Monopoly can bring out passion in the most passive of players. A game may drag on for hours, cause plenty of family feuds and rouse some serious suspicions of foul play from whoever is the banker (usually caught funnelling extra money into their own pile) but, boy do we love it. And when do we love it the most? Well, it has to be Christmas of course.

Over the festive period there’s nothing better than sitting around with a glass of wine and a board game, preferably with a box of Celebrations close to hand. So, the news that a live action immersive version of Monopoly is coming to London next year couldn’t have come at a better time, when our excitement levels are already at an all-time high.

Hasbro Inc., which created the board game, is teaming up with production company Selladoor Worldwide on the immersive version.

The details are currently under lock and key, but we do know that the experience will last 75 minutes at a secret location and see teams face a plethora of challenges while making their way around the Monopoly board, buying property as they go. Its first stop will be London, which is fitting seeing as that’s where the game is based, but if it’s received well it will be expanding across the UK.

David Hutchinson, CEO of Selladoor Worldwide production, described how immersive experiences are continuing to grow in popularity, saying: “[We] are moving in a very exciting direction with demand from a new generation of theatre goers looking to experience live theatre differently, and to be immersed in the narrative a different way.”

He added: “We’ve been working for over a year with Hasbro on this exciting partnership, developing our concept and vision to bring one of the world’s biggest board game brands to life in this thrilling experiential theatre landscape.”

No official date has been released yet, so in the meantime we’ll just have to do battle over our old-school Monopoly board at Christmas.

Images: Getty