![]() ![]() And the subsequent rounds keep reminding us that we should resist attempts to find coherence in this gamified treatment of corporate feminism. The instructions themselves offer very few explanations. But still we are confused: Is the idea that women start with more money but then, over the course of the game, watch that readjustment swing back in favor of men? Is it simply that men should be rewarded extra for seeing a film that stars a woman? Why $400 more for the women at the outset? Why $40 more with each rounding of the board? How is the Hasbro corporation defining “woman”? We get that it’s probably meant to be played by women, and that there might be something quietly powerful in the way its instructions and assertions default, correctively, to the women’s perspective. We understand that this is a board game intended for ages 8 and up and probably shouldn’t be overthought. This is what his card says: “You see the newest superhero movie with a female lead, and it’s awesome! COLLECT $50. We dutifully follow the directions: Roll the dice, move forward, buy, pay, repeat. ![]() Monopoly’s primary gimmicks is that it is “the first game where women make more money than men” its instructions stipulate that the lady players should start off with more money ($400 more) than the guys, and also get $240 for passing “GO,” while men get the traditional $200. Still, the most consistent emotion Andrew and I experience while playing the game is confusion. Monopoly, turn by turn, echoes the logic of the original: Move around the board, buy properties, pay rent on other players’ properties, get money for passing “GO.” It is all fairly familiar. Read: ‘Woman laughing alone with salad’ has decided to lean in Monopoly herself: Clad in a blazer, heels, and skinny jeans, one of her hands is on her hip and the other clutches a portable coffee cup. ![]() Monopoly, it is possible to own, and then charge rent on, “modern shapewear.”) At the center of it all, on the board, is Ms. The goal is to buy up those products-so that, ostensibly, as you learn about women’s achievements, you can also profit from them. Cards list the products on one side (“Fire Escape”) and, on the other, a brief explanation (“1887: Before Anna Connelly’s fire escape bridge, people had to parachute or rappel from burning buildings!”). Along its perimeter, in place of the standard “properties,” are goods and services that were invented-or partially invented-by women: windshield wipers, bulletproof vests, round-edged makeup applicators, and so on. The board mimics the layout of the original Monopoly. Monopoly-himself a character who is also known as “Rich Uncle Pennybags”-is “a self-made investment guru.” This was a hint of what was to come.) (An explanatory note informed us, with no evident mordancy, that the niece of Mr. The idea is that she’s a Silicon Valley–style investor who is focused on the inventions of women. Monopoly, the game’s top-hatted and mustachioed avatar. The game, one of the many spin-offs of Monopoly that Hasbro has dreamed up in recent years, is centered on the character of Ms. The answer is: pretty much in the way you’d expect. I wanted to know how Monopoly, a game premised on the notion that the zealous accumulation of wealth is a fun way to pass the time, would treat feminism. I’d just seen the ad promoting the game-the one that resurfaced this week, after it was originally posted last fall, and that is … if you haven’t seen it already, you should probably just watch it:Īnd so I asked Andrew, a man, to join me in a round of the game that is supposed to celebrate womanhood. Monopoly not so much because we thought it’d be fun-I don’t think I have ever in my life had fun playing Monopoly-but because I was curious and Andrew is patient. And that white sure makes a statement!”). Monopoly isn’t the only one who can rock a top hat. There’s also a standard top hat-this one painted white (“Mr. There are many options: an airplane (“It’s how I get around the world at a moment’s notice!” the game’s packaging explains), a barbell (“Love my mornings at the gym!”), a journal (“It’s full of ideas!”), a wine glass (“Put your energy into empowering others, and your glass will always be half full!”), and a watch (“Don’t you agree it’s time for some change?”). First we have to choose the pieces we’ll play with. ![]()
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