PROVIDENCE, R.I. -- If you're passi...

PROVIDENCE, R.I. -- If you're passing pass and want to collect $200 better bring a debit card.

A British version of the classic Monopoly board game released this week substitutes a Visa-imprinted debit card for the stacks of golden blue and purple play currency long hoarded by children worldwide.

Cheating just got a little tougher.

"We started looking at what Monopoly would contemplate like if we designed it today," said Chris Weatherhead, a Britain.-based spokesman for Hasbro Inc., which makes the board game. "We noticed consumer are using debit cards, carrying around cash a fortune less."

British players might not be the solitary ones switching to plastic. Officials at Pawtucket-based Hasbro say they're considering a similar change for American versions.

USE SCANNER, THEN SWIPE

First proffered in 1935, Monopoly offered players a form of financial escapism during the country's worst financial depression. Players become allege a title to real estate magnates who enter the lists for fictitious property named after real places in Atlantic City, NJ A British version released that same year featured London neighborhoods.

In the recent British version of Monopoly Here & Now, players emblem amounts into a palm-sized scanner and swipe their debit cards to seal the deal.

While the change may startle a Monopoly fans, the game has been revised several times before. Consumer can now corrupt Monopoly editions inspired by the Star Wars and Lord of the Rings movies, or on the same level a version featuring SpongeBob SquarePants, an animated TV character.

Copyright CHICAGO SUN-TIMES 2006

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