Monopoly: The 1980’s Edition with original 1980’s artwork is a nostalgic re-release of the original property trading game by Winning Moves Games USA. It emulates the visual style, token selection, and board details of the original Monopoly game as it was sold in the 1980s, prior to the 2008 redesign of the game to standardise the US and international boards. The edition caters to players who can recall the original silver-colored tokens, the original artwork, and the original bi-fold game board format found on home editions of the 1980s. This guide explains exactly what is included, how it differs from the modern standard edition, and the availability of it.
Key Takeaways
- Monopoly: The 1980’s Edition is published by Winning Moves Games USA and uses the original 1980’s artwork and components, giving the game the look and feel of the original 1980’s game.
- The edition features 9 authentic 80’s tokens: the Battleship, the Race Car, the Cannon, the Top Hat, the Scotty Dog, the Horse and Rider, the Shoe, the Thimble and the Wheelbarrow.
- For 2 to 8 players, ages 8+, and comes complete with a traditional bi-fold game board, banker’s tray, complete set of money, Chance and Community Chest cards, and title deeds.
- The game costs about $20 to $43 on the retail market, depending on the individual retailer, and can be found on Amazon, Toys”R”Us, Office Depot, Winning Moves’ website, and specialty toy retailers.
- This version keeps pre-2008 board details such as the old Income Tax choice and pre-2008 Luxury Tax amount that applies to classic-era boards, unlike the modern standard edition.
- Since 1995, Winning Moves Games has been licensed to publish classic and nostalgic Monopoly versions, and is the main publisher of historically accurate Monopoly retro versions.
- The decade of the 1980’s was also important in Monopoly’s token history, because it was during this decade that the full set of ten tokens (including the ship and cannon restored in 1975) settled into their current form before any changes began in 1998.
What Is Monopoly: The 1980’s Edition
Monopoly The 1980’s Edition, Original Art, is published by Winning Moves Games USA, has original 1980’s artwork and components, classic tokens, and is designed for 2 to 8 players, ages 8 and up. According to the product description on Amazon, the edition will have nostalgic gameplay, classic Monopoly gameplay with original 1980’s artwork and components that will evoke fond memories for players of all ages.
The edition takes players back to the past with retro artwork, classic tokens and cards as they make fortunes from buying and selling and plotting, a bi-fold board for easy storage, ideal for game night nostalgia with 2-8 players age 8 and over.
Monopoly The 1980’s Edition is described by Winning Moves Games as nothing more than “fond memories will spring to life with family and friends while playing Monopoly The 1980’s Edition.
What’s Included in the Box
The standard contents of Monopoly: The 1980’s Edition, according to listings on various retailers:
- 1 original 1980’s artwork game board (1 bi-fold)
- 1 banker’s tray (full sized money tray)
- Set of Monopoly money.
- The cards on Chance and Community Chest.
- The title deed cards for all properties are available.
- Silver-tone metal tokens (9 classic pieces)
- Plastic houses and hotels
- 2 dice
- Rules of play printed with authentic rules,
Inside you will discover the most popular features of the game such as a traditional bi-fold game board, full-sized money tray, houses and hotels, your favorite tokens and all the cards, deeds and money that made you feel rich when you first touched it. There are also rules of play, which are authentic.
9 Classic Tokens Included
The most important aspect of this edition is the choice of tokens: the tokens selected reflect what players would have encountered in a Monopoly box in the 1980s. In the edition are 9 authentic tokens from the 1980’s: Battleship, Race Car, Cannon, Top Hat, Scotty Dog, Horse and Rider, Shoe, Thimble and Wheelbarrow.
| Token | Material in 1980s Standard Sets |
| Battleship | Die-cast metal |
| Race Car | Die-cast metal |
| Cannon | Die-cast metal |
| Top Hat | Die-cast metal |
| Scottie Dog | Die-cast metal |
| Horse and Rider | Die-cast metal |
| Shoe | Die-cast metal |
| Thimble | Die-cast metal |
| Wheelbarrow | Die-cast metal |
This is the 9-token line up of a particular moment and a historically significant moment in the game’s token history. The battleship and cannon have been temporarily removed, and by the 1970’s the number of tokens had dwindled to eight: the race car, the horse and rider, the wheelbarrow, the thimble, the top hat, the iron, the shoe, and the dog. Then the 40th Anniversary 1975 edition was released and the ship and cannon were put back in place, giving a more complete set. By the 1980s, the standard #9 edition was once again complete with all ten tokens, and in this Winning Moves reissue, the ten token combination is the one the publisher chose to represent those most familiar to the 1980s.
This nine-token lineup is particularly interesting because the sack of money token was not added until the 1998-1999 standard editions, and was not retired until 2007, after a public vote. The 1980’s Edition’s token roster thus reflects Monopoly exactly as it was before the later change, making it a true reflection of the decade, not a “classic” mix of tokens from various eras.
