Monopoly Goes Cashless

No more dipping into the till as the banker in Monopoly. (Which was the only way I knew how to win, dammit!)

The classic board game Monopoly is about to undergo a major overhaul and we’re not exactly sure if it’s for the better. Making its debut at the New York Toy Fair this week was the Monopoly Ultimate Banking Edition, which no longer has paper money. Instead, players are issued debit cards, and there’s no banker, just an ATM. 

The game even includes a digital banking device, which scans barcodes on property cards so it can keep track of the cost of properties, utilities, plastic houses and hotels. It even does all the math for the players, Chance cards are digital and there’s now a new “Life Events” feature which enables property values to fluctuate.

While some folks may be happy to see Monopoly change with the times, others don’t agree. Monopoly used to help teach children how to handle money responsibly and some worry that just won’t be the case with the new set up.

"Teaching kids to not pay attention to how much they have, just swipe a card and don't care about the interest Visa will charge you,” one user told The Today Show, while another added that it, "Takes away the fun of flourishing a fistful of notes to entice someone to make a deal that's bad for them.” Meanwhile, another added that it takes away their favorite part of the game, "CHEATING!,” noting, “How am I to discreetly steal money from the bank now!?" Okay that’s a lesson no kid needs to learn.

Somehow we don’t think this solves the game’s biggest problem – which is that it’s boring.