Masterpiece (game)
Masterpiece is a board game by Parker Brothers, now a brand of Hasbro. Players participate in auctions for famous works of art. It was designed by Joseph M. Burck of Marvin Glass and Associates and originally published in 1970 by Parker Brothers, and then published again in 1976 and 1996. The game is now out of print. In this game, players compete with other players to bid on potentially valuable paintings, and negotiate with other players to trade these works of art, build a portfolio, amass money, and win the game. The top value of a painting in  the 1970 edition is $1 million, and $10 million in the 1996 edition; however, getting the full value for the painting requires some luck in landing on the right square on the board to sell a painting to the bank. The game utilizes bluffing skills because the players possess asymmetrical information about the value of the paintings they possess. Some pictures are known to their owners to be 'forgeries' with an actual value of zero. These 'forgeries' can, however, be resold to other players or to the bank with the value hidden. Versions. Canadian Release (1970). Differs from  Original by: United Kingdom Release (1970). Made in the U.K. by Parker Games Division of Palitoy, Limited. In most aspects this is the same as the original U.S. release (1970) and it is stated on the box that the game contains 'Some Imported Components'. Differs from Original by: Release (1976). Differs from Original by: Release (1996). differs from Original by: Release (1987 ). 1987 American and European editions In 1987, an American edition was released with 8 character cards and a small blue card value card deck. New set of 24 art cards. The money pack is of a smaller different  design. The game board is a headshot painting of Vincent Van Gogh. In 1987, a European edition was released. The game board pictures a European Cavalier. Modern new design of money pack. New and different art card set. The value cards are badge size of 2 1/2 inches by 3 1/2 inches. Reception. Antony Brown, co-founder of Dice Maestro, called Masterpiece "A beautifully presented and fun game that itself is something of an old masterpiece." He noted, "Although luck plays a part in the game, players can win through shrewd buying and selling... A forgery may be sold back  to the bank for a profit or another player may buy it during a private auction. As the game is about wheeling and dealing it is enjoyable for most people and not just art lovers... It can even generate philosophical discussion. For example, why should a fake be worth so much less than the original?" In the January 1989 edition of "Games International" (Issue 2), Derek Carver criticized the lack of skill needed, since luck seemed to be the overwhelming deciding factor. He also pointed out that buying and selling via auction was often a money-losing proposition, and commented  that "you could quite easily play the game without buying any pictures at all and just going around collecting your $2 to $10 million handouts plus the odd free picture." He concluded by giving the game a very poor rating of only 1.5 out of 5. The 1970 and 1996 editions of Masterpiece held ratings of 4.5 out of 5 stars on Amazon.com as of late 2020.