PAWTUCKET, R.I. (AP) — The classic Monopoly game is set for its most significant change in decades after fans voted to add a new token to replace either the shoe, the wheelbarrow or the iron — which ever piece received the least support in an online contest.
Toy maker Hasbro Inc. is scheduled to announce the new token lineup Wednesday morning, hours after fans cast their final ballots to determine which of the five proposed pieces to add and which of the existing tokens to eject.
The tokens identify the players and have changed quite a lot since Parker Brothers bought the game from its original designer in 1935.
The voting closed just before midnight Tuesday. Rhode Island-based Hasbro says the wheelbarrow, shoe and iron were neck and neck for elimination through the Save Your Token Campaign. The new addition will be a robot, diamond ring, cat, helicopter or guitar.
Fans from more than 120 countries have voted.
The online contest to change the tokens was sparked by chatter on Facebook, where Monopoly has more than 10 million fans. The initiative was intended to ensure that a game created nearly eight decades ago remains relevant and engaging to fans today.
Monopoly's iconic tokens originated when the niece of game creator Charles Darrow suggested using charms from her charm bracelet for tokens. The real-estate trading game is based on the streets of Atlantic City, N.J., and has sold more than 275 million games worldwide.
The current eight tokens are an iron, racecar, Scottie dog, a shoe, thimble, top hat, wheelbarrow and battleship. Most of the pieces were introduced with the first Parker Brothers iteration of the game in 1935, and the Scottie dog and wheelbarrow were added in the early 1950s.
Versions of Monopoly with the new token will come out later this year.
___
Monopoly: https://www.hasbro.com/monopoly
___
Rodrique Ngowi can be reached at www.twitter.com/ngowi
