The Game of Life will soon be taking credit cards—Visa, to be exact.
The effort is part of a new deal between Hasbro and Visa, in which a credit card is integrated into the newest version of the popular board game. But not everyone is thrilled about the deal.
The Game of Life: Twist & Turns edition hits stores this summer, the first time a board game replaces play money with plastic. The effort plays off Visa’s “Life Takes Visa” tagline.
“Hasbro gets the chance to reflect consumers’ desire to use electronic payment in the course of their daily lives and Visa gets a great brand fit,” said Visa spokesman Michael Rolnick. “The fit between the brands is so natural.”
In addition to the Visa card, the game also features elements of Visa’s financial literacy curriculum Practical Money Skills for Life. Players can choose four paths to pursue their life goals, including the adventure track, family track, college track or the career track.
Players “information” is stored in an electronic device that is used with the game. The winner is determined by the player who has the most “life points”, not money, at the end of the game.
“For us, it’s an opportunity to give parents a chance to start a dialogue with their kids about financial practices,” Rolnick said.
Critics, however, say the deal is the latest attempt by marketers to exploit young children.
“This co-branding with children’s toys means that children can’t even play a game without having some product marketed to them,” said Susan Linn, co-founder of Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood and the author of Consuming Kids. “Credit card companies have saturated the teen market and are now trying to seek younger and younger customers. That’s concerning, especially when credit card debit is a growing, among young people. It’s just sleazy of Hasbro.”
Rolnick, however, countered that Visa’s goal is to teach players about financial responsibility. The company will place brochures for its Practical Money Skills for Life curriculum in board game packaging, he said.
“We are not marketing to kids,” Rolnick said. “We are helping to educate kids. It’s never to early.”
The game will be available in August, selling for $34.99. Visa is looking at promotional tie-ins for the game’s launch, Rolnick said.
“The flagship version of The Game of Life has been updated many times since its launch in 1960 to ensure that it matches modern-day life,” said Matt Collins, vice president of marketing, Hasbro Games, in a statement. “When we started to design a completely new edition of the popular game, we knew it was also time to reflect the way people choose to pay and be paid—and replacing cash with Visa was an obvious choice.”
Other Hasbro games are taking a cue to update old classics with a twist. Parker Brothers is giving its famed Monopoly game a facelift by adding a digital component to the mix. The Monopoly Electronic Banking Edition, the brand’s first cashless game, lets players buy property with an un-branded debit card. The board game will sell for $34.99 this fall.
Last year, Visa replaced money in a Monopoly game in Europe with a Visa card.
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