Hasbro Unveils Three New Monopoly Pieces Days Before World Monopoly Day
On the eve of World Monopoly Day, Hasbro has unveiled three new Monopoly pieces (officially known as tokens) that will be added to the iconic game. The new pieces will be the T-Rex, Rubber Ducky, and Penguin. Unfortunately, that means that three other pieces will have to go away, so please lower your top hats to say goodbye to the Wheelbarrow, the Thimble, and the Boot.
For those outraged by the decision, you can blame your fellow game players. From January 10-31 of this year, Hasbro offered fans a chance to vote on eight pieces that they would like to see in the next generation of the game from a list of 64. Fans from more than 100 countries took part in the Monopoly Token Madness Vote, which attracted more than 4.3 million votes.
“The Monopoly Token Madness Vote was our biggest fan-powered program to date and the global Monopoly community has spoken!” said Jonathan Berkowitz, senior vice president of marketing for Hasbro Gaming in a press release. “The next generation of tokens clearly represents the interests of our fans around the world and we’re proud to have our iconic game impacted by the people that feel most passionate about playing it.”
So, the new line-up of tokens featured in the next generation of Monopoly (available later this fall) is as follows.
- Scottie Dog: This pup has been with the game since the 1950’s and proves to be the most popular receiving the most votes.
- T-Rex: Coming in second place is T-Rex, the first-ever dinosaur piece ever offered in a Monopoly game.
- Top Hat: A staple of the game since 1935, the Top Hat came in third place.
- Car: Though this 1930’s roadster looks rather dated, it still came in fourth place.
- Rubber Ducky: Ernie will be so happy to learn that his best friend made the list in fifth place.
- Cat: Some may not even be aware that the Cat token was added to the game in 2013, and apparently, she isn’t leaving, making the sixth spot on the list.
- Penguin: The new Penguin takes its place as the number seven token.
- Battleship: Finally, the Battleship lives to fight through another game.
Some people could care less which piece becomes part of the game, but for others, the decision is a big deal. A number of brands and organizations held their own promotions to keep certain pieces in the game or fight to bring in others. For instance, Zipcar campaigned to “Save the Car” while the England Aquarium pushed to “Vote Penguin” by inviting Mr. Monopoly to meet the penguins. Nearly 11 million Facebook fans witnessed the event, says Hasbro.
By the way, the Boot received just over 83,000 votes, the Thimble brought in a little over 81,000 votes, and the Wheelbarrow came in last place with just over 60,000 votes, which might be just as well as the thing never stood upright during gameplay anyway.
However, there is a silver (and gold) lining to this story; consumers will be able to pick up a special edition Monopoly Token Madness Edition game which includes the eight current silver tokens and eight gold tokens.
RELATED REPORTS FROM INQUISITR:
Move Over ‘Hamilton,’ ‘Monopoly The Musical’ Comes To Broadway
Disneyland’s Pirates Of The Caribbean Ride Celebrates 50 Years
New Heinz Ketchup Ad Is Take From ‘Mad Men’ Episode
In celebration of World Monopoly Day, which rolls and lands on Sunday, March 19, Hasbro is announcing the Empire edition of Monopoly, where players can “own the world’s top brands,” including Universal Parks & Resorts, Ford, Caterpillar, Billboard, Heinz Tomato Ketchup, Polaroid and more, says MiceChat. Instead of collecting properties, players will be able to buy brands and stock up on billboards. The company says that the new game is a lot faster to play than the classic game and the other benefits include that there is no trading and you can’t go bankrupt. The goal here is to fill your tower with billboard signs. The first do so, wins.
“The Monopoly brand has been giving fans the chance to “own it all” for more than eight decades, and this year, on World Monopoly Day we’re planning the most memorable celebration of the brand yet,” said Jonathan Berkowitz, senior vice president of global marketing for gaming at Hasbro. “We’ve made it possible for every Monopoly fan to join us in the celebration, whether on social media or at one of our live events planned around the world.”
[Featured Image by Wayne Parry/AP Images]
