Hasbro shakes up the world returning the Monopoly thimble, but is that enough?

There was big news out of Pawtucket the other day that reverberated globally.

Even the "Today Show" hosts got worked up about it.

Hasbro is bringing back the thimble.

Meaning the Monopoly token.

This came as a shock, as I hadn’t realized they took the thimble away – which they did in 2017. And retired the wheelbarrow and boot, replacing them with a penguin, T-Rex and rubber ducky.

Oh, they also tossed the trustworthy iron in 2013.

Is nothing sacred?

I used to roll my eyes when my dad said, “I’ve seen a lot of changes in my 85 years, and I’ve been against every one of them.”

But I’ve begun to relate, especially concerning Monopoly, one of the world’s longest successful board games. It’s a rare case of a tradition holding on, to a point where even my sons agreed to play it instead of Call of Duty.

Girl power: Hasbro brings gender pay gap debate to game night with new Ms. Monopoly

It was created in early form in 1904, complete with a “Go to Jail” corner, by an inventor named Lizzie Magie, who called it “The Landlord’s Game.” Her goal was to show the evils of robber-barons buying up too much real estate.

That backfired since the game in current form, refined in the 1930s and acquired by Hasbro in 1991, taught me as a kid to buy every property possible, put hotels on them and squeeze my brothers into penury.

I remember fighting over who got which token. Those things were important.

The current ones thankfully still include the old-school Scottie, battleship, roadster and top hat.

But now there’s also a cat, penguin, T-rex and rubber ducky.

What in the Sam Hill?

Some of my go-to tokens, including the boot, howitzer and horse-&-rider, are gone. Why can’t everything just stay the same?

Thank goodness we’ll soon get the thimble back. That came after Hasbro surveyed players in 100 countries, which tells you how big the game is. But it’s curious the thimble won. People still sew?

This may seem like a small issue, but many of us have clear Monopoly memories, like of money piling up as we saw a sibling’s Scottie land on our Pennsylvania Avenue with hotels. Or the heartbreak of our top hat landing on their Marvin Gardens with four houses.

I recall my older brother Hugh teaching me a brutal life lesson when he formed a Monopoly alliance with me: I gave him a pass when he landed on my New York Avenue with three houses. Then I landed on his Park Place with a hotel.

“Alliance over,” he said. "Pay up."

Hugh never broke alliances in real life, but let it be said he went on to make far more money than I ever did, no doubt with lessons by way of that Scottie and roadster.

Opinion/Patinkin: My millennial son thinks I act old? How dare he

This issue is not relevant only to those of us old enough to be skilled at dropping a phonograph needle between two vinyl tracks. Even millennials get emotional about it. My 28-year-old son, who prefers the still-in-play top hat, is unnerved by it all, especially the new tokens.

“A T-rex?” he said. “What is that all about?”

He won’t even discuss the rubber ducky.

Hasbro, please know I appreciate the return of the thimble. But when are we going to get back the boot, wheelbarrow, howitzer, iron and horse-&-rider?

That said, there is some other slight good news.

It seems that to make room for the thimble, the T-rex was voted out.

In a battle of tradition versus change, it’s a rare case of tradition prevailing.

So there’s hope.

mpatinki@providencejournal.com

This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: Mark Patinkin: Hasbro brings back the Monopoly thimble, so there’s hope