Playing to modern children's tastes

In the updated, electronic version of Monopoly, you don't collect $200 for passing "go."

You collect $2 million.

And instead of getting brightly colored cash from the banker, you insert your ATM card into the electronic card reader to credit your account.

That might seem sacrilegious to die-hard fans of the classic board game. But toy manufacturers are inundating store shelves with electronic versions of Monopoly and other games this year, hoping to make a comeback after a series of recalls raised safety concerns about a broad range of products.

The revamped classics have had some success.

In 1999, Mattel debuted Uno Attack, an updated version of the classic card game that includes a battery-operated card shooter that spits out random numbers of cards during play.

The new versions of old games reflect modern trends: the time-crunched family, a reliance on electronics and modern kids' preference for games with video, sound and electronics.

"What kids want and are playing with is different from the past," said Jim Silver, editor of Toy Wishes magazine, which tracks the industry. "It's about supply and demand: They make it because people ask for it."

From 2005 to 2006, sales of games and puzzles declined 2 percent, but sales of youth electronics rose 22 percent, according to the Toy Industry Association.

Shoppers such as Jackie Adamo find the games appealing because they let you customize skill levels. That means both adults and children are challenged as they play together. That's a big bonus for Adamo and her 12- and 16-year-old daughters, who play games almost every night in their Raleigh, N.C., home.

"We do a lot of gaming with adults, too," she said. "So right now, I look for games I can play with my kids and adults."

The evolution of the games makes sense: A game that's several decades old could probably use some updating.

The new Game of Life Twists & Turns edition, for example, incorporates different career choices, including indie-rock-band member, actor, design consultant and personal shopper. And rather than winning by accumulating the most cash, the winner is the person who has the most "life points," which are awarded for assets and life experience.

The revised games also have updated prices. The Game of Life Twists & Turns runs $35, up from $19 for the traditional version. Monopoly Electronic Banking costs $35, according to Hasbro's Web site. Traditional Monopoly is $11.99.

Along with electronic updates of classic games, Hasbro is experimenting with other redesigns, such as express versions of Monopoly, Scrabble, Sorry and others.

"One of the things we found out that was really important to know about board games is that not everybody has the time to sit down and play a full board game," Hasbro spokeswoman Pat Riso said. "This was the best way to make the game play faster."

As toy makers develop new versions of old games, they have to tread carefully to find something new and exciting that retains what made the original popular.

Rubik's Revolution, a new version of Rubik's Cube, lights up and allows players to play a number of different games, rather than just solving the traditional puzzle.

"There are absolutely people out there who absolutely hate it," said Eric Levin, executive vice president of Techno Source, the Hong Kong company that developed the new cube. "The goal was never to replace the original in any way but to complement it."

Levin said reinventing the Rubik's Cube was overwhelming after his company got a license to produce and distribute the new product.

Techno Source engineers started by identifying the things people love about Rubik's Cube -- the look, the feel and the action of twisting the pieces around. Then, they tried to figure out a way to make the game new.

"The truth is that while so many people have a Rubik's Cube, the majority of people who have them find them to be extraordinarily frustrating," Levin said.

The new version includes several games and takes inspiration from the video-game industry by allowing players to set a personal-best score and then try to break it.

"What's really different about it was that the original Rubik's Cube was pass-fail. You either solve it or you don't, and most people never did," he said. "Especially for this younger generation, they don't want something that's impossible. We want something where we have some success."

The toy companies say they don't plan to pull the originals from production. Riso said Monopoly has sold 250 million copies -- without an electronic-card-reader component.

(sue.stock(at)newsobserver.com.)

(Distributed by Scripps Howard News Service, www.scrippsnews.com.)