” Matt wrote. “It should probably include some prominent real estate including the governor’s mansion and that house on the west side of Lake Como with the super long pergola. I’d love to also see TCGIS (Twin Cities German Immersion School) on the board and the Farmers’ Market and the Saints stadium. Oh! — and the Minnesota United stadium.”

“Gopher Bar,” Lynn suggested.

“I suggest adding Can Can Wonderland to the game!” Gwen wrote.

“I vote for Candyland on Wabasha in St. Paul,” Richard wrote. “Longtime business fixture, with great product, and a business staple of the city.”

“How about Central High School?” Nancy asked.

“I nominate the Lowertown Lofts Artists Cooperative at 255 E. Kellogg Boulevard since we are an artist live-work cooperative which was established in 1985 and helped to launch all other artist cooperatives in this city and beyond,” wrote judit neilsdottir, a dancer. “We would be an exciting place to land on this venerable game board. Thank you for giving us this opportunity. I would be proud if the LLAC was selected as I am one of its founding members still living and working here.”

“Riverboats marina, Towering iconic God of Peace sculpture in the government center, Holman Field downtown airport, Swede Hollow!!” Cynthia wrote. “Caves in the river bluffs used for illicit purposes during Prohibition; Schmidt Brewery. Sports venues: Xcel Center, Allianz Field, St. Paul Saints Field. Axman Surplus (on University Avenue)!!”

“Mickey’s Diner, the old Dairy Queen (at 1720 Lexington Ave.) in Roseville, the Cathedral, Robert Street bridge, the St. Paul Union Depot, the lighted 1st National Bank building,” Tom wrote. “What do I win? LOL.”

No prizes for nominations, Tom, but read on for when and where to purchase the game.

2025

Top Trumps USA, the American division of London-based Winning Moves International, has rolled out about 40 city-specific Monopoly games in the United States since 2020 as well as well-known regions like the Hamptons. There are also international editions, such as “Scotland.”

More recently, the Detroit edition of the game launched.

“We sold out in 48 hours,” Barney said. “By that, I mean our website. I think a lot of the local retailers sold out, too.”

Top Trumps USA will debut “Monopoly: St. Paul Edition” on June 18, 2025, under license from Hasbro.

Barney encourages the public to purchase the game locally; stay tuned for which stores will sell it (prices set by retailers may vary). The St. Paul edition of Monopoly will also be available for sale online at https://us.toptrumps.com/.

Until then, what are your nominations? Let us know at mguthrey@pioneerpress.com. See TwinCities.com as nominations are added.

Frederick Melo contributed to this report.