Monopoly Malta sold 5,000 copies in two weeks but when the 28-year-old mind behind it first asked to buy the rights of the popular board game, the response from abroad was "Where's Malta?"
Two years later her dream has been realised, and Sabrina Mulligan has unwittingly found herself in the spotlight as a fresh face in business, defined by her creativity, femininity and bubbly character.
"Keep it simple" is her advice to Maltese entrepreneurs, who she says tend to complicate things unnecessarily. She adds that in Malta there's too much of everything, so those in business need to come up with original ideas.
She came up with hers on a rainy day in Scotland, where people from different countries were playing the game, and she noticed the Maltese played the game very differently to everyone else.
"We play it with attitude. And that's when I thought we should have our version."
At first everyone told her it would be impossible to get the rights, that people would not buy it and that at this uncertain period it was a big financial risk.
They were all proved wrong. And Ms Mulligan knows why.
"The Maltese are patriotic. They love the game and they are curious. But most of all they like the idea of having something of their own."
2008 for her was a battle between being creative and developing into a business person. Undecided about which she prefers, she chose to be creative in business instead.
"I could have decided to create an original Maltese board game, and I would have probably enjoyed that more. But I thought it made more business sense to start with something established and adapt it instead."
She did not stop at adapting the much-loved board game into Maltese, but decided to be creative with its promotion.
One of her ideas was to have Monopoly Malta ambassadors - people from all walks of life who would be the faces of the advertising campaign, including Eileen Montesin, Chris Grech from Dhalia Real Estate, Scream Daisy, Ċensu Tabone and most recently, the Kavallieri rugby team. In this way, everyone could relate to a different person, instead of having one face to the campaign.
The next step is to launch the game in countries where there are many Maltese migrants and their families. The Monopoly Malta tour will start with New York, Canada and Australia.
"I think it will be easier to sell the game to people who don't live in Malta. They seem to be even more patriotic. It will give the children of emigrants a chance to discover their roots, too," she says with excitement.
Another interesting plan is one in collaboration with the Malta Tourism Authority: Visit the 22 localities of Monopoly Malta - a tour around Malta and Gozo for tourists, who will also be encouraged to buy the game as a memento of their trip."
At some point in their lives, most local Monopoly fans must have thought about the great idea of having a Maltese version, but it was only Ms Mulligan who took the initiative, and she will definitely be rewarded for it - with royalties expected to keep coming in throughout her lifetime.
With a background in television production, Ms Mulligan has already built a small group of companies and produced a number of successful television shows.
So what's her next plan?
Keeping her feet firmly on the ground she says her experience has humbled her. "It's just a board game" is her response to people who ask her whether she plans to continue building an empire. But she does realise that her brainwave will be hard to top, and she would rather concentrate on building on its great start than expanding further and letting it fade away.
Two years later her dream has been realised, and Sabrina Mulligan has unwittingly found herself in the spotlight as a fresh face in business, defined by her creativity, femininity and bubbly character.
"Keep it simple" is her advice to Maltese entrepreneurs, who she says tend to complicate things unnecessarily. She adds that in Malta there's too much of everything, so those in business need to come up with original ideas.
She came up with hers on a rainy day in Scotland, where people from different countries were playing the game, and she noticed the Maltese played the game very differently to everyone else.
"We play it with attitude. And that's when I thought we should have our version."
At first everyone told her it would be impossible to get the rights, that people would not buy it and that at this uncertain period it was a big financial risk.
They were all proved wrong. And Ms Mulligan knows why.
"The Maltese are patriotic. They love the game and they are curious. But most of all they like the idea of having something of their own."
2008 for her was a battle between being creative and developing into a business person. Undecided about which she prefers, she chose to be creative in business instead.
"I could have decided to create an original Maltese board game, and I would have probably enjoyed that more. But I thought it made more business sense to start with something established and adapt it instead."
She did not stop at adapting the much-loved board game into Maltese, but decided to be creative with its promotion.
One of her ideas was to have Monopoly Malta ambassadors - people from all walks of life who would be the faces of the advertising campaign, including Eileen Montesin, Chris Grech from Dhalia Real Estate, Scream Daisy, Ċensu Tabone and most recently, the Kavallieri rugby team. In this way, everyone could relate to a different person, instead of having one face to the campaign.
The next step is to launch the game in countries where there are many Maltese migrants and their families. The Monopoly Malta tour will start with New York, Canada and Australia.
"I think it will be easier to sell the game to people who don't live in Malta. They seem to be even more patriotic. It will give the children of emigrants a chance to discover their roots, too," she says with excitement.
Another interesting plan is one in collaboration with the Malta Tourism Authority: Visit the 22 localities of Monopoly Malta - a tour around Malta and Gozo for tourists, who will also be encouraged to buy the game as a memento of their trip."
At some point in their lives, most local Monopoly fans must have thought about the great idea of having a Maltese version, but it was only Ms Mulligan who took the initiative, and she will definitely be rewarded for it - with royalties expected to keep coming in throughout her lifetime.
With a background in television production, Ms Mulligan has already built a small group of companies and produced a number of successful television shows.
So what's her next plan?
Keeping her feet firmly on the ground she says her experience has humbled her. "It's just a board game" is her response to people who ask her whether she plans to continue building an empire. But she does realise that her brainwave will be hard to top, and she would rather concentrate on building on its great start than expanding further and letting it fade away.