Hasbro croudsourced choices for new tokens for Monopoly. Besides the Thimble, the Boot and the Wheelbarrow are now history. Joining the game are a T-Rex, a Rubber Duck, and a Penguin.
The tokens will also be gold-colored now instead of silver. Maybe to encourage Trump to play or something.
Kids these days.
Monopoly kicks out three classic game tokens
Monopoly’s iconic group of eight game pieces has gotten a permanent update after an online vote.
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I guess it would matter if I played the game, but I haven't played it since '84.
But this does explain why Monopoly was trending this morning.
+Stan Pedzick That would be the reason. 🙂
Apparently most of the original tokens were modeled after charms / Crackerjack prizes used by the daughter of the guy who created the game as we know it. Earliest editions of the game didn't have game pieces (it was the Depression), so his daughter (and presumably others who played the game) figured out their own pieces.
https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2017/03/the-forgotten-meaning-of-monopoly-tokens/519996/?utm_source=atlgp
Boy it's probably going to be impossible to find any of those classic old pieces in practically any closet in America.
The Atlantic article makes it sound like parents across the world would otherwise be explaining the historical significance of the thimble to their kids as they drive them into mock bankruptcy.
+Daniel Swensen The Atlantic article is a bit overwrought, to be sure. I included it more as a citation for the bit of history I mentioned than because I thought it's commentary on the political/economic lessons that Monopoly inculcates into our children was particularly meaningful.
That said, next time I play Monopoly, I will so be telling people about this historic background of the tokens. 🙂
I did instinctively bristle a bit because the pieces they removed from the game were always the ones I picked. I never wanted the top hat or the race car. But nothing lasts forever.
Oh, I'm definitely a top hat guy, but given it's been a number of years since I played (and, as you note, there's a plentiful supply of Monopoly sets in the world), it's probably not worth worrying about.
Death to Monopoly – I've vowed never to play that ever again!
It's still in the linen closet I use for older games that don't see play (the popular ones are downstairs). But, will all those other games on the shelves (which you can see in my BGG profile), I don't see it hitting the table ever again.
Actually, I just got a new co-worker and his wife to come over for gaming, and she asked if I had Monopoly! I mentioned Fallout Monopoly, which I got as part of my extensive Fallout collection, but said that I had games she would enjoy more. This surprised her, but she loved King of Tokyo and Exploding Kittens. 🙂
https://boardgamegeek.com/user/AmAvocet