Anyone who was previously unfamiliar with the classic capitalist-themed board gameMonopolycertainly shouldn’t be anymore after Hasbro has spent so much time revitalizing the brand under different guises and even polling fans toreplace token piecesthat date back to the early 90s. But the American toy company certainly took their game in an interesting direction Thursday by introducingMonopoly: House Divided, which is available now.
The newest version ofMonopolywas revealed through an exclusive story byYahoo! Entertainment, which saidHouse Divided"echoes" America’s political divide by having players choose one of six political affiliations and literally splitting the playing field into red and blue halves. Those six party choices are Donkey, Elephant, Eagle, Flag, Peace, and Tea Cup — a not-so-subtle allusion to real-life political affiliations like the Democrat, Republican, and Tea Parties; and a far cry away from rival toy giant Mattel’s decision to releasea nonpartisan version of Unoin 2019.
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Instead of buying out properties and retrofitting them with houses, this civic-minded version of the game has players earn “Votes” from spaces that mimic the 50 states (with California and Texas replacing the highest-end Boardwalk and Park Place). Traditional Railroad spaces have also been replaced by “Campaign Buses,” while players give money to “Fundraisers” rather than Income Tax.
Yahoo also reports that there are additional mechanics in place, such as acquiring a White House token to receive 10 extra votes by the end of the game or exercising “Executive Power.” However they do not specify exactly what this means beyond giving “voters a taste of your presidential policies.”
Hasbro has released a myriad of differentMonopolyboard games, clearly trying to spice up the title which has existed since the early 20th Century. Some of these versions have simply adjusted the traditional real estate-focused goals by doing things likemaking the experience go faster.
House Dividedstands out in that it leans away from one oft-criticized symbol of America, its capitalist economy, into another, its politics. The game still succeeds at commenting on both by capitalizing on the upcoming 2020 presidential election, but its focus on politics appears to be more of a skin-deep marketing gimmick. Most of the traditional gameplay mechanics are in place, they’ve simply been dressed up (much like versions of the game thatfollow popular culture trends) and supplemented with a few additional rules.
Telling players to compete using their political affiliations during family game night seems like it would be a harder sell for Hasbro’s marketing team than something like jumping on theseason pass mobile game trend. But hey, perhaps there is still some fun to be had by reducing all of America’s complex political turmoil down into a silly, irreverent family activity.
Monopoly: House Dividedis available at major retailers and on Amazon for $19.99.
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