Ed loaded up the garbage bag.  "Thanks for helping me clean my room, guys!"

"Why, of course, Ed – that's what friends are for!"  Decked out in full protective gear, Edd was gingerly plucking the less slimy objects out of Ed's closet and giving them a thorough scrubbing.  "I'll admit this isn't exactly my ideal way of spending a morning, but it's always a pleasure to help a friend in need!"

"Speak for yourself, Sock-head."  Eddy grumbled as he pulled crusty dishes, moldy socks, and less identifiable objects out from under Ed's bed.  He snatched his hand back as he thought he saw watery yellow eyes glaring back at him.  "Let's just get this over with so we can get back to setting up Tokyo Eddy's House of Sushi and Karaoke Bar!"

"As irresistible as an afternoon of food poisoning and horrifically mangled pop music no doubt is to the average cul-de-sac resident, I'm sure our throngs of potential customers can wait the few more hours it'll take us to bring some semblance of order to this pit of putrescence, Eddy."  Edd donned his gas mask and disappeared in a cloud of Lysol.

"Do you really think my room is a pit, Double-D?"  Covered in sticky debris, Ed squirmed out from beneath his chair cushion and ran over, arms wide.  "That is the nicest thing anyone has ever said to me!"

"Stay back, Ed!"  Edd retreated from the approaching Ed.  "Don't you touch me with those filth-ridden hands!  Even rubber gloves and plastic coveralls have their limits, you know!"  He blinked anxiously as he suddenly found himself unable to move.  "Oh my."  He reached down to tug at his foot, but to no avail.  "Ed, it appears that I'm stuck to your floor yet again!"

"No problem, Double-D!"  Ed skipped over and grabbed hold of his friend's wrists.  "Nice and soft like spring fresh towels!"  With that, he proceeded to yank Edd's arms out of their sockets.

"Ed – ow! – stop!  It's not – eagh! – working!"  Edd managed to pull his arms back before he lost them completely.

Eddy snickered.  "Guess you'll just have to stay put, Double-D!  I'm sure you'll blend right in after a few weeks of standing there!  Whaddya say, Ed?"

"Oh, no, Eddy, my mom won't let me keep pets ever since the badger incident!"  He pounded on his head in an effort to kick-start his brain.  "Ding-dong!"  Running over to a pile of clothes on the floor, he rummaged around and finally pulled out a dingy red pair of underwear.  He returned to Edd and pressed them into his hands.  "Special delivery!"

"Really, Ed, I don't see how your Christmas underwear is going to help matters."  Edd held them out at arm's length.  "Perhaps if you or Eddy could go retrieve some acetone from my garage we could…um, Ed?"

Ed had backed up to the other end of the room and now was bent over, his index fingers held to his temples like horns.  He snorted and scuffed a foot along the floor.

Edd dropped the underwear and pulled at his legs in a panic.  "Stop, wait, don't Ed!"  He tried to run but was stuck fast.  "Eddy, make him stop!!" 

"Oh gee, stop, Ed," Eddy mumbled behind his hand.  He shrugged.  "Sorry, Double-D, I tried!"  He leaned back to watch the show.

"A-OO-ga!"  Ed charged.  He plowed into Edd at full-tilt, knocking him out of his galoshes and deep into the recesses of the closet behind him.  Ed straightened up and laughed.  "Just like a bull at a Tupperware party!"

"You're a laugh a minute, Lumpy!"  Wiping tears of amusement from his eyes, Eddy came over to peer into the closet.  Far off in the back, Edd's legs could be seen, hanging limply over the edge of a battered cardboard box.

"Curse over-exuberant friends."  Edd sat up groggily and spat something out into his hand.  As his vision refocused, he realized it was a pair of dice.  He flung them away in horror and dug frantically through his pockets.  "Who knows where those gaming cubes might have been!"  Pulling out a bottle of mouthwash, he gargled vigorously.

"Dice?"  Eddy plucked them out of the air as they flew past.  He looked again at the box Edd was sitting in.  "What's in that box, Double-D?  Cards?  Poker chips?  A roulette wheel?"  His eyes took on a familiar gleam.  "Forget Tokyo Eddy's, boys, we've got the makings of Ed's Grand Casino!"

"The cul-de-sac's not zoned for gambling, Eddy – and might I point out that we're not yet of legal gambling age?"  Nonetheless, Edd looked down to see what else was in the box with him.  "At any rate, I'm afraid the paraphernalia you require isn't in here."  He held up a flat, rectangular carton.  "Why, it appears this box is full of…board games!"

"My board games!"  Ed scooped up the entire box and carried it into his room.  He upended it, sending Edd crashing to the floor along with countless games.  "Thanks, Double-D, I forgot where I put these!"

"Don't…mention it, Ed."  Edd clambered up from beneath a pile of games.  He looked around.  "But aren't we supposed to be cleaning your room, not adding ever more fuel to the raging chaos swarming around us at every turn?"

"Sock-head's right, Ed, we're never gonna get finished if you keep throwing more stuff around!"  Eddy picked up one of the games.  "Now hurry up and put this junk back so we can get going!"

Ed sniffled.  "But guys, these are so much fun!"  He hugged a board game to himself.  "Can't we play one?  Pleeease?  Just one, oh please!"

