Cat lovers can rejoice.
But fans of clear-starching and Beatrix Potter’s Mrs. Tiggy-Winkle?
Not so much.
It’s now official: “Monopoly” will soon bring in a new gameboard token, a cat – and abandon the old token shaped like an iron.
The Hasbro toy company announced the change this week in an effort to please modern-day game players.
“Oh no!” exclaimed Anne Zukowski, owner of Sunrise Laundry and Drycleaning in Hamburg for 35 years, when she learned of the change. She said she thinks retiring the iron is a tragic mistake.
“It’s always been part of it,” Zukowski said of the board game. “Ironing is a large part of our business.
“Everybody needs an iron once in a while.”
One person who was thrilled with the switch was current U.S. “Monopoly” tournament champion Richard J. Marinaccio, an attorney with the Buffalo firm Phillips Lytle.
Marinaccio has nothing against the iron. But the 30-year-old Amherst resident – who won his title using the thimble token – was concerned that the thimble would be the piece targeted for history’s dustbin.
The thimble’s salvation delighted Marinaccio, who won his title the last time the national tournament was played, back in 2009.
“I would like to express my sincere gratitude to all who voted to save the thimble,” said Marinaccio, in a prepared statement. He added that he plans to use the thimble again at the next U.S. championship.
“Our token would not be safe without your collective efforts,” Marinaccio stated. “I am happy with the outcome and look forward to using the thimble in the coming years.”
The company’s decision follows a period in which game players were encouraged to vote online about which token should be retired and which new piece created.
According to Hasbro, the iron netted just under 8 percent of the public votes. Squeaking by were the wheelbarrow and the shoe, which did only slightly better than the iron, tallies showed.
The thimble got nearly 10 percent, and the top hat snared about 12 percent.
Here’s the way the vote tallies stood, according to Hasbro:
Scottie dog: 28.6 percent
Car: 13.8 percent
Thimble: 9.6 percent
Battleship: 13 percent
Top hat: 11.5 percent
Shoe: 7.9 percent
Wheelbarrow: 7.7 percent
Iron: 7.6 percent
A company spokesman called the toymaker “a bit sad to see the iron go” but said the new cat is “a fantastic choice.”
In Hamburg, Zukowski said she would be happier to see another token go, but not the iron.
But, she admitted, when she plays “Monopoly,” even she takes a different piece around the board.
“I’ve always been drawn to the poor shoe,” she said.
email: cvogel@buffnews.com
But fans of clear-starching and Beatrix Potter’s Mrs. Tiggy-Winkle?
Not so much.
It’s now official: “Monopoly” will soon bring in a new gameboard token, a cat – and abandon the old token shaped like an iron.
The Hasbro toy company announced the change this week in an effort to please modern-day game players.
“Oh no!” exclaimed Anne Zukowski, owner of Sunrise Laundry and Drycleaning in Hamburg for 35 years, when she learned of the change. She said she thinks retiring the iron is a tragic mistake.
“It’s always been part of it,” Zukowski said of the board game. “Ironing is a large part of our business.
“Everybody needs an iron once in a while.”
One person who was thrilled with the switch was current U.S. “Monopoly” tournament champion Richard J. Marinaccio, an attorney with the Buffalo firm Phillips Lytle.
Marinaccio has nothing against the iron. But the 30-year-old Amherst resident – who won his title using the thimble token – was concerned that the thimble would be the piece targeted for history’s dustbin.
The thimble’s salvation delighted Marinaccio, who won his title the last time the national tournament was played, back in 2009.
“I would like to express my sincere gratitude to all who voted to save the thimble,” said Marinaccio, in a prepared statement. He added that he plans to use the thimble again at the next U.S. championship.
“Our token would not be safe without your collective efforts,” Marinaccio stated. “I am happy with the outcome and look forward to using the thimble in the coming years.”
The company’s decision follows a period in which game players were encouraged to vote online about which token should be retired and which new piece created.
According to Hasbro, the iron netted just under 8 percent of the public votes. Squeaking by were the wheelbarrow and the shoe, which did only slightly better than the iron, tallies showed.
The thimble got nearly 10 percent, and the top hat snared about 12 percent.
Here’s the way the vote tallies stood, according to Hasbro:
Scottie dog: 28.6 percent
Car: 13.8 percent
Thimble: 9.6 percent
Battleship: 13 percent
Top hat: 11.5 percent
Shoe: 7.9 percent
Wheelbarrow: 7.7 percent
Iron: 7.6 percent
A company spokesman called the toymaker “a bit sad to see the iron go” but said the new cat is “a fantastic choice.”
In Hamburg, Zukowski said she would be happier to see another token go, but not the iron.
But, she admitted, when she plays “Monopoly,” even she takes a different piece around the board.
“I’ve always been drawn to the poor shoe,” she said.
email: cvogel@buffnews.com