Also See: Black and White Artwork Prints
The 1980s Board differs from the modern standard edition in several ways
To appreciate this edition as truly “1980s” one must know what changed in Monopoly’s board design after the 1980s. Wikipedia’s history of the game lists the various changes made to the US standard version in 2008, including the same flat $200 Income Tax rate and higher $100 Luxury Tax rate for the various European versions, among other changes.
In particular, the 2008 revamp featured:
- Removing the original 10% option that has been available since the 1930s to make the Income Tax space a flat $200
- The new Luxury Tax will be $100 instead of $75.
- Switching the colours of the GO space from red to black
- Using a common color for Mediterranean and Baltic Avenues
- Changing Text of some Community Chest and Chance cards
A board that contained “original 1980’s artwork and components” would pre-date these 2008 changes and would include the $75 Luxury Tax, and the original Income Tax choice structure that had been in the US standard edition since the Charles Darrow era. This is why the edition is nostalgic, rather than using an old fashioned font on a modern layout of the board.
Winning Moves Games is the publisher of the edition
It helps to know the publisher’s past to understand why they make historically accurate nostalgia editions. Winning Moves Games received the license for new versions of the game and reprints of Monopoly in 1995. The license has enabled the company to focus its production on re-releasing versions of the game that are grounded in history, as opposed to Hasbro’s current standard edition releases and USAopoly’s regional and licensed theme editions.
Winning Moves Games continues to make new city and regional editions every year, and has released several nostalgia titles other than the 1980’s Edition, such as The Classic Edition (2009, with a pre-2008 game board and cards, the sack of money token re-included, and a plain Monopoly logo without the 3D computer-generated Mr. Monopoly character) and other anniversary reproductions.
In 2002, Winning Moves Games re-printed the original Parker Brothers board design, which had no Community Chest space icons (the now-familiar blue chest overflowing with gold coins were added) and no gold ring on the Luxury Tax space. This is a good sign that Winning Moves has a specific niche in the larger Monopoly licensing market — a market that’s more about selling the current standard edition in vintage packaging, than about reproducing specific historical board states.
The 1980’s Edition of Monopoly is available for purchase at the following stores
The game is offered from several retailers and the prices are different based on the retailer and any promotion.
| Retailer | Notes |
| Amazon | Listed under Winning Moves Games USA, includes detailed product specifications |
| Toys”R”Us | Marketed with emphasis on “blast from the past” nostalgia positioning |
| Office Depot | Listed at a standard retail price with instant savings promotions noted |
| Winning Moves’ official site | Direct manufacturer purchase |
| FGBradley’s (specialty retailer) | Listed among multiple family board game offerings, with pricing in the $19.99 to $42.99 range across different Monopoly editions |
| eBay | Both new sealed copies and vintage original 1980s-manufactured sets (e.g., 1985 Parker Brothers editions) are available |
It’s important to note that there are two types of products that can be found under the same search query. Monopoly: The 1980’s Edition (Winning Moves) is a contemporary reprint that aims to capture the 1980’s style and ambiance with modern production methods. The authentic 1980s Parker Brothers (as the company owned the Monopoly license at the time, before Hasbro took it over) games, however, are available on secondary markets such as eBay as collectible items and are frequently sold as “Vintage Monopoly 1985 Complete Classic Board Game Parker Brothers 80’s. These are original vintage sets and not the reissued Winning Moves sets currently on the market, and collectors who are interested in buying original period manufactured boards and not a modern reissue should know what they are buying.
Monopoly’s Broader History: 1980s Edition is a game context
The decade the edition reproduces helps to gain a broader perspective on Monopoly’s history. Parker Brothers introduced monopoly on a large scale in 1935. The basic outline of the game, the board, the property trading system and the use of Chance and Community Chest cards has changed little since that original game and this is why a game that tries to replicate the 80’s version still feels like “Monopoly” to players of any generation.
The 1980s were a relatively stable time in the design of the game, between the major changes to the tokens in the mid-20th century and the changes to the structure of the board that started in 2008. In 1985 a new generation of spin-off board games and card games emerged on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean, and the mid-’80s saw the release of the first “collector’s tin anniversary edition” for the game’s fiftieth anniversary, also produced by the Franklin Mint, the first edition not manufactured by Parker Brothers themselves. The same nostalgia and collectability that the Winning Moves 1980’s Edition offers decades later is evident in these anniversary and collector editions during the 1980’s.
It is a conscious and intentional attempt to keep a historical visual style alive and to reproduce it, not just simply to update a product to the prevailing design norms, which is related to a larger idea on how creative and commercial works are able to retain a cultural relevance through generations. This relationship between historical truth and contemporary appearance is explored from a fine art point of view in the guide to Ad Reinhardt Abstract Painting 1957, where a particular moment’s style choices were intentionally kept to reflect the historical context and not updated to accommodate later styles.