Eddy wasn't listening.  A sticker on the box he was holding had grabbed his attention.  "Five dollars?  That's how much this game cost?"  He picked up another one.  "Eight dollars?!"  He rubbed his hands together.  "Brace yourselves, boys, I've just had my greatest idea ever!  We'll – "

" – create our own board game and sell it to the unsuspecting masses for a substantial amount of money."  Edd looked upwards.  "You're so predictable, Eddy."

Eddy paused, a bit crestfallen.  "Uh, yeah."  He glared at Edd.  "You know I hate it when you steal my thunder."

"Far be it from me to appropriate anything so frail and insubstantial."  Edd moved on before Eddy could work out what he'd said.  "But Eddy, we don't know the first thing about providing an engaging game experience!  Designing a unique and compelling game is surely not as straightforward as you seem to imagine!"

"So work harder, Double-Dismal, that's what you're here for!  Geez, do I gotta tell you how to do everything?"  He grabbed Edd's shirt collar in one hand and the back of Ed's jacket in the other, and began running for the stairs.  He didn't make it far, however, as Ed refused to budge.  "Ed!  Get the lead out!"

Ed sat forlornly on the ground, still sniffing.  "But guys, I want to play a game!"

"Forget it, Ed, we've got work to do!  You can play our game, once we're finished making it!"

Edd tugged his shirt out of Eddy's fist.  "You know, Eddy, we could take this opportunity to conduct a little research in order to identify the elements that comprise a successful game!  Why, basing our game upon sound principles of entertainment design could increase our potential for profit exponentially!"

"Board games good for Ed!"  Tears were gushing from Ed's eyes like a fountain.

"Okay, all right, fine!"  Eddy thrust his hands in his pockets and sulked.  "We can play a stupid game, Ed."  He glared at Edd.  "But after all this 'research,' I'm upping the price of our game to ten bucks a pop – and I'd better sell every last one!"  He turned back towards Ed.  "Pick something, Monobrow, and let's get this over with."

"How about this one, guys?"  Ed pulled a game out of the pile and shook it.  "It's my favorite!"

"I'm afraid to look…"  Edd blinked in surprise.  "Monopoly?  That's your favorite game, Ed?"

"Sure is, Double-D!  I used to play it all the time!"  He sat down on the floor and happily started setting up the game.

"Monopoly!  I love that game!"  Eddy plopped himself down next to the money tray.  Scooping up a fistful of the multi-colored paper bills, he held them up to his nose and breathed deep.  "Ahh – there's nothing like the sweet smell of cash!"

"You do realize those aren't real, don't you?"

Eddy took another whiff.  "Yeah, but I can dream, can't I?"

"If it makes you happy…"  Edd rolled his eyes.  Pulling a towel out of his pocket, he placed it carefully on the ground and sat down.  "I suppose we should pick our tokens…"  He reached towards the thimble, but Ed's hand clamped down over his own.

"That one is mine, Double-D!"  Ed glared at him and snatched the thimble.

"V-very well, then…I'll be the iron."  He glanced at Ed to make sure this choice met with his approval, but Ed was happily toying with the thimble and hadn't heard him.

"Hmph, it suits you, Sock-head."  Eddy made a grab for the sports car.  "Now this is a piece for an up-and-coming millionaire!"

"Eddy!"  Ed seized the car.  "The car is mine!"

"But you said – "

"Car for Ed!"  Ed raced the car and the thimble around the board.  "Vroom, vroom!"

Edd sighed.  "I'm beginning to suspect that Ed plays a rather unconventional style of Monopoly."

"Yeah, well, he's not playing it with my car!"  Eddy grabbed at the car, but Ed refused to let go.  Eddy pulled.  "Gimme that, Ed!  You've already got the thimble!"

"But Eddy, I need the car to drive the shoe around in!"  Still clutching the car, Ed picked up the shoe piece as well.  He started setting up houses and hotels in wobbly rows.  "Brain-Sucking Loafer Men always invade in their silver space cars!"  With an effortless tug he freed the car from Eddy and set it down with the shoe on top.  "Beware, peace-loving citizens of Monopoland!  Buster Brownion and the diabolical Thimble Fiend once again seek to conquer your sleepy little town!"

"Ed, you're not even playing it right!  Gimme that!"  Eddy snatched the car away.

"Eddy!  Give it back, it's not your turn!"  Ed leapt on Eddy.

"Ed, knock it off!"  Eddy futilely tried to fend off Ed.  "Double-D, help!"

"Just a second, Eddy!"  Edd was holding his notebook and writing something down.  "'No game tokens that can double as action figures' – got it!"  He pocketed his notes.  "Thank you, Ed, that was very helpful!"

"No need for Cheez Whiz, Double-D!"  Having finally wrested the car away from Eddy, Ed returned to his own private Monopoly game.

"But I don't wanna see the monkeys…"  Eddy was lying on the floor looking very much worse for wear. 

Edd giggled behind his hand.  "Perhaps we should try a different game – something with a bit less potential for violence?"  He ducked as several plastic hotels went sailing past his head.  "Though I must admit, the term 'old Monopoly injury' isn't one I expect will ever become part of the common vernacular."

"You know Ed, he's anything but common…"  Eddy sat up unsteadily.

"Yes, well, why don't I select our next candidate for research?"  Edd sifted through the pile of games.  "Ah, this should do quite nicely…"