“A few weeks ago you ran an article about the board from the ‘Game of Astoria,'” Rosemary Johnson, Astoria planning consultant, wrote. “I just found my unused game.”

“It was a fundraiser for the Astoria Downtown Historic District Association,” she explained. “The game was then sold to raise money. There were only a limited number printed.”

These civic board games were the brainchild of Michael Glenn Productions in Romulus, Michigan, in the 1980s. He was prohibited from using the word “Monopoly,” especially since the game was a direct knockoff, so he called it “Wheeler-Dealer” (bit.ly/LATastgame).

As complicated as Monopoly, there were four levels of play. Instead of a jail space on the board, where the player got stuck for two turns, the spot was called “School.” Rosemary sent photos, which can be seen at bit.ly/AstoriaGame

Among the many companies mentioned in “Wheeler-Dealer: The Game of Astoria” are Bee-Line Roofing Co., Hauer’s Cyclery, Erickson Floral Co., Labor Temple Cafe & Bar and Loop-Jacobsen Inc. Jewelers.

“You could buy a (game) property as advertising,” Rosemary added, “and smaller donations toward production of the game became ‘Notable Citizens.’ I was part of the original game, and am listed as ‘Curt and Rosemary Johnson.'”