Plastic on Park Place
‘DEBIT OR CREDIT?”
The question arises in convenience stores, supermarkets and at gas pumps everywhere. And it may not be long before players of Monopoly hear it when they land on Boardwalk.
No longer will they clutch piles of pastel cash as they navigate their tiny metal top hat or thimble on an endless circuit through Atlantic City. After 71 years, the British version of Parker Brothers’ board game is replacing mock cash with mock Visa-branded debit cards. A U.S. edition may soon follow. And it may not be long before mortgaging a property is replaced with using credit.
Maybe such change was inevitable. Just as increasing numbers of Americans favor plastic over cash in real life, so they may prefer plastic over cash in board games. And maybe some of the updates to the game will make it newly relevant.
Atlantic City’s streets are so anonymous that many think the names of the avenues on the game board come from, well, Monopoly. A new “Here and Now” version will soon be released that replaces the likes of St. James Place with Rodeo Drive and Times Square, allowing die-toting tycoons to own tourist traps across the country. Railroads are being replaced with airports. And rents are increasing across the board, to use the phrase in its original sense.
But what about those piles of cash? It may become harder for a new generation to appreciate the value of a dollar. Or a piece of prime waterfront property, as the case may be.
Debit cards are certainly more convenient. But cold, hard cash -- whether pastel or government-issue green -- has a peculiar appeal. The lessons of basic math come easier when bills are lost or gained, instead of being credited or debited to your account. And studies show that people are generally more profligate when using plastic instead of cash.
Perhaps Monopoly’s new accounting system will make the game popular for new players. But it also could lead to the board-game equivalent of a real-estate bubble. For the U.S. version, maybe Parker Brothers could find a way for players to refinance.
