January 9, 201313 yr Vote or the dog gets it: Monopoly maker sparks war of pieces Hasbro invites fans of its board game to say which of the metal tokens will make way for a ring, guitar, robot, helicopter or cat After chasing its equally small and similarly anachronistic adversaries around metropolises and in and out of jail for almost 80 years, one of Monopoly's famous metal pieces is facing the final roll of the dice. Hasbro, the manufacturer of the board-game paean to boom-and-bust capitalism, has announced that one of eight playing pieces – the Scottie dog, the racing car, the top hat, the iron, the thimble, the shoe, the battleship and the wheelbarrow – is to be cast out and replaced with one that "reflects the interests of today's players". Despite Hasbro's apparent lunge at modernity, however, fans of the game taking part in a worldwide vote will not be invited to choose a mobile phone, a popular tablet device or even a bucket-sized cup of takeaway coffee. The rather-less-than-cutting-edge list of possible replacements comprises a diamond ring, a guitar, a toy robot, a helicopter – and a cat. "The tokens are one of the most iconic parts of the Monopoly game, and we know that people are emotionally tied to their favourite one," said Eric Nyman, a Hasbro spokesman. "When we decided to replace one of the tokens in the game, we knew we had to involve our fans in the process. "We can't wait to see which iconic piece will go to jail and which new token the fans will choose to become part of one of the world's most popular games." Although the origins of the game can be traced back to the early 20th century, the tokens are said to have come about when the young niece of Monopoly pioneer Charles Darrow suggested he use the pendants from charm bracelets as pieces. Parker Brothers decided to include die-cast tokens in the game when they started manufacturing and selling it in 1935. The iron, racing car, thimble, shoe, top hat and battleship were among the original set of movers, while the Scottie dog and wheelbarrow were added in the early 1950s. The token with the fewest votes will be exiled from the game and replaced with the token that garners the most support. Games with the new token will arrive in stores later this year – presumably in time for Christmas. By Wednesday afternoon, things were looking bleak for the wheelbarrow, with bookmakers Paddy Power making it the 4-5 odds-on favourite to disappear. Not far behind came the shoe, at 2-1, followed by the thimble and iron, both on 7-1. The company also predicted that the cat was likely to win the race to become the new token, installing it as the 13-8 favourite. As well as selling more than 275m games and provoking at least as many family rows, Monopoly has also served a more useful function. During the second world war, board-makers Waddington's teamed up with British military intelligence to produce silk, rayon and tissue escape maps that were smuggled into prisoner-of-war camps through invented charities. Special Monopoly boards – ostensibly sent to relieve boredom and raise morale — contained compasses and files as well as escape maps, which helped prisoners plan and execute their breakouts. link ----------------- Classic tokens New tokens link
January 9, 201313 yr If the dogs get replaced by the cat, it'll be an official declaration of war between the two species :nod: Vote for peace :heart: Vote for the robot with the funny mustache :heart:
January 9, 201313 yr The new ones do suck, the only one I'm kindof alright with is the diamond ring, and with the old ones I never really liked the iron or the wheelbarrow (Though looking at it now I kindof like the wheelbarrow). I particularly dislike the robot... And the guitar... wait the cat too... and that damn fucking helicopter.
January 9, 201313 yr ^At first I actually didn't even recognize the helicopter and thought it was some kind of weird thing between a rifle and a whistle. lolz. I dislike the cat and the guitar as well.
January 9, 201313 yr The new ones do suck, the only one I'm kindof alright with is the diamond ring, and with the old ones I never really liked the iron or the wheelbarrow (Though looking at it now I kindof like the wheelbarrow). I particularly dislike the robot... And the guitar... wait the cat too... and that damn fucking helicopter. Had I not seen the new ones, my response would have been thus: I was terrified for a moment before remembering my complete indifference to the iron.
January 10, 201313 yr Diamond ring and helicopter are terribad. Robot isn't very good either. I think the cat will win tbh. My pick to go is the wheelbarrow... I can't recall anyone being too attached to it. Why did they even nominate the scotty dog for elimination? No-brainer that it would be saved
January 10, 201313 yr The problem with the guitar is that it's going to look so lame when it's not propped up, just flat on the ground. I do think it's unfair that they don't give everyone an extra option of choosing not to swap anything, shame on you Hasbro.
