Serious question, why do so many people call it 'Monopoly money' for any game cash?

Ngl, I was at a game night in Portland and someone called the paper from Power Grid 'Monopoly money', which is just wrong. Has anyone else had to correct this, or is it just me?

3 comments

3 Comments

viola_moore81mo ago

It's a branding win for Parker Brothers, honestly.

laura_lane10d ago

And that's the thing, right? Parker Brothers didn't really need to do anything special because Monopoly is so baked into pop culture that "Monopoly money" became the default term for any game cash. It's like how people call all facial tissues Kleenex or all adhesive bandages Band-Aids. Even if you buy some random off-brand board game, everyone still calls the bills Monopoly money out of habit. So yeah, it's lazy branding but it's also genius because now you can't think of play money without thinking of their game first.

jennifer3581mo ago

Saw a whole thread about this on a board game subreddit. People were saying Monopoly is just the only game a lot of folks have ever played, so all play money gets that name. It's lazy, but it's stuck.