Maybe I’m just a whiny oldster because my adult fingers are too big to fit into a Monopoly thimble, but I’m a little disappointed to hear the Hasbro real estate game is ditching its Tyrannosaurus dinosaur token in favor of bringing back the vintage sewing accoutrement.
In case you haven’t played Monopoly, one of the most important decisions you can make is to choose which token will represent you on the game board. Are you a tenacious Scottie dog? A zippy racecar? A stylish top hat? An imposing battleship? Your token can inspire your entire approach to the game as you gobble up properties, build houses and take over railroads.
In April, Hasbro launched a worldwide campaign asking Monopoly fans to vote on bringing back a retired token to appear in the next release of the classic game. That also meant cutting a current token. When the dust settled on the voting, the thimble was back and the dino was dust.
Goodbye, T. rex. You were the best.
CNETHasbro announced the thimble’s victory on Monday, saying the T. rex token would “head to extinction.” The fingertip protector logged 30% of the votes to return to the game while the dinosaurs received 30% of the votes to leave, and I can’t fathom why. It’s a freakin’ dinosaur, people. How cool is that? Not cool enough for a lot of you, apparently.
The throwback tokens in contention were the thimble, the wheelbarrow, the iron, the boot, the moneybag and the horse and rider (my personal favorite of the bunch).
It was a stunning turn of fortune for the thimble, which was kicked out by a fan vote in 2017. I guess everyone loves a good comeback story. That same vote ushered in the reign of the T. rex, which is now about about to go the way of the dinosaurs. Monopoly fans are so fickle.
The revolving door of tokens is a clever marketing move for Monopoly. Dinosaurs fans and paleontologists will want to rush out and buy the T. rex version of the game. Old-school fans will want to get in on the return of the thimble.
As sad as I am to see the mighty dino go, I offer some begrudging respect to the thimble, an icon of the do-it-yourself spirit of sewing. It’s a shield and a friend. I guess I’ll just have to make do with my second choice from now on: Hazel the cat. Like T. rex, Hazel is also a mighty predator.
