Maybe It's Not a Game

  In my September editor's letter, I jokingly wondered whether MasterCard would be on the phone negotiating the rights to supply play payment cards for Hasbro Inc.'s The Game of Life. This was after Visa had secured such rights for Hasbro's modified Monopoly Here and Now Electronic Banking version ("A Debit Card Monopoly?" September 2006).
  Turns out it was no joke. Visa USA last month announced that it is linking up with Hasbro again, this time for a new version of, you guessed it, The Game of Life. The updated board game, which uses a Visa-branded card in lieu of cash, will hit stores in August.
  A MasterCard spokesperson says the card company was not involved in the negotiations with Hasbro.
  Visa officials say bringing Visa cards to board games will help indoctrinate children to a society that is moving away from cash to plastic. "[Beyond] the obvious marketing possibility of linking the 'Life takes Visa' campaign and The Game of Life, ... the ability to take cash out of the game and use a card just made a lot of sense," says Visa spokesperson Michael Rolnick. "It reflects society's desire to use electronic payments whenever and wherever."
  But Visa's move did not come without criticism. Susan Linn, co-founder of Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood, suggested the deal is the latest attempt by marketers to exploit young children.
  "For young kids, board games are helpful to get a concrete conception of money, and it's too bad that the cash component will be gone," she told Cards&Payments sister publication CardLine. "Visa is using The Game of Life to promote unthinking brand loyalty."
  On the contrary, Rolnick countered, the game offers parents an opportunity to start a dialogue with their children about financial responsibility. After all, Visa will include brochures for its "Practical Money Skills for Life" curriculum with the board game.
  In the revised game, an electronic "LifePod" replaces the spin wheel. The LifePod acts as a personal assistant and stores each player's financial data and status in the game.
  No word on whether the LifePod is PCI-compliant.
  Like Linn, I feel a bit saddened to see cash leaving children's games. Half the fun, after all, is being the banker. Don't you agree?
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