SCRANTON, LACKAWANNA COUNTY (WBRE/WYOU) — A northeastern Pennsylvania museum that’s based on the life of a legendary magician is planning a new way to honor his memory. The museum is trying to launch something fun to bring into your home that pays homage to Harry Houdini.
 
The name Houdini is synonymous with magic. Now, the people who run the Houdini Museum in Scranton want you to associate that name with something else. They’ve  developed a board game called ‘Houdini Opoly’. It’s a real estate trading game based on Houdini’s life. Dick Brookz says he and museum co-operator Dorothy Dietrich came up with the idea about two years ago based on the museum’s popular tours. “We go through Houdini’s life in a circle from beginning to end. Well guess what, that’s how a board game works.”
 
Each game board property is a place significant to Houdini’s life ranging from his birthplace in Budapest, Hungary to his burial place in New York City — and major milestones in between. Two of the properties on the mock-up version of the board game pay tribute to Houdini’s connection to northeastern Pennsylvania. One is Welsh Brothers Circus where he found his most steady work in the 19th century. The other, the Houdini museum in Scranton.
 
To get ‘Houdini Opoly’ into your hands, Mr. Brookz and Ms. Dietrich launched a Kickstarter campaign to fund production of the board game. While the goal for game players is to accumulate as many Houdini properties as possible using game pieces, dice and deeds, Mr. Brookz says he and Ms. Dietrich are striving for something much more. “The goal of the game is to get Houdini in people’s houses around the world. The goal of the game is to create a collectible.”
 
And what would the great Houdini think of this biographical board game that promises “You Can’t Escape The Fun”? “I think he’d be all for it because he loved publicity,” said Mr. Brookz who added that the Kickstarter goal is to reach at least $8,000 to produce upwards of 1,000 editions of ‘Houdini Opoly’. Click below to learn more about the campaign.
www.kickstarter.com/projects/1726279887/houdini-opoly-fun-exciting-legend-and-magic-hero-b
www.houdini.org