Monopoly rewards the "bad losers" in its new version

Many French people took advantage of the confinement to (re) discover board games. According to a survey conducted by The NPD Group, the world leader in market research for the toy industry, 37% of French people say they have spent more time playing than usual. Among young people, this figure even reaches 53%.

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Among the most requested games, we find the timeless Monopoly, which was also the best-selling game in France during the first week of confinement. Hasbro, the publisher of Monopoly, hopes to fuel this good momentum with a new version of the game called " Monopoly for the sore losers ", released on August 26th.

In this new version, the rules are changing. As with the “ Cheaters Special Monopoly ” edition , Hasbro wanted to transform certain constraints of the game into an advantage. In the new edition, going to jail, paying rent, or going bankrupt allows players to accumulate “ Bad Loser ” coins . At the end of four, players get the M. Monopoly pawn which gives a series of advantages, such as stealing a player's property, collecting money while on another player's property , or get a house for free by making a duplicate. The pawn being intended to change hands as the “ Bad Loser ” coins are won , no player is left behind.

The Mr. Monopoly pawn gives a series of advantages to the player who owns it Hasbro

" We realized that part of Monopoly in two ends badly because of bad players ", explains Florence Gaillard, marketing manager of Hasbro Gaming in France. “ People liked the cheaters edition, so we continued with a new edition based on breaking the rules, ” she adds.

A seller of the board games department of a large chain of toy stores confirms to Le Figaro that the cheaters edition has worked particularly well in his store. “ Special editions generally sell quite well, especially among young people. The older ones still prefer the classic edition. On the other hand, the Mme. Monopoly edition had not really won over our customers, ”he recalls.

On the consumer side, the new version seems to be receiving a warm welcome. " This new edition looks funny but I already have a classic version at home so I don't think about buying it, " says Figaro Anaïs, 29 years old. " I didn't know a new version was out, as I played it with my kids during the lockdown and they liked it I think maybe buy it!" This will make things easier with some who find it hard to accept losing, ”says Clément, 42, father of two, with a smile.

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With more than a billion registered players in the world in no less than 114 countries, the advertising slogan of the 1980s, " what would a family do without its Monopoly ", has never been truer.