Scuba Geek

Ever Played Monopoly whilst scuba diving? December 31, 2005

Posted by Andy Carroll in : Trivia, general , trackback

The answer is yes for a group of scuba diving students at Plainville High School writes Newsday.com

The game came with its own little problems which needed to be overcome

“It’s definitely harder because you can’t talk,” said Nichol Coggins, president of the school’s scuba club. “You never know what they’re thinking.”

Coggins and 10 members of the scuba club spent five hours Friday playing the world’s best-selling board game, while submerged in 12 feet of water in the school’s pool. The board was specially made out of plexiglas. Instead of playing with Monopoly’s paper money, students used painted washers to denote the different amounts of money. Also, the dice were custom-made out of brass and the property deeds were laminated and held down by binder clips.

“We kind of just came up with the idea and ran with it,” said Fusco, chairman of the school’s science department.

Students were split into five teams. Members of a team would take 30-minute turns playing at the bottom. To communicate, students had to learn hand signals to buy, sell, and trade property. Property names like Boardwalk and Park Place were replaced by different diving locations in the Caribbean and around New England. “Go to Jail” was replaced by “Go to the Recompression Chamber,” and “Free Parking” was changed to “Free Mooring.”

“It’s a confidence builder,” he said. “It’s training them to scuba dive safely.”