Updated Monopoly Emerges With New Version For Modern Times

Now the classic board game Monopoly is being redesigned with a 21st century conceit, designed to reflect our growing move toward a cashless society.

A new version of the game has been created in Britain, replacing all those multi-coloured bills with Visa-imprinted debit cards and scanners that let players swipe them to exchange money.

Monopoly Here & Now is an attempt to update a classic that’s been making waves since 1935. “We started looking at what Monopoly would look like if we designed it today,” explains Hasbro’s Chris Weatherhead. “We noticed consumers are using debit cards, carrying around cash a lot less.”

But that’s not all that’s new. Inflation has crept into the world of Uncle Moneybags, the game’s longtime mustachioed symbol. Passing GO is now worth $1 million Canadian instead of the old $200 amount offered in the original.

All those Community Chest and Chance cards have been updated, too. Instead of winning a beauty contest, players now claim victory on a reality TV show.

And even the famous tokens have been changed. The top hat and thimble used to move around the board have been replaced by a cell phone, a skateboard and a rollerblade.

The new cashless version is only for sale in England right now, but could spread to these shores sooner than later if it’s a hit.

A Canadian version, which incorporates national icons like B.C.’s Stanley Park and Alberta’s West Edmonton Mall, went on sale here on Canada Day. It still features the paper bills, but they sport a Maple Leaf. 

Still, whatever version you’re using, the revamped game does bring a few questions with it.

There’s no word, for example, on whether ‘jail’ conditions have also been upgraded, although the B&O Railroad has been converted into airports, and the utilities are now Internet and cell phone companies.

But if the game’s truly going to come into the current century, they’ll definitely have to eliminate the one thing no one seems to have anymore – Free Parking.

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