T-Rex, rubber duck and penguin join Monopoly after fan vote kicks out classic tokens after 80 years

The vote to decide the new generation of Monopoly tokens has closed, and the results may surprise you more than you expect.

Hasbro kicked off the Monopoly Token Madness Vote in mid-January, aiming to eliminate contenders from a pool of 64 potential player pieces, ranging from traditional staples such as the car, battleship and top hat to contemporary rivals including the crying emoji (one of several emoji in the running), #hashtag and thumbs-up.

Purists can perhaps breathe a little sigh of relief at the outcome, as none of the new pieces are directly inspired by the ubiquitous presence of the internet and mobile phones. (Although one of the existing pieces to survive the cull, 2013’s cat, could arguably be linked to the modern popularity of funny videos on YouTube.)

In fact, all three of the new tokens are animals. A T-Rex, penguin and rubber ducky, to be more specific.

They join classic favourites the Scottie dog, motorcar, top hat and battleship, plus the more recent feline addition, to form the final line-up for Monopoly’s latest edition, which will be released this autumn.

In order to make room for the newcomers, three pieces that have been part of the game since metal tokens were first introduced in 1935 have been retired: the boot, wheelbarrow and thimble.

The vote’s results announcement coincided with World Monopoly Day, which apparently took place yesterday, March 19th.

The new roster is sure to case a stir among those who would rather the game stuck to its traditional roots, but it could also be a lot more controversial – perhaps count your lucky stars the poop emoji wasn’t in the running to begin with.