Monday, 16 July 2007

Bansturbation, Banticipation and now Banopoly!

Tim Worstall points out a new parlour game - Banticipation - where people predict what will be banned next. This evolved from the term Bansturbation, (Nation of Shopkeepers) which is about the mastabatory glee people have over banning things and watching people get caught or frustrated over the banning.

I have a few suggestions on what might be banned:

Banning councillors voting on something they care about? No, done.

Banning habeas corpus? Almost

Banning England? Almost

Banning protests by MEPs about EU corruption? Done it.

Grief! This is like being Dr Evil coming out of Cryogenic Stasis and trying to hatch an e-vil plot to get $1m, er, no $1bln in extortion.

However...

How about "Banopoly", a game where you have local authorities, not streets, Government Departments, not Utilities. Railways remain (ha). You build Quangos, not properties, in the authorities you own (I am not kidding) and fine people who land, not charging rent.

"Community Chest" will have a card - "Get out of Jail Free due to overcrowding".

Er, no. I did think it would be made, but you never know, it could breed a whole new generation of numbnut bansturbating Statists.

5 comments:

Mark Wadsworth said...

Banopoly would be enormous fun.

Every single Chance card could be a fine, a penalty or a stealth tax.

Every Community Chest card could be things like "Deputy PM demands that you demolish half your houses for no particular reason".

Before you can build houses or hotels you have to submit an 80 page planning application and wait six turns.

When you buy properties you have to pay £500 for a HiP.

And instead of "Jail" we could have "90 day detention" and so on.

Roger Thornhill said...

Mark - yes it would be fun and I do think there is enormous scope for a rip-off as long as we make it clear that it attacks and exposes the State, only the criminally Statist would not get the message and they are pretty much beyond hope anyway!

Mark Wadsworth said...

(Unfortunately, Parker Brothers take a dim view of spoof versions of Monopoly, I believe that the inventors of Anti-Monopoly got into all sorts of trouble)

But just imagine the tears rolling down your kids faces when all their assets are frozen because of a suspicion of money laundering!

The tantrums when you enforce all the petty and pointless regulations!

And the rage inducing moment when somebody trumps a really spiteful Community Chest card with his own "Labour donor" card.

Priceless.

Roger Thornhill said...

...or you have to wait an indefinite number of turns because you have been held indefinitely on suspicion of terrorism...unless someone can divvy up a "habeas corpus" card.

Mark Wadsworth said...

The Banopoly idea is in fact so good that the rules just seem to be writing themselves!

... of course to make it even more pointless, when you pass "Go" the amount of money you get could be means tested.

Roger, go for it! (just watch out for copyright infringements law suit from Parker Bros)