Monopoly tagged `best value` Christmas present

London: Monopoly has been labelled as the "best value" Christmas present by schoolchildren who have tested some of the top toys of the year. The analysis, which was undertaken by Tesco—the supermarket group, involved a panel of six to ten-year olds.

The kids’ panel tested ten of the leading Christmas presents for children. The time they spent playing the games was then recorded and analysed to see which offered the best "cost per play". Monopoly, the board game nearly three-quarters of a century old, emerged as the winner, beating battery-operated, louder, more up-to-date toys. Monopoly City, priced 15.97 pounds, the latest version of the board game, which allows players to build skyscrapers, was calculated as costing just 7p per play. The second best value for money toy was the Barbie Doggie Park, the doll which comes with a dog and puppies and costs 15.99 pounds. Tesco calculated that each play cost 9p. Standing at the bottom in the list was the 29.97 pounds Transformer Leader Figure Megatron, a battery-operated robot inspired by the ‘Transformer’ series of films, which cost 64p per play. Tesco wanted to determine which of its predicted best sellers this Christmas offered the best value for money. "We understand that Christmas can be a stressful time for parents, as they try to keep costs down whilst making sure they give their children the gifts they really want. Working with the kids testing panel has given us a great insight into the toys that children want to play with again and again, making them really good value Christmas gifts,” the Telegraph quoted Nick Cooke, at Tesco, as saying. Toy retailers have found that parents have continued to spend freely on toys, but many has started to trade down to slightly cheaper presents this year. The best-selling toys of the year have included the 9.99 pounds Go-Go Hamster and small Lego kits. ANI