A few years ago, on one of those blurry days between Christmas and new year, my mother suggested a family game of Monopoly. I was reluctant — it was unlikely to be nearly as much fun as an afternoon spent trawling through the near-endless depths of YouTube. But, in true festive spirit, I trudged towards the dining table. The ensuing clash can only be likened to that between Rocky Balboa and Apollo Creed.
That many of us metamorphosise into a burly club fighter from the wrong end of Philadelphia as soon as the Monopoly board unfolds has been essential to the game’s appeal since it was patented in 1935. But change is coming. Last week at the New York Toy Fair, Hasbro announced the launch of Monopoly App Banking. As befits the technological age, the game is receiving a software upgrade.
This new version, expected to be available in the US this summer, simplifies play by replacing those stacks of crumpled physical cash with a mobile app that handles all transactions. This is not the first time that the game has gone digital — Hasbro released the electronic banking edition of Monopoly in 2007, substituting bills for electronic card readers and credit cards.
In some ways, the latest revision is a positive one. There is no longer any need for a game banker, which, let’s face it, is a job no one really wants to do anyway. There is likely to be a lot less cheating (although I must confess I quite enjoy furtively stealing notes as other players nip to the toilet).
I imagine it is also a great way to introduce children to the realities of the modern world. Who even carries cash? Yes, OK, my father, but as a 24-year-old, I have hardly done so since I got my first debit card in 2017. The ubiquity of mobile banking and apps such as PayPal is pushing physical debit and credit cards towards redundancy as well. As long as I have my phone, I am sorted. Cash and cards are far too cumbersome.
I’m not alone in thinking this — an EY survey from last year found that 39 per cent of Gen Z respondents considered entering a pin number to be a pain point. We live in the glorious era of fintech — why shouldn’t Hasbro embrace this?
But part of me fears this new version of Monopoly has swapped wholesome fun for a flashy, modern exterior. Gen Z may prefer simple, seamless payments, but this is nowhere near as tantalising as the prospect of flaunting piles of pink and orange notes in a delicious victory over your competitive mother — aided by some good old-fashioned fraud, of course.
For parents, the new iteration of the game will no longer work as a form of screen-free entertainment nor as a way to nudge children into brushing up on their counting skills.
And in refashioning it for the world of modern finance, Monopoly is arguably even further removed from what inventor Elizabeth Magie first conceptualised as a searing anti-capitalist critique of wealth inequality in the early 20th century. Logging rent on an app doesn’t necessarily prompt as visceral a reaction as physically handing over money to your landlord. But then again, as I gleefully pocket my opponent’s cash when they stumble upon my luxurious property in Mayfair, I can’t say I always remember her message either.
That raises another bone of contention. The new board replaces Monopoly’s iconic locations with supposedly child-friendly alternatives including a chocolate factory, VR rollercoaster, rocket launch pad and the Moon itself.
Although I relish accumulating my property empire of theoretical mansions in central London, perhaps this is wise of Hasbro. After all, US President Donald Trump and his chief crony Elon Musk have their sights firmly set on Mars. The youth of today should get accustomed to the extraplanetary. We are probably never going to be able to buy property here on Earth anyway.
srinidhi.balakrishnan@ft.com
