Report: Young People Offended by Hasbro’s ‘Monopoly for Millennials’

Hasbro, the toy and game company, recently launched a new edition of board game Monopoly which is targeted at millennials. The company’s target audience of young people does not seem to be reacting to Monopoly for Millennials as intended, according to Time Magazine.

A new edition of the classic board game Monopoly has some young people up in arms. The new edition, which is called Monopoly for Millennials, is packaged with the tagline “Forget real estate. You can’t afford it anyway.” On the cover, the Monopoly Man is wearing a “participation” medal and taking a selfie.

As soon as the game was announced, young people took to social media to express their anger over the game’s premise.

“Hasbro ain’t shit lmfao Hahahaha Millennial Monopoly making fun of the struggles of millennials. You are aware that student debt and the rising cost of rent is crippling the economy,” one user wrote. “Talking about idiotic.”

“What?! @Hasbro‘s #Millennial Monopoly says “forget real estate, you cant afford it anyway.” Hopefully they’ll be donating the proceeds to student debt relief. (which is why millennials can’t afford real estate),” another user wrote.

Another user, @TechnicallyRon, joked about a Millennial Edition of Monopoly earlier this year before the game was announced. “Let’s play a game of MILLENNIAL MONOPOLY. The rules are simple, you start with no money, you can’t afford anything, the board is on fire for some reason and everything is your fault,” he wrote in May. It seems like Hasbro took the tweet, which went viral, and turned it into a game.

Hasbro defended the game from the backlash, arguing that they were not trying to offend millennials by using tongue-in-cheek jokes about the modern economy.

“We created Monopoly for Millennials to provide fans with a lighthearted game that allows Millennials to take a break from real life and laugh at the relatable experiences and labels that can sometimes be placed on them … Whether you are a lifestyle vlogger, emoji lover or you make your ‘side hustle’ selling vegan candles, Monopoly for Millennials is for you!” Hasbro said in a statement.