January 10, 201313 yr My thoughts on this: 1. The spokesperson made a pretty valid point with people being attached to a particular piece. When we play as a family, we stick with the same pieces every time. It's because of this that I REALLY hope my thimble stays in the game. 2. If any of them have to go, I'd definitely go with the iron. 3. I don't like any of the new pieces at all. The helicopter doesn't even look like a helicopter, and the cat isn't even cute. Also, why the hell does the robot have a mustache?
January 10, 201313 yr If you care enough to save your favorite piece, you can do so here: https://apps.facebook.com/saveyourtoken/
January 10, 201313 yr Ah, one of my favorite childhood games. First of all, I was perplexed seeing the battleship. I do not remember that one at all. Maybe we lost it and hence I never saw it. If they are set on ditching one, I would prefer to see the iron go. I always thought it looked lame, and frankly I don't want to think about chores when I'm playing a game. KEEP THE BOOT! I always used that piece, mostly because it was an appropriate representation of me kicking all the other players off the board when I bankrupt them. *between Monopoly and Stratego, ruthless Carrie is ruthless* My original thought was that the diamond ring was both simple and rather appropriate, and therefore a good choice. It would fit well because it is even the logo on the "Luxury Tax" tile. But then again, none of the other current pieces are logos on the board, so my logic was a bit flawed. And on to the replacement... so, Hasbro says it wants the new piece to reflect "the interests of today's players". I hardly see how any of the proposed replacements reflect this (sorry, a Jetsons robot hardly qualifies), except for maybe the guitar; and as Reilly pointed out, it would probably look lame during gameplay. And what age demographic are "today's players" anyway? Different age demographics can have wildly different interests.
January 11, 201313 yr All of the proposed tokens don't represent strictly modern interests. I mean why is the guitar modeled after an acoustic one? Why is the robot cartoony? How does the diamond ring show modern interests? Pretty sure people were getting diamond rings ages ago. The cat... also looks cartoony imo. I get the helicopter at least (even if it looks bad). Methinks the "interests of today's players" line stinks and they just want to change unused tokens
February 6, 201313 yr 'Monopoly' iron token is out, cat is in with fan vote Fans prove to be real animal lovers, voting for a new feline piece and saving the Scottie dog. The Monopoly iron is going off to that giant linen closet in the sky. The token, a staple of the Hasbro board game since the 1930s, is being retired after only garnering 8% of fan votes in a "Save Your Token" campaign. The Scottie dog was the clear choice for fans and game players from 185 countries, getting 29% of the vote. While the iron leaves the game, a new cat will take its place passing "GO!" and collecting $200 going forward. The feline piece conquered its own competition in a separate vote on the Monopoly Facebook page, winning over four other proposed tokens — a toy robot, guitar, helicopter and diamond ring — with 31%. "We know that cat lovers around the world will be happy to welcome the new cat token into the Monopoly game," said Eric Nyman, senior vice president and global brand leader for Hasbro Gaming, in a statement. "While we're a bit sad to see the iron go, the cat token is a fantastic choice by the fans and we have no doubt it will become just as iconic as the original tokens." Last week in the home stretch of the "Save Your Token" campaign that began in early January, the iron was in a dead heat with the wheelbarrow and the shoe with 7% each to avoid being last place. Harrisburg, Pa., tool manufacturer Ames True Temper even launched a YouTube campaign to rally fans for last-minute votes in favor of the wheelbarrow. The cat will join the wheelbarrow, shoe, race car, top hat, thimble, Scottie dog and battleship in the Monopoly game beginning in late summer when the latest edition hits store shelves. A limited-edition "Golden Token" Monopoly ($17.99) arrives exclusively in Target stores this month and will feature gold tokens of all the current lineup — including the last appearance of the iron — and the five proposed new pieces. link
February 6, 201313 yr Now that it's gone, I kinda miss the iron. It was a real PIECE of my childhood :laugh1:
February 7, 201313 yr I think everyone's disappointment about the Iron being lost will be smoothed out when they see the purrfection of the cat. Anyone who thought that the dog would be left behind must have been barking mad, though! :laugh3:
Create an account or sign in to comment