Inside the design of Monopoly’s new board game that ditches the banker for an app

An accepted fact of childhood: Monopoly is a slow game that requires consecutive snow days to successfully finish. And, by god, no matter what you do, do not end up as the banker, the most tedious and thankless of jobs. 

[Photo: Hasbro]

Though they wouldn’t put it in those terms, the folks at Hasbro likely know that’s how a lot of players feel. So today the company is announcing a new set that bridges the gap between Monopoly Junior and the classic version for ages 8 and older—speeding things up by ditching the banker and paper currency entirely in favor of an app.

“Kids don’t carry cash these days . . . [but] they probably do have a mobile device,” says Brian Baker, SVP of board games at Hasbro, who adds that children are also observing a lot of tap-to-pay in the world. That led the team to consider how they could combine modern technology with intuitive behavior “to completely reinvent the experience,” Baker says.

[Photo: Hasbro]

Banking on App Banking

Monopoly turns 90 this year, and Monopoly App Banking officially hits stores in August. Though Hasbro has released a cashless version of the game before (the Monopoly Electronic Banking edition, which utilizes a calculator-looking device to help automate finances), this is the first time an app has been brought into the ecosystem. 

Here’s how it works: After downloading the app, players put a smartphone or tablet into a stand—dubbed the “phone throne” in-house at Hasbro—and it stays there all game. Baker says the idea was to keep the focus on the board, rather than having to pass the phone around. Whereas board games like Monopoly usually involve combing through a dense list of instructions before playing (and eventually arguing over them), this box contains just some quick-reference cards.

The app kicks everything into gear quickly, directing players to select a token and its associated “credit card,” and snaps a photo of each player to indicate whose turn it is. Players roll physical dice, and then scan a QR code representing the space they’ve landed on. The app handles the property auctions and transactions and does all the basic accounting, speeding things up immensely—and provides a real-time leaderboard in a game whose player standings are often nebulous, lest everyone sit around and count money for five minutes. 

Is Monopoly App Banking reductive to kids learning basic accounting skills the way many of us no doubt did via the classic game? Maybe. But to Baker’s earlier point, it’s hands-down more reflective of the online banking ecosystem we’re all accustomed to today, which runs on apps.

Another thing you’ll find in this version: an infusion of new life into old hubs like free parking, jail, and the railroads, thanks to built-in interactive mini games. 

“There are some spaces where, if you land on them, nothing really happens,” Baker says. “And if you’re an 8-year-old kid, you can get bored really, really quickly.”

Take the railroads. When you land on one now, the app turns it into a high-speed train that brings the player on board; you tap your card to stop the train, and wherever it lands, that’s where you move. 

[Photo: Hasbro]

Marvin Gardens vs. a Chocolate Factory

To young players, the new elements will likely feel organic; they’re not just gimmicks for gimmicks’ sake. Baker says that’s thanks to FunLab, Habsro’s in-house testing center in Pawtucket, Rhode Island. The lab gives the company an opportunity to converse with players and their parents, as well as to observe how they interact with various concepts at the earliest stages of product development.

To wit: “I remember watching a mother struggling to put together Hungry Hungry Hippos out of the box—it comes in nine parts—while her child was screaming,” Baker says. “And the painful part of it was, after she finally got it together and they got to play, she had to take it apart to put it back in the box. It doesn’t fit back in. So I’m happy to report that the new Hungry Hungry Hippos requires no assembly out of the box, and when you’re done playing, it fits back in.”

In the case of Monopoly App Banking, Baker says the team needed to test and understand the role of the mobile device at the table—particularly because of the notion many people have that when a family is doing an activity together like playing a board game, smartphones should be put away.  

“We really wanted to make sure that we used FunLab as a way to kind of validate the idea that we can use technology for good and not evil, and there is a place for a mobile device at the table if thoughtfully integrated,” he says.

Another place you can see FunLab’s work: the properties on the board. 

“If you asked a kid, ‘Hey, what property would you dream of owning?’ I guarantee you they’re not going to say Marvin Gardens, right? They’re going to be like, ‘I want a chocolate factory’ or ‘I want to buy a time machine,’” Baker says. “It was really fun to just kind of take the guardrails off and let the kids guide us in the creation of this product.”

On the board you’ll find soccer fields and water parks, an infinite-pizza generator, and more. What you won’t find is anything an 8-year-old kid would deem too complicated, oversimplified, or unnecessary. Those kids, Baker says, “don’t pull any punches. They’ll tell you exactly what they think.”

[Photo: Hasbro]

The Sand Timer Test

Are apps the future of Monopoly, if not board games at large?

Baker says Hasbro has been trying to honor the boundary between tech that is intrusive and tech that is complementary. Take the standard board game sand timer. How many times have you nearly come to fisticuffs over someone cheating the clock with it?

“There are easier ways to do that, and the best technology sometimes is in your pocket,” Baker says. “A part of our innovation road map at Hasbro when it comes to board games is exploring new technology and then thoughtfully applying it to the experience.”

As for what the rest of this 90th-anniversary year holds for Monopoly, in January Hasbro announced expansion packs. And, according to Baker, the company plans to continue developing intellectual property partnerships, such as those that brought about the recent hit Pokémon and Harry Potter editions of the game. Monopoly is, after all, big business—and you wouldn’t want anyone getting bored with it. Especially younger kids.

“The Monopoly game is the biggest product that Hasbro sells,” Baker confirms. “I can say confidently that this is by far the most innovative version of Monopoly we’ve ever created. . . . We’re super proud of that.”

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