Put Out Your Thimbles: Monopoly Has Replaced Three Of Its Iconic Tokens
The good news? You can now play as a T-Rex.
Never again will you be expected to pay rent to a wheelbarrow. The makers of Monopoly have officially retired three of their iconic game pieces, after a public ballot attracted more than four million votes.
The wheelbarrow, the boot and the thimble have all been given the flick, replaced by a penguin, a rubber duck and a Tyrannosaurus Rex. Surviving the cull: the cat, the dog, the top hat, the car and the battleship.
What effect these changes will have on the global real estate market remains unclear.
Monopoly's scientists were so preoccupied with whether they could add a T-Rex game piece that they didn’t stop to think if they should.
— Comedy Central (@ComedyCentral) March 17, 2017
Me: Monopoly added a new T. rex token.
Wife: You know what this means?
Me: That game is still banned in our house.
Wife: Exactly.
— James Breakwell (@XplodingUnicorn) March 17, 2017
Back in January, Hasbro asked Monopoly players in over 100 different countries to choose between 64 tokens, including the eight current options as well as modern alternatives including a jet ski, a computer, a monster truck and, God help us, a hashtag.
Thankfully, common sense appears to have prevailed, with the public selecting relatively plausible options. I can believe a bath toy as a hotel baron, but a winking emoji? Don’t be absurd.
It would also appear as though Hasbro missed a golden opportunity to create a smash avocado token, although maybe they’re saving that for the new Australian edition.