Monopoly --My View on a Token Change to My Most Played Board Game

I originally wrote this article in 2013 when Hasbro planned to replace one of its Monopoly game tokens with another, based on votes by the public. 

The public voted out the iron, to be replaced by the cat, and more token changes have occurred in the years since, as reported by various news articles, including one from 2017 on CNBC's website.

Below is my original 2013 article with a photo and extra subsection about monopolies added.

Many joyous hours of my childhood were devoted to playing Monopoly. During summers friends and I spent a lot of time playing it in my house, with a fan going nearby sometimes on the hot days.

Hasbro, which owns Parker Brothers (the company that manufactures Monopoly), is planning to replace one of the eight current playing pieces in the game with another.

Numerous media sources are reporting about this, including the Christian Science Monitor and CNN. You can vote once a day until February 5, 2013 on a Facebook page that Hasbro has set up, choosing one classic piece you want to save. You can also choose which of the five new alternatives to add to the game.

When my friends and I played, I almost always chose the top hat. One reason was that it was not a first choice of a couple of my friends. One friend usually played with the dog, another typically chose the car. Another sometimes used the shoe.

But I think another reason I chose the hat is that it seemed practical. A hat is often worn outside by a person when walking, etc. However, I must admit that I normally wore a coat with a hood to cover my ears rather than a hat in cold weather. And I didn't usually cover my head in the warm weather. But I saw many others wearing hats.

Also, the Monopoly game boxes often (if not always) feature a man wearing a hat similar to the one in the game. Yes, I strongly support keeping this top hat!

In contrast, the wheelbarrow, iron, ship, and thimble seemed to not be typical items for a person to use on a normal daily journey. Our iron got use since my mom generally played with the iron, probably because others didn't choose it and also since she did a significant amount of ironing.

In our game, the ship, thimble, and wheelbarrow probably got the least use. The wheelbarrow was likely the least frequently used of all eight tokens by us, as I recall.

I voted today to save the hat and to add the cat. With apologies to Dr. Seuss who created and wrote about "The Cat in the Hat," I will adopt the motto "save the hat and add the cat."

I have not played Monopoly in years. But I am confident I would enjoy doing so occasionally if time permitted from other activities that I consider more important and/or even more enjoyable. However, regardless of when or if I play the game again, I cherish lots of fabulous memories of playing it with family and friends.

There may be much more important things to debate in the real world during the current economic situation, as persons discuss the fiscal cliff, Social Security, health care costs, unemployment, etc.

But remember that Monopoly itself is generally credited as being created during the depression in the 1930s by Charles Darrow and quickly became the best-selling board game in America according to BoardGames.LoveToKnow.com and various other sources. Monopoly may have helped many cope with those depression years more enjoyably, and maybe it can again.

I think old-fashioned board games promote more family discussions than video games. Also, for the cost of one board game, families and friends can enjoy lots of fun for numerous hours! Maybe this discussion over Monopoly playing pieces will help promote such family friendly activities.

Monopolies in the Real World and Closing Thoughts

Monopolies exist in the real world. They are discussed in books about economics, including the three textbooks pictured below from courses I took.

But I won't get into a discussion about real world monopolies such as local electrical power and water utility companies here.

I'll just close by stating that the 2013 vote on a Monopoly token change was a fun thing in a small way for me. Maybe the more recent votes and changes to the Monopoly game have been too in their own way, though I haven't kept up with them. But let's seek to keep things in perspective. Let's all seek to enjoy God's blessings, including the simple pleasures we get daily. And for some people at some times, a game of Monopoly may be one of them.

NOTE:

This post was last revised on March 8, 2023.