Family game night is about to get real. In honor of Monopoly’s 80th anniversary, the French manufacturers have replaced the traditional fake bills of 80 game boxes with REAL money. We’ll give you a minute to process that.
OK, now that you’ve started breathing again, here’s the deal. There are reportedly 69 prize sets floating around France with five 10-euro notes and five 20-euro notes, which is about $172 USD. Another 10 sets include five 20-euro notes, two 50-euro notes, and one 100-euro note, equal to about $516 USD. A final box features an entire bank of real bills, worth 20,580 euros or about $23,000. The classic, junior, electronic, and vintage empire editions are all included.
The French manufacturers were inspired to do this after getting the results of a recent survey where they asked players what they would most like to find inside their Monopoly box. About 50% of participants said they would want to find real money in their Monopoly sets. Sadly, U.S. manufacturers are only planning to commemorate the anniversary with a vintage style board. You know what we have to say to that? Go directly to jail. Do not pass go. Do not collect $200.
But seriously, we’re insanely jealous that the French have a real-life Willy Wonka experience on their hands. We can’t wait to hear the stories of the lucky shoppers who get the “golden” Monopoly sets. Ah, to be French.
Image courtesy of Amazon.com