This family still plays Monopoly. Well, my kids mostly play that and The Game of Life. This blogger doesn't play too many classic games any more. Which is why I design my own board games for millennials.
The biggest complaint about this new Monopoly for Millennials, at least on Twitter, is that it's condescending and insulting to players.
Let's take the tagline: Forget Real Estate, You Can't Afford It Anyway.
Yeah, that's a low blow if you ask me, although I'm sure that Hasbro intended it as a joke, and we get it for the most part. But if you're a millennial, I bet you're not laughing at that line. While the tagline might ring true in most cases, there's nothing inspirational or funny about it.
As the father of several millennial children, I can attest to that. And everybody said, AMEN!
My goodness, where are the days when you could afford a middle-class lifestyle with a 9 to 5 job? Well, maybe 9 to 9 because that extra overtime certainly helped. But these days, you're lucky to get a 4 hour shift in most places.
You see where this is going? You brought it up Hasbro. Here's the thing; games must be careful not to cross the line. These are sensitive times of political correctness, 99 Percenters, Me Too Women's Movement, etc. You get the point.
These are real social problems that many citizens face. It's not a game to them and it's not funny because they have to live with those issues on a daily basis.
So people at Hasbro, listen up. Go back to the drawing board and remove all the offensive and insensitive comments on your packaging because, that's a game we know how to play too.
Forget Monopoly, Nobody Plays That Anyway.
* * *
Your comments are welcome. Don't be shy, let it fly.
A. R. Arias is a freelance graphic designer and developer at Terra Nova Board Games.
