The results of January’s Monopoly Token Madness fan vote are in. Three new game pieces will be included in the next generation of the classic board game this fall, at the cost of a trio of tokens that have been with the game since the very beginning.
According to Hasbro, fans across 146 countries cast over 4.3 million votes during the event, which pitted the eight current Monopoly tokens against 56 newcomers. Potential additions included new and updated vehicles, modern-day luxury items, a series of emojis and a whole lot of animals.
The first classic casualty, the thimble, was announced during the 2017 New York Toy Fair. That 1937 original has been joined by its fellow founding tokens, the wheelbarrow and the shoe, casualties of a fan base with a thing for beasts and birds. Now the top hat, race car and battleship are all that remains of the original lineup, along with 1942's Scottie dog and 2013's unspecified cat.
While I’m sad to see the three originals retire, it’s hard to stay sad with the looming prospect of fighting my siblings for the tyrannosaurus piece at the beginning of every game (though these shots are taken on my desk at home, so I’ll always have a spare on hand.) Plus the chances of Hasbro playing off nostalgia in another year or so and releasing a classic edition featuring the lost tokens are pretty high.
The grand reveal is all part of what Hasbro is calling “World Monopoly Day,” which I imagine is observed by angrily storming away from flipped Monopoly boards in a shower of colorful paper money. The fake holiday actually falls on Sunday, March 19, but that’s not a good day for the announcement people, so here we are.
Sets including the new token lineup should be in stores this fall.
