Max and Gwyneth Pisa are quite the young entrepreneurs. You may have seen them selling lemonade and popsicles at Fort Sewall in the summer. They’re always looking for new business opportunities and ways to raise money for good causes.
“It’s fun being on your own and making money,” said Max, 12. “This summer my friend and I made $200 in one day for the Park on Elm.”
The kids also love playing board games — along with their mom, Kelly, and dad, Renzo. Max’s favorite is Monopoly.
“It’s fun to control and try to win,” he said. “It’s easy to learn, and you can play it over and over without getting bored. It’s always different.”
One day, Kelly found an old Marbleheadopoly game at the Magic Hat Thrift Shop and brought it home.
Instead of Park Place and Boardwalk, Marbleheadopoly, produced in 1995 by the Friends of Marblehead Public Schools, features landmarks like Chet’s Video, Eaton’s, EnergyWorks, King’s Rook, Spirit of ’76 Bookstore, Betsy’s, Super Sub, Marblehead Munchies, J. and S. Brandi’s, Chocolate by Design and Penny’s.
The game included some places that are still around, like Arnould’s Gallery & Framery and Marblehead (Savings) Bank.
After playing the game about 20 times, Max and Gwenyth, 11, had an idea: What if they created a modern-day Marbleheadopoly game and sold spaces to new advertisers? Their dad, who is from Florida, did the same thing when he was their age growing up in Key Biscayne, and they still have that game.
The siblings, who are students at Tower School, created a business plan with pricing. There are 40 property spaces on the board and other branding opportunities. Prices range from $1,000 for hot properties to $250 for a “Fate card.”
Then they used Canva to design a sales presentation and business cards.
They’ve started reaching out to local businesses, and three have already signed up to be featured in the new game: Arnould Gallery and Maddie’s (who also appeared in the 1995 version) and Old Town Antiques.
The advertising money will cover the cost of producing the games. Then, all game sales will be “pure profit,” Max said. The Pisas plan to donate some of the proceeds to the Marblehead Food Pantry.
They’ll be soliciting game ads through March and then hope to sell the finished product at the Marblehead Arts Festival in July.
Anyone interested in learning more or buying an ad can contact marbleheadopoly@gmail.com.
Editor Leigh Blander is an experienced TV, radio and print journalist.
