Monopoly Redesign: Do Not Pass "Go"

Studio 360 Redesign

Friday, April 15, 2011

We're asking listeners to help redesign the classic game Monopoly. We're asking listeners to help redesign the classic game Monopoly. (mtsofan/flickr)

Board game giant Hasbro recent announced a surprising new version of its classic Monopoly.  No, it’s not another edition of ChocolatopolyMonopoly Live, out next fall, will replace the paper money with ATM cards.  And a tower at the center of the board will keep track of the money (bye bye, banker!) and enforce the rules (bye bye, cheating Aunt Phyllis!). 

But it strikes us that just adding a computer chip to the game won’t make it contemporary.  Monopoly was first produced by Parker Brothers in 1935, during the Great Depression. Now, in the age of foreclosures and bank bailouts, we think Monopoly needs to get with the times.

And game designer Brenda Brathwaite says there’s another problem with the game: it’s designed to be boring.  “The game is literally just about waiting for people to run out of money and perish,” she told Kurt Andersen. “The only person who is having any fun is the one person who's causing this destruction.  And that's not fun considering this can go on for hours!”

We want your ideas about how to redesign Monopoly. New player pieces?  A new board with new rules?  Maybe we should be able to build something other than houses and hotels?  What about highly leveraged loans or environmental impact statements? 

Submit your ideas by 11:59pm EDT May 3 — we’ll feature some of our favorites on the show.  

We’ll give all your ideas to Brenda Brathwaite, who will create a new-and-improved (if unofficial) version of the game.

 


Slideshow: Monopoly Through the Years

A Monopoly board game from the mid-1990s, including Community Chest and Chance cards, and play money.  These recognizable elements have been phased out of Hasbro’s new Monopoly Live edition, to be released this fall.

Hasbro’s new Monopoly won’t be the first design evolution for the game: Elizabeth Magie filed a patent in 1903 for The Landlord's Game, an early precursor to Monopoly.

Parker Brothers began selling Monopoly in 1935, by which time the game had taken on its now-familiar look. This well-used game set dates to around 1936.

The classic Monopoly game pieces, poised to “Pass GO” and “Collect $200.”

Monopoly’s game pieces have changed during the game’s long history, if only slightly.

Money is another element of the game that’s evolved over the years, but the most drastic update is yet to come: in Monopoly Live, paper money is eliminated altogether and replaced by electronic funds.

Monopoly escapes the living room. This life-sized Monopoly house was part of an October 2009 art exhibition in Ontario.

    Music Playlist
  1. Pennies From Heaven
    Artist: The Best of Hal Kemp and His Orchestra
    Album: Hal Kemp
    Label: Collector's Choice
    Purchase: Amazon
  2. Monopoly Money
    Artist: Random Item Songs
    Album: V-SO Hott

Guests:

Brenda Brathwaite

Produced by:

Mary Dooe and Jenny Lawton

Comments [2]

NNNY

Let's have some of the electronic investment options that exist today; make transportation more varied, make politicians that say the inane statements that they are so adept at producing.
Probably more important than tinkering with the "old school" properties and penalties - let's make it international with natural resources, low education levels, and all of the other mechanisms and paraphernalia of the current world.

Apr. 26 2011 10:28 PM
David Cornelison from Salt Lake City

SOCIALIST MONOPOLY! No body would ever loose.

Apr. 24 2011 02:59 PM

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