This Edition is for:
Monopoly: The 1980’s Edition is aimed at a specific type of customer: the one who remembers playing Monopoly in the 80’s and wants to experience the same (but not the 2008 version of Monopoly, which has a different board layout and updated Mr. Monopoly brand).
This is different from:
The current standard edition of Hasbro, which mirrors the 2008 redesign, and current token roster.
- USAopoly regional and city editions, where the properties are replaced with local landmarks
- Themed specialty editions (branded editions based on movies, TV or other franchises) that do away with the core property and token system altogether.
- Collectible original 1980s Parker Brothers sets, not modern reproductions of the game.
- The edition is great for gift-giving for anniversaries, milestone birthdays for 80’s kids, or family game nights to relive a certain 80’s experience instead of just the newest version of the game.
This book serves as a quick reference for the Monopoly: The 1980’s Edition
| Detail | Information |
| Publisher | Winning Moves Games USA |
| Players | 2 to 8 |
| Recommended age | 8 and up |
| Tokens included | 9 (Battleship, Race Car, Cannon, Top Hat, Scottie Dog, Horse and Rider, Shoe, Thimble, Wheelbarrow) |
| Board format | Traditional bi-fold |
| Key feature | Original 1980’s artwork and components |
| Price range | Approximately $20 to $43 |
| Available from | Amazon, Toys”R”Us, Office Depot, Winning Moves direct, specialty toy retailers |
| Licensing since | 1995 (Winning Moves’ Monopoly license) |
| Distinguishing factor | Predates 2008 board redesign (Income Tax choice, $75 Luxury Tax) |
Conclusion
Monopoly: The 1980’s Edition with original 1980’s artwork is a game that reproduces the game as it appeared in the 1980’s, published by Winning Moves Games USA, under license since 1995. It has eight of the original tokens, a traditional bi-fold board and an original tax and design that set it apart from the current standard edition, making it a conscious attempt to evoke a feeling of nostalgia, not just an old-fashioned version of the modern game.
If you are a nostalgist for the 1980s edition of Monopoly, or have a general interest in the design history of the game, then this edition is an accurate and easy-to-play way of reliving that era without having to buy a set from the secondary collectibles market. It’s sold at most stores and it is always marketed as a true period relic, making it one of the simpler nostalgia items in the Monopoly product line.
To learn more about collectibles, classic games and the artwork behind favourite cultural objects, visit Shani Levni for more guides.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Monopoly: The 1980’s Edition with original artwork?
It’s a Monopoly reissue from Winning Moves Games USA, which features the original 1980’s artwork, board design and token selection. It features a classic bi-fold board, a banker’s tray, classic silver-tone tokens and all standard cards and money to evoke the look and feel of Monopoly as it was sold in the 1980s.
Monopoly: The 1980’s Edition includes which tokens?
The edition features 9 authentic 1980s tokens: Battleship, Race Car, Cannon, Top Hat, Scottie Dog, Horse and Rider, Shoe, Thimble and Wheelbarrow. These tokens are the same as those in the standard Monopoly game prior to the introduction of the sack of money token in 1998-1999.
What’s new in the 1980’s edition of Monopoly compared to the original?
The 1980’s Edition retains pre-2008 board information, such as the choice of tax rates for the Income Tax (pre-2008 was $100, not the flat $200 used since 2008) and the amount of the Luxury Tax (pre-2008 was $75, not the $100 since 2008). It also features the classic token roster and traditional artwork, as opposed to the 3D computer-generated Mr. Monopoly branding found in the newer standard editions.
Where can I buy Monopoly: The 1980’s Edition?
It can be purchased from Amazon, Toys”R”Us, Office Depot, Winning Moves’ official website and specialty toy stores such as FGBradley’s. The cost of a pair of shoes is usually between $20 and $43, depending on the store and any current sales.
Does Monopoly: The 1980’s Edition contain a true vintage 80’s Monopoly set?
No. Winning Moves 1980’s Edition is a contemporary version that has been made to look and feel like Monopoly from the 80’s. This is not a collectible version of Monopoly, but rather a reissue of the game; genuine vintage sets made by Parker Brothers during the 1980s when they had the license are collectible items and can be found on eBay and other secondary markets.
Who publishes Monopoly: The 1980’s Edition?
The edition is published by Winning Moves Games USA, which has been licensing new versions of Monopoly and reprinting versions based on historical events since 1995. Unlike Hasbro’s current standard edition production, Winning Moves focuses on nostalgia and classic editions.
What is the maximum number of players that can play Monopoly: The 1980’s Edition?
The game can be played by 2 to 8 players, and is suitable for ages 8 and up, which is the same number and age allowed in the standard modern version of Monopoly.