The thimble is no longer a Monopoly game piece
February 21, 2017
The next time you go to throw the board on the floor after a frustrating game of Monopoly, the thimble won’t be one of the pieces you send flying across the room.
Last month, Hasbro hosted a fan-vote to determine the next generation of Monopoly game pieces. This marks the first time in the 82 year history of Monopoly that Hasbro turned to the public to change the entire game.
The vote was held in honor of Monopoly’s latest release, “Token Madness.” On top of the traditional eight pieces in silver, there are an additional eight pieces in gold.
The contest determined what eight pieces will become the new lineup for future Monopoly games.
In the current edition, the eight game pieces are the thimble, the race car, the cat, the shoe, the top hat, the wheelbarrow, the battleship and the Scottie dog.
In addition to the traditional eight, there were over 50 other options available to be voted on, including a typewriter, a bathtub, a plane and a hashtag.
Voting was open on Monopoly’s website from Jan. 10 to Jan. 31.
The thimble’s fate was announced on Feb. 16, but any additional pieces to be replaced will be announced, along with the winners, on March 19 for World Monopoly Day.
This is not the first time one of the original Monopoly pieces was dropped from the lineup.
The iron was also removed from the game in 2013 and replaced by a cat.
The lineup when the game was first released in 1935 consisted of the top hat, the cannon, the battleship, the iron, the thimble and the shoe. The only original pieces that remain in the set are the battleship, the top hat and the shoe.
No matter who wins the vote, the thimble will live on in history. It will also live on in the older Monopoly sets most people still own.
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