Life-size Monopoly is coming to Charlotte

• The Monopoly experience, which comes from London, will build on the success of "Space Explorers: The Infinite," a virtual reality adventure that ran in fall 2024, and "Become Ocean," a Charlotte Symphony performance.

What to expect: This isn't the slow-paced board game you're used to. The life-size version of Monopoly is a fast-paced competition, clocking in at 60 minutes.

• Players must complete escape room-style challenges, solve puzzles and collect properties before time runs out.
• They'll navigate familiar properties like the Boardwalk, Park Place and Water Works while dodging the "Go to Jail" trap.

What they're saying: Tom Gabbard, CEO of Blumenthal Performing Arts, says the game is designed to uplift people: "Nobody leaves feeling beaten down. They really feel a great sense of community."

• Each board accommodates four teams of six people. Four different games will go on simultaneously at the venue.
• Monopoly Lifesized targets all ages and types of groups, from family outings to date nights to corporate teams. People can come solo but are encouraged to organize a group.
• "It'll be a great opportunity for corporate team building and companies that have been struggling to reestablish camaraderie among their folks," Gabbard says.

Monopoly Lifesized will be a theatrical experience, too. Blumenthal is hiring about 30 actors from the improv community as game hosts.

• At the "Top Hat Lounge," people can find Monopoly-themed drinks at the bar, snacks and a collection of board games. Players can take their drinks onto the game board.
• Play More Charlotte is curating events and activities during Monopoly Lifesized's run, including game nights and sing-alongs.
• People won't need a ticket to enjoy the hangout spaces, activities and lounge.

Zoom out: Monopoly Lifesized is an attraction in London that opened in 2021. Last year, the game made its North American debut in Denver, where it was extended for 6 months due to popular demand.

• To date, about half a million people have played.
• Charlotte is the second U.S. city where Monopoly Lifesized is coming.

Blume Studios, a 32,000-square-foot venue, aims to bring experiences to Charlotte you can't find anywhere else in the region or even the country. Gabbard says Monopoly Lifesized "checked that box of offering something totally unique."

• Last year, Blumenthal transformed the ​​old Charlotte Pipe and Foundry warehouse into this space for immersive arts.
• The venue was dreamed up as Charlotte saw the success of the Immersive Van Gogh exhibit in 2021, held at a temporary space in Camp North End.
• Gabbard says the Blumenthal team was blown away by how much people enjoyed the space during "The Infinite." The experience earned a net promoter score of 88. The only other event that tested at that level was "Hamilton."
• "The producers of that show said that they've never had a city in the world that sustained that high level for the length of the run," Gabbard says. "That told us that people loved being out there."

Fun fact: 2025 marks 90 years of Monopoly.

If you go: Tickets to Monopoly Lifesized start at $39.99 and will go on sale this Friday, April 11 at 10am. Discounts are available on purchases of four tickets or more.

• The experience, first announced to run until July 27, has been extended through Sept. 21.

Stop by: Blume Studios is located at 904 Post St.

Editor's note: This story was originally published on April 7, 2025 and was updated on June 23 to reflect the experience's extension in Charlotte.