McDonald's Monopoly facts for kids
_(2936777806).jpg)
The McDonald's Monopoly game is a fun sales event held by the fast food chain McDonald's. It's based on the popular board game Monopoly by Hasbro. This game first started in the U.S. in 1987. Since then, it has spread to many countries around the world.
Sometimes, the game has different names. For example, it has been called Monopoly: Pick Your Prize! or Money Monopoly. In the UK, it was once known as Prize Vault and more recently Double Peel.
Contents
How the Game Started
The McDonald's Monopoly game has been played in many countries since 1987. These include the United States, Canada, Australia, and the United Kingdom. Later, countries like Argentina, Brazil, and South Korea also joined in the fun.
McDonald's, like many companies, uses contests to attract more customers. To make sure everything is fair, these games are usually managed by a separate company. This helps prevent any cheating and makes sure all prizes are given away.
In 2015, the Monopoly game in the U.S. was replaced for a short time. It became "Game Time Gold" with an NFL (American football) theme.
In 2020, the game in the UK was supposed to happen in March. However, because of the COVID-19 pandemic, it had to be delayed. The same game, called "Monopoly VIP," was then played in 2021. This meant the stickers from 2020 had the wrong dates on them!
How to Play McDonald's Monopoly
The game works a lot like the Monopoly board game. You get game pieces, also called tokens, when you buy certain food items at McDonald's. Each token usually has a picture of a property from the Monopoly board.
To win, you need to collect a full set of properties that are the same color. Just like in the board game, if you get all the properties in a color group, you win a prize! The biggest prize often comes from collecting the two most expensive properties: Park Place and Boardwalk. Sometimes, the top prize is for collecting all four railroad properties.
There are also "instant win" tokens. If you get one of these, you can immediately trade it for free McDonald's food. These are usually smaller items like a free McFlurry or medium fries.
In 2016, the game changed so that all the prizes you could win were cash. This version was called "Money Monopoly."
Getting Game Pieces
In some countries like Canada and the U.S., you can ask for game pieces without buying any food. You just need to mail a handwritten, self-addressed stamped envelope to McDonald's. This is a rule to make sure everyone has a chance to play.
Prizes Not Claimed
It's interesting that many prizes in the McDonald's Monopoly game are never claimed! For example, in 2018, the UK game offered 25 million instant food prizes. But only 8 million of them were actually claimed by players. Also, out of 20 Mini Cooper cars that were offered, only 6 were claimed.
Rare Game Pieces
Just like in the real Monopoly game, some property pieces are much harder to find than others. These "rare" pieces are the ones you need to complete a set and win a big prize. For example, the Boardwalk piece is usually very rare. If you find one, you're very lucky!
In 2016, the Canadian version of the game used Canadian landmarks instead of the usual Monopoly properties. For example, Boardwalk was replaced with Le Château Frontenac, a famous hotel.
Playing Online
Since 2005, McDonald's has also offered an online version of the Monopoly game. Each game piece you get from McDonald's has a special code. You can enter this code on the game's website. You can usually enter up to 10 codes each day.
When you entered a code, you would get a "roll" on a virtual Monopoly board. If you landed on an "unowned" property, you would collect it. If you collected all the properties in a color set online, you would win a prize! There were also "instant win" spaces online, like Chance or Free Parking, where you could win prizes like WiFi access or gift cards.
The online game rolls are not completely random. The game server actually "seeds" winning rolls at specific times. This means the first person to roll the dice after a win has been set up will land on a winning piece. This helps McDonald's keep track of how many prizes are given out.
Over the years, the online game has changed a few times. Sometimes, you would pick a "Chance" card, or click a "Spin" button. No matter how it looked, the goal was always to win cool prizes!
Game Rules and Limits
There are some rules for playing the online game. In the UK, you can enter up to 24 codes per day. In the U.S. and some other areas, the limit is 10 codes per day.
Also, in the UK, players must be 18 years or older to play.
It's important to know that you are not allowed to buy, sell, or trade game pieces or codes. This includes selling them on websites like eBay. This rule is in place to keep the game fair for everyone.
See also
- Pepsi Number Fever
