Hasbro announced yesterday that the classic board game, Monopoly, will be changing forever. The much loved tokens of the are all in the running to be determined which will be eliminated from the game. It is up to fans to decide which of the tokens will remain and which one will be killed off.
When the online vote ends, Hasbro will remove one of the classic tokens from the game and replacing it with a token that reflects the interests of today’s Monopoly players. Fans can vote on Facebook for which new token they would like to see added to the game, choosing from a diamond ring, guitar, toy robot, cat or helicopter.
Fans will also be able to “campaign” to save their favorite token through Facebook and Twitter by sharing images and videos with their friends and by using the hashtag #tokenvote.
“The tokens are one of the most iconic parts of the MONOPOLY game, and we know that people are emotionally tied to their favorite one,” said Eric Nyman, Senior Vice President and Global Brand Leader for Hasbro Gaming. “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.”
Monopoly feels like it has been around forever, though the game was initially created in 1935. It was invented by Charles Darrow, whose young niece suggested he use metal charms from charm bracelets as movers in the game. Parker Brothers liked this suggestion and decided to include die-cast tokens in the game when they started manufacturing and selling the product. The iron, racecar, thimble, shoe, top hat and battleship were among the original set of movers introduced in 1935. The Scottie dog and wheelbarrow were added in the early 1950s. These eight make up the collection of tokens currently included in the classic Monopoly game.
To celebrate the MONOPOLY Save Your Token campaign, Hasbro will issue a special Classic MONOPOLY Golden Token Edition game that will include gold colored versions of all eight classic tokens and the five new tokens included in the vote. This special edition will be available in limited quantities at Target stores around February 15, 2013 for the approximate retail price of $17.99
You can participate in the game changing event by voting every day at Facebook.com/Monopoly, now through February 5, 2013.