July’s Treasure of the Month is “Galveston on Board,” a limited edition real estate trading game for 2-6 players, ages 8 to adult. The game was produced in 2006 by Help on Board Fundraising Solutions and distributed by the Galveston Bay Foundation. All proceeds from the sales directly benefited the foundation.
Gameplay
“Galveston on Board” borrows from the classic Monopoly game but replaces the property squares with iconic Galveston properties, businesses, and organizations, including Rosenberg Library. The bank tray is Moody National Bank. The Chance and Community Chest cards are replaced by Harborwalk Development Co. Ltd. and Pointe West cards, and the Jail is replaced by Palm M&M. Instead of railroads, there are four Sunset Cove spaces, and instead of utilities there are spaces for University of Texas Medical Branch and Shelmark Engineering. The game’s rules are designed to look like an issue of the Galveston County Daily News, and the player tokens are all Galveston-themed: the Moody Gardens pyramid, Moody Mansion, a sailboat, a trolley car, a kayak, and a steamboat.
The rules of the game are very similar to Monopoly, with a few differences:
There is also a “short version” of the game where each player receives four random deeds at the beginning of the game, and the game ends after one hour of playtime.
Game Production
Production costs for the game were covered by sponsorships from local businesses. Property squares on the board were worth between $1,000 to $4,000 each. Larger sponsors, like Sunset Cove and Moody National Bank, spent up to $14,000 for more advertising.
Help on Board covered the game design and production, while Galveston Bay Foundation sold the property squares and marketed the game. The entire process took about one year. The game retailed at $34.99 and was sold at several local businesses as well as on Galveston.com. Only about 3,500 copies were made.
Help on Board & Galveston Bay Foundation
Help on Board Fundraising Solutions was a Canadian-based company that provided creative products and services for nonprofit organizations to raise money. Between 2001 and 2009, Help on Board produced a series of board games featuring specific North American cities, states, and provinces, such as “Salt Lake City on Board,” “Colorado on Board,” and “Prince Edward Island on Board.” The company is no longer in business.
Galveston Bay Foundation, founded in 1987, is a nonprofit organization dedicated to preserving and enhancing Galveston Bay through education, advocacy, restoration, conservation, and protection.
Special thanks to Bob Stokes, President of Galveston Bay Foundation, for contributing to this Treasure of the Month.
The Treasure of the Month is located on the library’s historic second floor near the East Entrance. It can be viewed during regular library hours: Monday, Friday, & Saturday, 9:00 am–6:00 pm, and Tuesday–Thursday, 9:00 am–8:00 pm. For museum questions, call 409.763.8854 Ext. 125 or email museum@rosenberg-library.org. For press inquiries, contact the Communications Coordinator.
