Hasbro officially brought the gender pay gap to game night with its new feminist version of Monopoly called “Ms. Monopoly.”
The new version of the classic board game comes with new rules: Women players will collect $240 in Monopoly money while male players will only collect $200. Women also collect $1,900 in Monopoly money from the banker player at the beginning of the game while men collect $1,500, according to USA Today.
But “if men play their cards right, they can make more money, too,” the game-making company announced in a Monday press release.
Ms. Monopoly will be “the first-ever game in the Monopoly franchise that celebrates women trailblazers,” according to Hasbro’s press release, and will feature a new, female character on the box cover instead of the game’s original mustachioed mascot, Rich Uncle Pennybags.
Hasbro also announced a $20,580 “real money” donation to three girls ages 13 to 16 “to fuel their inventive spirit and further their projects – which just so happens to be the same amount of Monopoly money featured in the game. … All of the young inventors come from very different backgrounds, but with a common goal to help others using their inventions.”
Hasbro Global Brand Strategy and Marketing Senior Director Jen Boswinkel said that through the new game and the company’s donation to three young women, Hasbro’s goal is to “recognize and celebrate the many contributions women have made to our society and continue to make on a daily basis.”
“We made sure that this felt authentic and was a fun game families could play and learn about these things that they love and are a part of their life that they didn’t know were invented by women,” Boswinkel told USA Today.
Washington Post reporter Dave Jorgenson noted on Twitter that the original patent for the first version of the game called “The Landlord’s Game” was actually created by a woman named Lizzie Magie in 1903.
But however well-intentioned the purpose of the game is, its pay-gap rule received some criticism on Twitter.
The game is set to be released next month.
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