Where’s Rey? Monopoly keeps players guessing

Where is the character Rey in the “Star Wars” version of Monopoly? In a land far, far away, apparently.

Eighteen months after gamemaker Hasbro promised to add the female character to the game by the fall of 2016, the Illinois girl who wrote to them to say “girls matter” is still waiting. Others are, too. After inquiries from The Associated Press this week, Pawtucket, R.I.-based Hasbro said it made the piece but didn’t release the new version in the United States “due to insufficient interest.” People who bought the all-male game can request a Rey from customer service, spokesperson Julie Duffy said Wednesday.

“In early 2016, Hasbro updated the 2015 “Star Wars: Monopoly” game to add a Rey token. This product was sold to retailers in several markets around the world, but is not available for sale in the U.S. due to insufficient interest,” Duffy wrote in an email.

She said the game was made available in five markets, including in the United Kingdom and France. Duffy said they have fulfilled 99 requests for the Rey token in the U.S. and 10 in Canada.

Hasbro’s comments this week differ from what the company said it would do in January 2016, amid an online outcry.

“We love the passion fans have for Rey, and are happy to announce that we will be making a running change to include her in the Monopoly: Star Wars game available later this year,” Duffy told the AP in an emailed statement at the time. She added that fans who had already purchased the game “can obtain the Rey token by contacting Hasbro Consumer Care when the updated game becomes available later this year.”

Carrie Goldman, of Evanston, Ill., whose daughter, Annie Rose, wrote the letter that sparked the outcry, said on Wednesday that while she is happy her daughter will be able to get a Rey figure, it’s not exactly how they understood Hasbro’s promise.

“I don’t know if I would call this a running change,” Goldman said. “I would still like to see it where any girl or boy or person who goes to buy the game, Rey is in there.”

Goldman posted Annie Rose’s letter on Twitter in January 2016. In it, the then-eight-year-old girl asks why Hasbro left out Rey from the set when she is a main character and crucial to the story.

“Without her THERE IS NO FORCE AWAKENS! It awakens in her!” wrote Annie Rose, who is now 10. “Girls matter!”