MONOPOLY GETS A MAKEOVER.
Fans can vote on new Community Chest cards
• For decades, players of Monopoly have winced as they picked up cards telling them to go to jail and delighted at news they have won money in a local beauty contest.
But now the company that manufactures the classic family board game has decided to give it a socially aware makeover for the 21st century.
Gamemaker Hasbro is set to update its 16 Community Chest cards, which have featured prompts such as receiving a “tax refund” or the now rarely seen “bank error in your favour.”
In their place are more contemporary cards that evoke community service and social awareness, that Hasbro believes will better reflect the world in the wake of the global pandemic.
Swaps could include a reward for shopping locally all week, rescuing a pet from a shelter or helping tend the community garden.
Hasbro wants players to decide which to include by voting on its website by April 9 and will introduce them this autumn.
“Covering topics like beauty contests, holiday funds, and life insurance, there is no denying the Monopoly game's Community Chest cards are long overdue for a refresh,” the company said in a statement this week.
“Since Monopoly became a household name more than 85 years ago, the world has changed and embraced a new sense of community — particularly after the unprecedented year of 2020,” said Anne Leonhardi, a marketing director at Hasbro.
“With community being more important than ever before, this year is the perfect time to give fans across the country the chance to show what community means to them through voting on the new set of Community Chest cards,” Leonhardi added.
Other scenarios include rewards for visiting an elderly neighbour, buying from a school bakery sale or giving blood. Scenarios that may arise also include being penalized for hosting a party and not recycling the trash afterwards or finding a wallet on the street and not returning it.
Some players welcomed the news, even suggesting their own Community Chest cards. “Ubered all night! Collect $50” and “Porch-pirated someone's Amazon shipment! Collect $150,” one offered.
Others accused the company of bowing to the “woke brigade.”
“You know, because the game has lasted for 85 years because so many people didn't like the way it was,” tweeted one sarcastically.
Hasbro has sold more than 275 million copies of Monopoly since it was first printed in 1935. It is estimated that it has been played by more than one billion people worldwide in 114 countries.