I just saw the TV spot for the “electronic banking” variant of Monopoly along with “Times Square” listed as a property (and a heavily inflated price tag). Apparently, the new cashless variant is using the “Here and Now” edition of Monopoly, which asked the public, “What would the Monopoly board look like if it were designed today?” Times Square is the new Boardwalk.
Slightly irked, I went online to check to make sure nothing in the standard version of the game had changed. I was wrong. Apparently, shit changed in September. I don’t even like Monopoly that much—it’s not a very well-designed game—and I’m fine with the other changes, but changing the color of Baltic and Mediterranean from purple to brown doesn’t jive with me. Those colors are iconic! Presumably, the change was made to avoid confusion between the shitty pair and less shitty purples of Virginia, States, and St. Charles.
Also of note, the cashless edition uses Visa debit cards. I don’t know if buying large properties on credit is what we need to ingrain in our children’s heads right now… I wonder how much Visa had to pay to be part of kids’ childhoods?
