The 1990s were a great time to be a kid at McDonald’s. You had giant, metal play structures in the shape of McDonaldland characters. You had those bags of lemon cookies. You had Teenie Beanie Babies Happy Meals. And you had the Monopoly at McDonald’s game.
While the world would learn years later that the McDonald’s Monopoly game had been compromised, that didn’t stop me and my siblings from not only obsessively collecting every game piece from our Friday night smorgasbord of McDonald’s food, but also watching other customers to see if they had neglected to remove the Monopoly pieces from their food as they went to throw their trash away.
We never won the million-dollar prize or even one of the cars. How sweet would it have been to win a car at McDonald’s when you were 10? But we got plenty of free fries, drinks and even the occasional ice cream cone.
The 2026 edition of Monopoly at McDonald’s kicked off on Tuesday, bringing updated gameplay and new prizes to the long-running promotion.
“Monopoly at McDonald’s is more than just a game. It’s about childhood memories, family moments and surprises that make our day,” a McDonald’s exec said in the restaurant’s announcement of this year’s game. “This year, we’re giving fans even more reasons to play with bigger prizes, more rewards and a simpler digital game experience that includes the classic peel.”
OK, here’s where this year diverges from previous years. That “simpler digital game experience that includes the classic peel”? Each item that’s included in the Monopoly at McDonald’s game this year comes with one game piece to peel off. In order to participate in the game, you need to enter the code from that piece in the McDonald’s app. Classic peel, yes. Pieces that you can immediately redeem for food, nope.
The list of menu items included in Monopoly at McDonald’s is pretty expansive this year, covering breakfast and the chain’s daytime offerings. You can get a game piece on favorites like the McMuffin, Big Mac, Quarter Pounder with Cheese, Chicken McNuggets, McCrispy Strips, fries and large soft drinks. Sadly, the Filet-O-Fish has been left out of this year’s Monopoly at McDonald’s game.
OK, let’s peel off some game pieces and see if I’m going on a Carnival cruise ...
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What it costs
The menu items included in the Monopoly at McDonald’s game are priced as normal. There’s no upcharge to play the game. You can also request a game piece via mail.
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A Quarter Pounder with Cheese, large Coke Zero, large fries and four-piece McCrispy Strips. / Snackology
My thoughts
For my first foray into the 2026 Monopoly at McDonald’s game, I picked up a Quarter Pounder with Cheese, a 4-piece McCrispy Strips, a large fries and a large Coke Zero. (The new McDonald’s crafted beverages, including the fantastic Reduced Sugar Vanilla Swirl with Coke Zero Sugar, aren’t included in this game.)
The Monopoly at McDonald’s bag. / Snackology
I love when McDonald’s goes all in on its packaging for a promotion. (The Grinch Meal and the restaurant’s KPop Demon Hunters meals really elevated the classic McDonald’s packaging.) With the exception of the sauces for my McCrispy Strips, every item in my order was decked out with Mr. Monopoly’s face.
Monopoly at McDonald’s menu items. / Snackology
For the Quarter Pounder with Cheese and McCrispy Strips, McDonald’s even extended the Monopoly branding to the inside of the boxes.
McCrispy Strips with Monopoly at McDonald’s game pieces. / Snackology
We should probably talk about the game pieces themselves, right? That’s the whole point of this. I could go on and on about how the Quarter Pounder with Cheese is arguably the best cheeseburger available at McDonald’s, but let’s talk about those game pieces.
Each eligible menu item comes with one piece. McDonald’s breaks the current game down into four kinds of pieces: Food prizes, MyMcDonald’s Rewards Points, collect-to-win game pieces and Chance Card game pieces.
I already entered all these codes into the McDonald’s app, so don’t bother trying to steal them. / Snackology
I wound up getting three collect-to-win pieces, beginning my journey to a $500 fuel card, a Universal Orlando Resort vacation and $100,000 that I can apparently use to buy gold bars. (Snagging Park Place and Boardwalk will win you that aforementioned Carnival Cruise Line vacation package.) My Chance Card game piece was good for a two-month Peacock Premium subscription. Woo.
I do miss the old-school version of the Monopoly at McDonald’s game. There was something special about collecting the pieces and sticking them onto an actual paper game board. And while McDonald’s has covered a wide range of prize categories for this year’s installment, the simplicity of the 1990s versions — you either get a property piece or you get free food — is much more accessible if you have kids playing Monopoly at McDonald’s. A free apple pie is a treat. A code for a three-month Fandango subscription is a chore.
I’m gonna hold out hope for a free McGriddle next time I play. Honestly, is there a better prize?
The Omnicosm founder. Snackology, Popculturology and The Cold Open writer. A Rochester, N.Y., native now living in the Washington, D.C., area. Won’t pass up a Genny Cream Ale.
