Trump: The Game
Box cover for the 2004 version
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| Publisher(s) |
Milton Bradley Company (1989 version) Parker Brothers (2004 version) |
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| Publication date | May 1989 July 2004 |
| Language(s) | English |
| Players | 3–4 |
Trump: The Game is a board game named after American businessman and President Donald Trump. Milton Bradley Company initially released the game in 1989, although it sold poorly, with only 800,000 copies sold out of an expected two million. Following the success of Trump's 2004 reality television series, The Apprentice, Parker Brothers re-released Trump: The Game later that year.
Donald Trump received offers from four toy companies that were interested in releasing a Trump-branded game. Trump chose Milton Bradley Company, which he called "the Rolls-Royce of game companies."Parker Brothers declined an offer to produce the game. Jeffrey Breslow pitched the game to Trump in his office at Trump Tower in New York. As Breslow explained the concept, Trump interrupted to say, "I like it — what's next?" After negotiations,Trump: The Game was unveiled during an event on February 7, 1989.
Trump said at the event that his undisclosed percentage of the game's revenue would be donated to charities that benefited cerebral palsy and AIDS research, as well as help for homeless people. Milton Bradley executives, who had worked with Trump for more than a year on the game, were surprised as they had not been aware of Trump's charitable intentions. The game was patterned after Monopoly, and based on Trump's career and his 1987 book, The Art of the Deal. Trump, who received input in developing the game with Milton Bradley game specialists, said, "I didn't want a game based solely on chance. I wanted a game based on talent. And I wanted to teach people if they have business instincts. It's great if they can learn that from a game instead of having to go out and lose your shirt." Trump also said, "I really like the game. It's much more sophisticated than Monopoly, which I've played all my life." George Ditomassi, the president of Milton Bradley at the time, declined to specify how much money the company paid Trump to name the game after him, although Ditomassi estimated that the game's donated proceeds would total $20 million.
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