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. When it lands in stores this August for $25, smartphones will serve as the bankers, and each player will manage their money using the accompanying free mobile app. (Players must each have their own phone.)
With the new version, you start by downloading the Mobile Banking App, which handles all the transactions with money and properties for you. Just select a token and a matching bank card and scan it to the mobile app. With purchases and rent now automated, it may be an effort to appeal to younger players who might also find the updated board more relatable. Also gone are the two most expensive properties—Boardwalk and Park Place. In their place are Rocket Launch Pad and Moon.
Not to date myself, but this isn’t the game that I grew up playing for hours with friends and family. Yes, marathon Monopoly sessions could drag on for days where we would have to leave the board and come back to it. But who didn’t love the colorful cash—pink $5 bills and blue $50s? Of course, the goldenrod yellow $500s were special. You only got two of those, and it was always a tough decision to break one to purchase a property or, worse yet, pay rent to someone else. What about that huge pot of money in the center that was constantly accumulating, and that you could scoop up if you were lucky enough to land on the Free Parking spot? Remember feeling flush every time you passed Go and collected your $200? How can an app replace that, I wonder.
The Upside: You Don’t Have to Do Much Math
If you’re not a numbers person, I guess it’s a win. You can focus on your entrepreneurial skills without fumbling around to make change when you have a big picture concept for a block of properties. Transactions are easier, no one gets stuck in the thankless role of the banker, and cheaters will be out of luck. At its core, Monopoly remains a game of economic lessons, real estate gambles, and chance that teaches negotiation, interpersonal skills, and business judgement regardless of physical money or not.
And this is not the first reinvention of the game. Other digital versions exist including Monopoly Go, a single-player mobile board game, and The Monopoly Super Electronic Banking board game with an all-in-one electronic banking unit. Each player gets a bank card instead of paper money.
On the other end of the spectrum, Monopoly Deal, has no electronics. It’s a card game perfect for family game nights that is also suitable for younger kids—ages 8 and up—and offers fast play for up to five players.
The Downside: You Don’t Have to Do Much Math
Yeah, but traditional Monopoly had an educational benefit for kids and families. It was an opportunity to add, subtract, and weigh consequences of a purchase or a debt. With a digital banker, there’s no creative math or slipping some emergency cash under the board for when you land on an expensive property like Park Place with a hotel. Somehow the paper money adds a reality check. And what about the value of this being a screen-free family board game? There are so few of those today.
“I understand that the market is changing and that this is Hasbro’s response to the way kids play, but I will admit I’m disappointed that kids who play this version of the game are going to be missing out on the tangible learning that the paper money system provided,” says Cat Bowen, our Senior Editor who reviews (among other products) parenting gear and gadgets. “The old school Monopoly could be played anywhere and anytime, but this new version requires a smartphone and internet connection, which means either the kids need a phone, or they need to use their parent’s phone. In a time when parents are increasingly concerned about their kids’ screen time, this feels like a push towards more of that, not less.”
Sure, we’ll likely try out the new Monopoly. Younger kids won’t know any better since many have smartphones now and may not use much cash since seemingly everyone has Zelle, Venmo, and Apple Pay.
Still, having a thick stack of hundreds in your hand is a feeling that will be hard to replace with the digital banker in this new version of Monopoly. But thankfully, the traditional one is still available if you want to count your cash and hold onto your properties, like I do.
Buy Classic Monopoly Here
Jamie, Senior Editor of Expert Reviews, joined the Hearst Enthusiast Group in 2021. She has covered technology and consumer lifestyle gadgets since 1995—and shared her expertise in print, digital, and in broadcast originating the role of The Gizmo Girl for ’s Cold Pizza. She has written about, tested, and reviewed everything from turkey fryers to high-definition TVs. Her byline has appeared in , , , and many others. In her free time, Jamie is in a yoga class, searching for the perfect matcha latte, or walking the boards.
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