Cat Replaces Iron in Monopoly Piece Shake-Up

Image by wikimedia commons

By Reuters February 6, 2013

Monopoly fans have voted to make a cat the newest token in the popular board game, replacing the not-so-hot iron, toymaker Hasbro Inc said on Wednesday.

After a month-long online vote in 185 countries, the iron was ousted by the cat, which will become the newest token in the classic game after winning 31 percent of the vote.

“While we’re a bit sad to see the iron go, the cat token is a fantastic choice by the fans and we have no doubt it will become just as iconic as the original tokens,” Eric Nyman, senior vice president and global brand leader for Hasbro Gaming, said in a statement.

With just 8 percent of the vote, the iron was the least popular of the eight tokens that also include the race car, top hat, wheelbarrow, battleship, shoe, thimble and Scottie dog.

Hasbro said the iron, which has been in the game since the 1930s, will be eliminated in new editions that arrive in stores later this year.

In addition to getting rid of an existing token, fans also voted on which new one to include. The cat clawed its way past a toy robot, guitar, helicopter and diamond ring.

In the popular property game launched in the 1930s, players try to get rich by buying, renting and trading properties. The game, which according to Hasbro has been played by more than a billion people, is sold in 111 countries and available in 43 languages and a digital version.

Hasbro said it will also issue a special edition with gold-colored versions of the eight classic tokens and the five tokens included in the online vote.

A message from our CEO & publisher Rachel Fishman Feddersen

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you move on, I wanted to ask you to support the Forward’s award-winning journalism during our High Holiday Monthly Donor Drive.

This year, we have stood together in strength and sorrow. Our Forward team has worked around the clock to help you find clarity amid the chaos.

If you’ve turned to the Forward in the past 12 months to better understand the world around you, we hope you will support us with a gift now. Your support has a direct impact, giving us the resources we need to report from Israel and around the U.S., across college campuses, and wherever there is news of importance to American Jews.

Make a monthly or one-time gift and support Jewish journalism throughout 5785. The first six months of your monthly gift will be matched for twice the investment in independent Jewish journalism.

— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO