Life

Introducing The 3 New Monopoly Tokens

by Eliza Castile

After weeks of anticipation, it's finally time to say goodbye to three iconic board game tokens — and hello to the new Monopoly pieces. Back in January, Hasbro launched "Monopoly Token Madness," an online campaign allowing the public to choose which tokens will be sold in the newest version of the game. Theoretically, we could have ended up with the same eight tokens that have represented players for decades, but despite the lure of nostalgia, the people have spoken: It's time for a change.

On Friday, Hasbro announced the winners (and losers) of the vote. The boot, wheelbarrow, and thimble have been ousted, and in their place will come the Tyrranosaurus rex, rubber ducky, and penguin tokens. According to the Associated Press, more than 4.6 million people in 146 different countries took part in the vote, which lasted from Jan. 10 to Jan. 31. Now that the results have been decided, the full lineup will include a battleship, race car, top hat, Scottie dog (obviously the best token), cat, T. rex, duck, and penguin.

"The next generation of tokens clearly represents the interests of our fans around the world and we're proud to have our iconic game impacted by the people that feel most passionate about playing it," said Jonathan Berkowitz, Hasbro's senior vice president of marketing, in a press release.

There were 56 new tokens up for vote, including a winking emoji, a pair of sunglasses, and a rotary phone. When the game was initially released in 1935, it came with 10 tokens: an iron, purse, lantern, race car, thimble, shoe, top hat, battleship, cannon and a rocking horse. The lineup has changed over the years; past tokens have included an elephant and a bag of money. In 2013, players voted to replace the iron with a cat, which remains in today's stable of tokens.

The T. rex proved the most popular new token in the vote, coming in second place overall — right behind the Scottie dog, which received the most votes. The duck came in fifth, and the penguin placed seventh. A rain boot came in last place.

Monopoly may be more than 80 years old, but it's retained its popularity. Some say it's because the game combines strategy and chance, while others point to its family-friendly nature. Whatever the reason for its appeal, Hasbro claims the game has more than one billion players worldwide.

If you're already missing the old lineup, don't worry; the updated version won't come out until the fall. Meanwhile, you can buy a special Monopoly Token Madness edition of the game, which comes with the original eight tokens and eight golden tokens. I'll leave you with a word of advice: Start considering your token choices now, because you know everyone is going to want to be the T. rex.