Last week, eight high school students in Plainville High School's scuba diving club played a rousing game of underwater Monopoly in their pool's deep end. Evidently, this is something of a tradition, as they also played the game last year. Using noises, eye contact, and hand signals to indicate business dealings, the students used a board fashioned from plexiglass, and used metal washers in lieu of paper money. Other fun changes in the game included:

• The jail spot on the board was renamed the recompression chamber.
• Instead of real estate parcels, the board's four sides featured dive spots, ranging from less desirable (the cold waters off Connecticut), to more desirable (the warm waters of the Caribbean).
• Participants were divided into teams of two, and the players spent half an hour underwater before being relieved by their teammates.

If I were in charge of re-designing the game, I'd rename Community Chest as Treasure Chest; re-label the Go space as the Dive Boat; and call Free Parking the Hang Bar.

I think this would be a fun way to raise money for ocean conservation. People could buy into the game, and the winner could donate their winnings to the cause of their choice.