Mazda Australia once commissioned a Mazda themed Monopoly set

Coming across one for sale is difficult, considering these Mazda-themed ones were promotional only.

Scrolling through Facebook and I came across an ad for a Mazda-themed Monopoly board game sold by an online JDM parts store based in Australia. Priced at 208 AUD (or about $203) it’s 20x more expensive than a regular Monopoly set.

Check out the post below.

“A very rare Mazda ‘Monopoly’ board game” the ad says. “Released as a not-for-sale Australian promotional item back in 2016, and this unopened copy is still sealed in the original shrink wrap.”

Although there are few details about this particular set online, board game enthusiasts like the “Board Game Night” YouTube channel managed to source one and reviewed it for us.

Check out their video below.

As the video explains, as far as how heavily themed a Monopoly set it, this Mazda themed one is on the lighter side. The monopoly money is the same as regular monopoly except for a Mazda logo, the community chest cards are car-themed with a Mazda twist, and the property places on the board draw heavily from Mazda’s historical lineup and race history.

Places on the board are as follows:

Gameplay, actual silver-colored gameplay pieces, dice, and instructional booklet are relatively unchanged.

Why is there a Mazda themed Monopoly board game in the first place?

As this is a promotional item licensed by Hasbro, this Mazda Monopoly game was not readily available to the public. If it ever was, you had to go to a Mazda dealership to buy one. More than likely, it was gift for employees of Mazda Australia and members of their network of dealerships.

If it was available in 2016, considering Mazda first started business in Australia in 1959, 57 years in business probably wasn’t the reason Mazda Australia commissioned this game.

2015-2017, however, was one of the strongest periods of sales for Mazda in Australia with over 114,000 Mazdas sold each year.

Historically, Mazda has enjoyed record growth and favor in Australia, delivering record sales despite there being more than 40 other brands fighting over about a million sales a year.

Australians and Mazda’s product lineup of affordable and reliable cars, trucks, and SUVs meshed so well together that Mazda saw record growth in the mid-2000s.

Mazda continues to be one of the most popular makes when it comes to annual sales, often second, only to Japan’s other car juggernaut, Toyota.

My guess is one of Mazda Australia’s higher ups was feeling particularly generous seeing Mazda’s overall sales as a sign of the company’s success, and commissioned a Mazda Monopoly board game to commemorate yet another year of sales success.

If you’re a fan of Mazda, this Monopoly set is a must-have.

Otherwise, you’re not missing out on anything particularly special.