McDonald’s is doing all kinds of things to win back cash-strapped customers, from opening hundreds of new locations to debuting a new value menu. But the company kept one big announcement a secret until now: McDonald’s Monopoly is back.
The game, which debuted in 1987 and was last played in 2014, is sure to spark some serious nostalgia for those little paper game pieces you pull from your carton of fries. After a decade, however, some aspects of the game have changed. Here’s everything you need to know about the new version of McDonald’s Monopoly.
What’s Different About McDonald’s Monopoly?
Well, there’s one update to McDonald’s Monopoly that we’re really sad about: There are no more paper Monopoly boards. So there’ll be no more sticking your little Baltic Avenue and Reading Railroad pieces to the board, looking to see which hard-to-get pieces you still need.
Instead, as you probably guessed, the game is now primarily digital. Thankfully, McDonald’s hasn’t done away with physical game pieces altogether, so you’ll still get that satisfying peel off your Big Mac box. But some game pieces are now entirely digital, too, and you’ll need to have the chain’s mobile app and be a member of the rewards program to play and redeem prizes.
How Do I Play?
The game is pretty much the same as it’s always been. You collect game pieces by buying McDonald’s food and drinks that correspond to squares on a Monopoly board. Once you’ve collected all the pieces in a property, you win a prize. No matter whether you get paper game pieces or digital ones, you still have to enter them into the mobile app gameboard to get any prizes.
Some pieces are also instant-win prizes, offering coupons for McDonald’s items. For those, you need to order through the app to redeem your freebie.
Which Food Items Have Game Pieces?
Not everything McDonald’s sells has game pieces on it. Here is the list of items that have both physical and digital game pieces.
Physical Game Pieces
- Big Mac
- Filet-O-Fish
- McMuffin Sandwiches
- 10 Piece Chicken McNuggets
- 20 Piece Chicken McNuggets
- Large Fries
- Hash Browns
- Large Fountain Drinks
- Large McCafé Iced Coffee
- Medium and Large McCafé Hot Coffee Drinks
Digital Game Pieces
- Quarter Pounder with Cheese
- McCrispy Sandwiches
- 4 Piece McCrispy Strips
- McGriddles Sandwiches (excluding Sausage McGriddles)
- Biscuit Sandwiches
- Medium Fries
- Large McCafé Latte
- Large McCafé Frappé
- Large McCafé Iced Mocha
- Large McCafé Smoothie
- Large McCafé Macchiato
What Are the Prizes?
There’s a wide range of prizes in McDonald’s Monopoly. Some have instant-win food items, such as apple pies, small drinks, or 4-piece McNuggets. Then there are the really big prizes that you receive for collecting all the pieces in the property. For instance, if you collect Boardwalk and Park Place, you’ll win a Winnebago motorhome. There’s also a 77-inch Samsung TV, a Jeep Grand Cherokee, a trip for four to Universal Orlando Resort, and one million American Airlines AAdvantage miles, to name a few.
Wasn’t There a Big McDonald’s Monopoly Scandal?!
Yep, and it’s a crazy story. A security employee of the company that ran McDonald’s Monopoly in the past stole the $1 million game pieces and sold them to people for $50,000. Following an investigation into the crime ring, the FBI arrested eight individuals for rigging the game and controlling the distribution of high-value game pieces, thereby ensuring that the general public had no chance of actually winning.
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