Carol Jackson and her husband, Ron Liebelt, were in Deephaven. Her sister Vicki Heavirland and her husband, Bob, were in North Branch, Minn. Her brother James Schlafer and his wife, Diana, were in the Uptown area of Minneapolis. And another brother, Paul Schlafer, and his wife, Dianne, were in Tennessee.
But that didn't stop family game night.
On a recent Friday night, the four households in far-flung locations, each with a Monopoly board in front of them, logged onto Facebook Messenger for two hours of camaraderie and one raucous episode of the fast-dealing board game.
With almost everyone hunkered down at home, Jackson came up with the creative idea to keep the family in touch.
"We figured out a way to spend time together," she said. "After losing two brothers within 18 months of each other, we realize just how important staying connected is."
They settled on Monopoly because it was a game that all of the siblings owned. And as Jackson said, "there are only a few games that work long-distance. Cards don't work because you can't see them."
As the siblings rolled their dice and announced their moves, brother Bob ran the master board. He moved slips of paper with each player's name on it to mark their positions as each player moved their game pieces on their individual boards.
Players controlled their own money as they bought and sold property and paid rent, with their phones and computers positioned so everyone could watch.
