Monopoly Tokens Up For Grabs

For the first time in more than 40 years, the makers of the Monopoly® game will be adding a new token to the world's most popular game. CBS This Morning asked Mark Morris, director of public relations for Parker Brothers and Milton Bradley, divisions of Hasbro, to tell us about the selection of this latest addition.

Vote Online: Via computer or phone, Monopoly players everywhere can take part in "The Campaign of the Year" to elect a new token to the Monopoly® game and determine the country's favorite existing token.

Myth of Monopoly: CBS.com traces the history and folklore of this parlor-room standard.

"It's been a debate in family rooms for more than 60 years, 'I want to be the dog, I want to be the car'," said Glenn Kilbride, vice president of U.S. marketing for Hasbro Games and Puzzles, the makers of the Monopoly® game. "It seems like part of our personalities is reflected in which tokens we use in the Monopoly® game."

The prospective new tokens - a piggybank, bi-plane, and sack of money - were unveiled in an election kick-off event at FAO Schwarz in Manhattan, the first New York toy store to sell the Monopoly® game back in 1935. They shared the stage with the 10 tokens currently included in the Monopoly® game - the battleship, cannon, dog, horse & rider, iron, racecar, shoe, thimble, top hat, and wheelbarrow.

Consumers can vote for their favorite tokens two ways - via the Internet on the Monopoly® game site on the World Wide Web, or by phone, 1-888-81 TOKEN. Votes can be cast until Sept. 30, 1998. The new token will be added to the game in 1999.

Almost everyone who has played the Monopoly® game has a favorite token. Defending U.S. national champion Roger Craig prefers the iron. "It's low to the game board and is difficult to see behind houses and hotels," Craig said. "It saves me on rent money."