Now you can sing along with America’s Founding Fathers as you crush your opponents under oppressive rents and market domination.
The Op Games, a publisher of board games and puzzles, is releasing a new version of Monopoly based on the hit Broadway musical Hamilton, marking the latest iteration of the classic economics game that has been a staple of family game nights for many decades.
The Op Games plans to announce the new version today, a spokesperson told Fast Company.
The game commemorates the 10th anniversary of Lin-Manuel Miranda’s rap-infused retelling of America’s origin story, which made its Broadway debut in the summer of 2015 and went on to win 11 Tony Awards and the Pulitzer Prize for Drama.
In Monopoly: Hamilton, hotels become Federalist Papers, houses become Letters, and the familiar Chance and Community Chest cards are named after the musical’s dueling protagonists: Alexander Hamilton and Aaron Burr.
Instead of boot or thimble, players can choose between an assortment of Hamilton-themed pieces, including a microphone, crown, or tricornered hat.
Can you say no to this?
California-based The Op Games has carved out quite a niche for itself with cobranded versions of popular board games, such as a Jaws-inspired riff on Operation or a Trivial Pursuit edition that lets you test your knowledge of HBO’s Game of Thrones franchise.
It licenses Monopoly from toy giant Hasbro, which has touted a “franchise-first approach” to IP as a cornerstone of its success. For instance, the Monopoly Go! mobile game, published by developer Scopely, has been an enormous success, contributing $126 million in revenue to Hasbro so far this year as of the third quarter.
You could argue that all these variations cheapen the Monpoly brand (we’ll leave it up to you to decide if the world needs a Guy Fieri edition), but a Hamilton version of the capitalist-forward game makes more sense than most.
The title character, after all, played a key role in creating America’s financial system, and at least four of the musical’s characters are still pictured on our money today.
While the cultural legacy of Hamilton has been rigorously debated and reassessed over the years—critics have accused it of perpetuating a “founders chic” view of American history, or of being an overly earnest relic of the Obama era—the show remains a money-making juggernaut.
Ten years on, it’s still playing at full capacity at the Richard Rodgers Theatre, where just last week it earned $3.9 million at the box office, more than any other show on Broadway.
Monopoly: Hamilton will be available for purchase at the theater, on the Hamilton website, and at Barnes & Noble bookstores, retailing for $45.
Just remember to collect 20 Hamiltons every time you pass Go.
