Pass Go. Collect one world record.
Twenty-six people gathered at the Reitz Union on Wednesday morning to play MONOPOLY and helped UF go down in the record books one more time.
They participated in an attempt to set a Guinness World Record for the most people playing MONOPOLY simultaneously worldwide and made history in the process.
The event, hosted by the Public Relations Student Society of America, celebrated the release of the new "MONOPOLY Here and Now: The World Edition" and gave UF students the chance to come together to share a favorite pastime.
"This is just another way that UF is putting its mark on the world," said Christina Baez, treasurer for the group and organizer of the event. "We're not just doing this in sports, academics and partying. We're doing it in board games, too."
To be officially counted by Guinness, at least 25 people needed to play the game for an hour. UF just made the cut.
For Lindsay Dusi, an animal sciences junior, the event was an opportunity to play a game she enjoys, get free food and possibly add another dog game piece to her small collection.
She said she tries to take the little dog piece from every game of MONOPOLY she plays. So far, she's collected five, including a gold dog from a limited edition version of the game.
"I like MONOPOLY," Dusi said. "I'm a big kid at heart. I love board games."
She naturally chose the dog as her piece while playing Wednesday and received another dog for her collection after getting a free game of MONOPOLY at the event.
Eight games were set up for the players, which included the classic version of MONOPOLY and the new World Edition that uses debit cards instead of paper money and features 22 cities from around the world on the game board.
Robert Commerford, a nuclear engineering junior, had the chance to play the new edition of the game but said he wasn't impressed.
"It's very similar to the other game," he said. "There's not enough new about it to buy it."
He was more impressed with helping set a world record and said it's just one more way to get Gainesville in the record books.
The organization found out about the Guinness World Record attempt from its former treasurer, who now has a job with a public relations firm working with Hasbro, the makers of MONOPOLY, Baez said.
For helping Hasbro promote its new MONOPOLY product, the group received a donation for its organization, she said.
Baez said she was happy they succeeded in recruiting enough people to be included in the world record, but she was unsure of when Guinness would officially recognize the worldwide record attempt.
According to the Hasbro Web site, MONOPOLY world records are also held in the longest game played in a tree house, which lasted 286 hours, and the longest game played in a bathtub, which lasted 99 hours.
Now, 26 MONOPOLY enthusiasts from UF can join the record books as well.
