Re-inventing old games

All of your questions can best be answered if you just study this industry that you're getting yourself into. While board gaming has a low barrier of entry, it also means that the competition for print is extremely high.

But to answer your questions:

-What does old game mean to you? A recent game, Five Tribes, easily has its roots in Mancala, but taken to a level not seen before. But many people may argue that deck building is an old concept and people are making new iterations using that engine all the time. The new Star Wars Imperial Assault plays like chess in a lot of ways...square grid board, specialized characters, player elimination...all there. If you look, there are many games that have threads of older games.

-Getting a game in front of Hasbro first requires that you know someone that can deal with that. Hasbro had a contest last year that apparently was really competitive. You'll either have to make the connections yourself through convention visits, or blind contact them somehow (which is certainly possible). Be warned, you better be on your game because first impressions are strong and I haven't seen anyone try and create a Monopoly clone that has actual widespread appeal.

-Borrowing from other games is something that other industries don't share. It's the expression of those ideas that make the copyright, not the mechanics themselves.

However, going through a publisher is a wise idea...especially when you haven't created a game before. A publisher will literally take care of you though the process. Unfortunately, big publishers are looking for the next big thing, so if you're looking to do a Monopoly variant with hotels, stations, chance cards, etc. then you might as well stay at home. In addition, your work will have to stick out from all the other people that want to try and make a board game.

I'm not trying to shoot you down, but this is an industry; know this industry you're looking to get into. There are trends, fads, unique ideas, timing, and a lot of work. It's like me trying to knock on Capitol Records saying I got the next big song, but it sounds a lot like Queen's Bohemian Rhapsody. They'd laugh me out of the building.

I made a blog recently about this here: http://www.bgdf.com/blog/do-your-research

There are a bunch of city building games out there, so a game which takes many of the concepts present in Monopoly (buying property, managing those properties, improving them, dealing with other players' properties) can be very much original and very successful.

In regards to Hasbro (or any large toy manufacturer), you will have no luck cold-calling them. They have a stringent process in place which only deals with established inventors who have access to their network. I know because I'm fortunate enough to be one of them. They will also be very wary of any game which plays with any similarity to Monopoly, that is not intended to be a Monopoly extension. At the very best, they'd look to turn your game into a twist on Monopoly, which as far as royalty revenue would not at all be a bad thing!

For their Monopoly extensions, they need to see something uniquely different, a hook which transforms how people play Monopoly in an exciting new way. This is typically rooted in some product add-on; for instance the new version of Monopoly gets rid of the paper money and deals with all transactions through RFID "bank cards" and a reader. Touch your card to the reader and it instantly deducts money for buying properties, taking rent, etc. Exact same game, but they took the constant mechanics of dealing with money and automated it in a new and fun way.

This may well have come from an inventor, as opposed to their Monopoly Empire game, which was an exercise in licensing (you're buying famous brands like XBOX instead of properties). You could propose such an extension, but unlikely it would be seen as an "invention."

I'd say forget about Hasbro until you have a great (and unique) game. Don't try and fit it into their brands, as that really only gives you the one shot at placing your game. While toy companies are very careful about who they let show them products, board game companies are much more open. It's actually a big part of why I myself have been focusing on board games for the past few years; this industry is so open and welcoming and supportive, it's just a great industry to be in if you've got the skill, dedication and passion.

I'd be happy to take a look at your game if you'd care to share it; I'm sure you'll get a ton of useful input from this community.