Brazilian 'wins' Monopoly by running to all locations on London board game in record time

I’m sure we’ve all played Monopoly®, the iconic family game that has been on shelves and in households for many years. But this man didn’t just play the board game, he visited every single location on the London Monopoly® board in record-breaking time!

The fastest time to visit every location on the London Monopoly® board on foot is 1 hour 31 minutes and 14 seconds. Joabe Bayer Barbosa (Brazil) achieved the record in London, UK, on 27 February.

So, how did he manage it so quickly? We caught up with him to find out more about his record-breaking experience.

Joabe was born in Brazil but grew up in London before moving to the USA to study for a doctorate in psychology in Chicago, Illinois.

With his parents living between Brazil and the UK, Joabe remains very familiar with London, making the capital the perfect setting for a record attempt.

Joabe told us: “I like running and I like planning efficient routes. This record was like a video game because it's kind of like collecting different locations until you complete the game. 

“Navigation is one of my favourite things and being able to plan things such as which side of the road to run on, different London shortcuts, and memorizing the route was a fun part of the challenge.”

Growing up, Joabe played a lot of Monopoly with his family, but was never fond of his younger brother’s habit of cheating. 

He felt that achieving this title was a great way to prove to his brother that he was the true Monopoly winner! He said: “With this record, I was able to collect all the properties and not cheat while doing so, because GWR requires evidence that I 'collected' all the locations to be perfect.”

 

The attempt was not as simple as looking at the board and plotting a route, as there was plenty of planning involved. Joabe explained that many of the locations are quite spread across London, so he spent time looking at maps and figuring out where he could cut corners to save time.

To prove he had visited each location, Joabe had to take a picture at every checkpoint, so he looked for recognizable signs or landmarks to include as evidence.

With 28 locations to visit, Joabe decided not to visit them in order and worked out a quicker route. 

His route began at Old Kent Road before taking him to Fenchurch Station and then on to Whitechapel Road. He said: “I ran way too fast at the start because I was excited, and later this came back to bite me.”

He began his attempt at 7 a.m. on a Friday but feels he should’ve started earlier than this. “It was frustrating to have to wait for up to two or three minutes for cars at red lights; however, this was part of attempting a record in the city centre. The good thing was that I was able to partially recover from running during these red lights.”

After collecting some more locations, Joabe began running down the wrong road to get to Leicester Square but thankfully realized before it was too late.    

Another slight blip came when he reached Oxford Street but forgot to take a picture! Thankfully, he had only gone a couple of metres past the location, so he was able to turn around and snap a picture.

The previous record was held by Alex Radford (UK), who completed the route on 5 August 2018 with a time of 1 hour 45 minutes 35 seconds. Joabe was determined to beat this time, but there were several challenges to overcome along the way.

He had to ensure the picture at each location was of good enough quality and found that the humidity was making his camera steam up. On reflection, he said: “I should've gotten a chest strap to record the attempt, but I just used an unstable hand, so I was unable to use one arm to help me run.”

Joabe estimated that he managed to memorize about 95% of the entire route but did occasionally have to check his route to jog his memory. 

Joabe also had to coordinate with independent witnesses, who were waiting at the final location to verify his arrival and stop the stopwatch.

Another key challenge was staying aware of his surroundings while maintaining a steady pace: “This was one of the most important components, but I had so many other things to manage that it became the lowest priority at some points.”

Read about more record-breaking moments like this in our Adventure and Epic Journeys section.

When asked about his favourite location on the route, he said: “Mayfair is the most expensive place on the Monopoly board, and in real life it looks just as expensive as well - definitely a highlight of the run.”

Joabe added: “It was a great feeling to look at the clock and see the end time, but I could not feel my legs because of the running, nor my arms because of the filming! 

“Juggling all the things I mentioned previously made me very happy about getting a time of 1 hour 31 minutes and 14 seconds in what was close to a half-marathon distance running.”

Joabe is no stranger to breaking Guinness World Records titles!

On 31 January, in snowy Illinois, he set the record for the fastest half marathon wearing sliders (male) with a time of 1 hour 33 minutes.

Another running feat Joabe achieved was the fastest half marathon in a full-body inflatable costume, which he completed on 17 May in 1 hour 55 minutes 16 seconds.

Combining his love of running with his lifelong passion for football, Joabe also broke the record for the fastest half marathon dressed in a football/soccer kit with a time of 1 hour 40 minutes 22 seconds. On 21 September 2025, Joabe achieved the record wearing the kit of his childhood club, the English football club Enfield Town.

So he likes the half marathon distance, but what else? Joabe was part of the first (and only) successful attempt at the fastest time to travel to all Chicago subway stations. Alongside fellow runners James Barbosa (UK) and Matthew Plese (USA), the trio completed the journey in 8 hours 58 minutes 55 seconds on 10 November 2025.

So, with the average London Monopoly game lasting between one and three hours, there’s a good chance Joabe has run the real thing faster than you’ve played it!