Every part of the game started with your nominations. This is how they became the finished game.
How the streets were chosen
Every road on the Formby Property Tycoon board was nominated by the community. Entrants made 287 property suggestions covering 93 different Formby roads, and the most-nominated roads earned their place on the board. Each road's position is based on property values, not popularity. We used HM Land Registry records of full-market-value house sales in Formby over the last ten years (483 sales, flats excluded), adjusted every sale to 2026 values using the Nationwide House Price Index for the North West, and ranked each road by its median price, so that a single unusually large or extended home can't distort a road's value. Cropton Road received 31 nominations, more than double any other road, and carries a "Most Nominated" badge. Final selection and placement of all squares was made by the judging panel at Stephanie Macnab Estate Agents, and the panel's decision is final. Board positions follow the classic game format of prices rising around the board and are calculated solely from historic sale prices. They are not a valuation or current assessment of any road or property, and no judgement on any road, home or resident is intended.
How the name was chosen
The name came from the community too. Entrants put forward dozens of suggestions. Several of the most popular were built on the Monopoly name, but Monopoly is a registered trade mark of Hasbro and this is an independent community game, so those names couldn't be used. Formby Property Tycoon was the most popular suggestion that could. Formby Property Tycoon says exactly what the game is: Formby's own streets, landmarks and characters, and the chance to become the town's biggest property owner. Congratulations to Lucy A., drawn at random from everyone who suggested it. As with every square on the board, the final decision was made by the judging panel at Stephanie Macnab Estate Agents, and the panel's decision is final.
How the design was chosen
Entrants voted between three design concepts. The Community Edition won with 71% of 229 votes: bright, colourful, traditional board-game styling with local Formby photography, built to be the game everyone wants on their shelf.
The stations and utilities
Formby and Freshfield stations were on the board from the start: you can't have a Formby game without them. The other four squares went to the special places the community nominated most. Formby Beach (21 nominations) and the Pinewoods & Red Squirrels (21) take the remaining stations. The pinewoods and the red squirrel reserve were nominated separately, but they're one and the same place, so they share a square. Formby Pool (16) becomes the Water Works, and Duke Street Park (9) takes the Electric Company. As with every square, the final decision rests with the judging panel at Stephanie Macnab Estate Agents.
The corners
No one nominated names for the four corners, so we took our lead from what you told us everywhere else. GO stays GO. It's the one square every player knows, and it's where your property journey starts, with Stephanie Macnab Estate Agents. Several entrants wrote cards about waiting at the barriers, so Formby's jail had to be the level crossing: land there and you're *Stuck at the Level Crossing*, or if you're only passing, you *Just made it*. Go to Jail becomes *Barriers Down!* And with around twenty entries about the joys of parking in Formby, Free Parking could only be one thing: *Found a Space!* As with every square, the final decision rests with the judging panel at Stephanie Macnab Estate Agents.
The cards and the tax squares
You sent us more than 170 ideas for Chance and Community Chest cards, and every card in the game started life as one of them. We trimmed them for length and fairness, and where the same joke came in fifteen times (yes, the sinkholes), we kept the best one. The decks carry the names you voted for: Formby Fortunes and Community Spirit. Our sponsors, who helped make the game possible, each appear on a Formby Fortunes card as a thank-you. Nobody nominated anything for the tax squares, so we kept them close to home: Sefton Council Tax and Golf Club Membership, a nod to what Formby is famous for. As with every square, the final decision rests with the judging panel at Stephanie Macnab Estate Agents.
Our sponsors on the board
The local businesses who sponsored the game each have their logo on a square, spread evenly around the board. Where a sponsor is based on one of the roads on the board, we put them there, or as close to home as we could. Some roads are home to several sponsors, so a few moved to a station or a nearby square. No logo changes a square's name or its price, and the corners, cards and tax squares are kept clear. Formby Pool Trust and Formby Bubble, our community partners, sit at the centre of the board beside the card decks. As with every square, the final decision rests with the judging panel at Stephanie Macnab Estate Agents.