The latest version of Monopoly uses a "cash app" instead of paper money. Somewhat a sign of the times, but handling the cash was sometimes the most enjoyable part of the game (for those of us raised in physical cash-based culture, at least). Monopoly Reinvents Its Board Game Without Paper Money The article discusses the upsides and downsides of this new version and speculates whether it will catch on or not.
Earlier this week, Hasbro announced its newest version of the classic board game Monopoly but with a big change—the role of the banker is gone. In its place is Monopoly App Banking, a concept designed to speed up play and make the game more enjoyable. Um, no. Let's be real, it's designed to replace the cost of printing millions of paper play money bills with the one-time expense of an app.
There is NO lobby group (or UN sponsored agency) that champions "cash use" so I'm not surprised that Hasbro dropped their play money from Monopoly. The Better Than Cash Alliance is a "partnership of 80 governments, companies & International Organizations that accelerates the transition from cash to responsible digital payments..." (from Wiki). It's quite ironic that the Philippines were one of the founding countries as its hard to pay with plastic there. When COVID first shut down businesses & they re-opened later, they had BTCA posters plastered everywhere encouraging people to use digital payments (to prevent COVID). Later, there were several studies that eliminated cash use as vector. Despite this, many retail businesses transitioned to self/automated check-outs (most of which accepted cards only). It's been a long steady process but in 13 years, the BTCA has been very successful in shutting down cash use. When I first learned about BTCA 7-8 years ago there were about half as many members & they were championing "less crime." A few years ago when I checked their site they were all about empowering women. I don't know what their tune is these days, but if you don't use cash, you'll lose the freedom to use it.
One of Hasbro's Monopoly games that we own. My Son loves cats as much as we do. My wife got this for Xmas. It has yet to be played. @lordmarcovan. What do you think? (Too bad life wasn't like this)
I like Monopoly and I like cats, so what’s not to like there? The only game app I have on my phone is Rento, which is an unabashed Monopoly knockoff. I often play 1-4 games a day against its robots, and win about 75% of them. Rento has a few fun twists that don’t exist in the regular canon Monopoly game. For instance, it’s got the Vatican as a standalone property that you can build houses on without completing a color group (it’s a one-property color group all on its own).
Should I start adding Monopoly money to my collection lol? I don't think it will ever go away completely; it's part of the tradition, and Monopoly trades heavily on nostalgia and tradition. They attempt to "update" things often but I notice those don't sell nearly as well as the traditional sets.
