Hasbro, the maker of the only board game that matters (Monopoly), is trying to ruin your childhood memories. The company is going to replace one of your favorite, eight original game tokens with a new one.
What’s even worse is that the fate of the beloved dog, battleship, car, top hat, horse, thimble, shoe or wheelbarrow will be decided by Facebook users. People who vote for these kinds of things on Facebook are the same people who play Farmville all day, so their judgment is not to be trusted.
The Facebook poll reads, “In an unlucky roll of the dice, every Monopoly token has landed in jail. One will be locked up forever and replaced with a new piece. Luckily, you’ll have the chance to vote to save your favorite token every day.”
Your favorite game piece could be replaced by a cat, ring, guitar, helicopter, or robot Feb. 6 when the voting ends. (Sorry, did someone say “cat”? OK, maybe this isn’t so bad after all. Who really cares about the iron, anyway?)
The social media push is part of a marketing strategy for Hasbro, which is releasing a special edition of the classic board game next month.
This isn’t the first time Monopoly has switched up its old pieces for newer, better models. The purse, lantern and rocking horse were eliminated after the game was first introduced in the 1930’s, The Verge notes. In 1998, the cannon and horse were both replaced by a sack of money that no longer exists.
Currently, the iron and wheelbarrow are losing the popularity contest with six and three percent of the vote, while the dog is the piece fans want to save the most.