Get Retro for Monopoly’s 80th Anniversary

Monopoly has been a staple in my life for as long as I can remember. Some of my earliest board game memories are of playing Monopoly Jr. with my parents; I remember being outraged (along with my high school friends) at that crazy credit card edition that took away the banker’s ability to control the game a bit (or, I guess, “cheat” as moral people would call it); and I remember spending one New Year’s Eve getting completely destroyed by my brother in Star Wars monopoly (#OccupyNaboo). Games of Monopoly with my friends would lead to intricate trading deals where people earned certain percentages of other people’s properties (and yes, it was near impossible to keep track of, but we were that serious). So this year, I am happy to raise a glass—or a top hat—to celebrate 80 years of Monopoly with Hasbro Gaming.

This year, Hasbro released a special 80^th Anniversary Edition of the classic fast-trading property game—and they get real retro with it. The gameboard and cards are all old school, which makes this a really special, and refreshing, way to play the game. Plus, those cheap properties—Baltic and Mediterranean—are back to that vibrant purple color.

My favorite part about the game is the tokens. The 80^th Anniversary Edition features tokens from when the game began in the 1930s to the newly voted-in cat token of the 2000s. The packaging on the box has a window that shows off these tokens and it’s really cool to see your favorites from everyone’s (your own, Grandma’s, your BFF’s) different versions of the game, and when they began.

Monopoly is a classic game, and staple in most game closets. This 80^th Anniversary Edition is perfect for Monopoly lovers and newbies alike, since the cool retro vibe gives you a feeling of nostalgia, but also draws in new interest. The game will bring the family together with a night that’s more fun that being the sole keeper of the “Get Out of Jail Free” card. (Just kidding. Nothing is more fun than lording that card over your friends and using it as leverage in a trade, but the game is still really fun.)