Monopoly: A Living Legend
Written: Jul 29 '02 (Updated Jul 29 '02)
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Pros: fun, flexible, addicting, traditional, cheap, has many variations
Cons: not for all ages, game can diverge, intimidating to newcomers
The Bottom Line: Monopoly in any form is a must own for board game fans. This is a game kids can grow up with and play until they grow old.
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| kjell1979's Full Review: Monopoly |
I realize with 214 reviews, there isn't a need for another one. I am writing as I retire this game from my regular rotation of games played with my wife and her family.
What Is Monopoly?
Most of you who haven't been in a coma the last 50 years can skip this section. That is unless you want to hear how horribly I mangle the rules. Charles B. Darrow created the game of Monopoly in 1935. The object of Monopoly is to use your money to buy properties in order to bankrupt your opponents. The game is played on a square board with spaces placed all around the edge. Players move their token clockwise around the board based on the roll of two dice. If a player rolls doubles (i.e. both of the dice show the same number), then they get another turn. The spaces are divided into two categories: properties (denoted by a price at the bottom of the space), and other game actions. If a player lands on a property space owned by another person, he or she must pay rent to them for landing on it. However, if the property space is unowned, the player may purchase it for the amount shown at the bottom of the space. The strategy is to buy or trade for groups of properties of like colors (designated by the color bar above the property) or groupings (railroads or utilities). When you have obtained all the properties of a certain grouping you have what's called a monopoly (hence the name). Monopolies not only collect more rent, but for the colored properties, you may buy houses and later hotels for them which balloon the rent that other players must pay if landed on. Other spaces include chance and community chest cards, which can force you to pay or collect money from other players or the bank. They can also move you to another space on the board too. There are spaces where you automatically pay money to the bank. There's also a space that sends you to jail, where you have to stay 3 turns (until you roll doubles, whichever happens first) or pay $50 to get out. Finally, when you go around the board once (passing or landing on the space label "Go") you receive $200 that serves as a sort of salary. It helps to recoup losses for bought property, expenses, and improvements (like houses and hotels), which couldn't be made up by collecting rent. Most games are won by acquiring monopolies you can build houses and hotels on. Rent is so high on a property with a hotel, most players are forced to declare bankruptcy after landing on a property like this just a few times.
Monopoly and Me
Since monopoly was around since before my mom was born, it wasn't long before I first began playing it. I had my own Monopoly set, but rarely played it because I had a bad childhood habit of losing the pieces. Early memories of Monopoly have faded. It wasn't until high school where I began to play it again with a general regularity. My friends and I used to get together and play board games like Monopoly and Risk. My friend, Shaun, was by far the best and the most serious as he was one who hid his money and property deeds. Most of the first games between my friends during high school ended up with everyone pairing up into 2 teams of two where each team controlled one token. As we went off to college, and regrouped during breaks in the school year, we played for ourselves and we played until there was just one winner.
When playing with my friends, the best part about it was the trading of properties. Trading discussions were heated at times, but mostly light-hearted as we were all friends. Trash talking played an integral role in our games. Players who had shorter tempers, were taunted more than others. Gradually those players shed their tempers the more and more we played. Complaining about dice rolls are commonplace in our games and are frequently laughed upon by others. It was a good time had by all.
Why Is Monopoly So Popular? (The Strengths)
While Monopoly may seem complicated to a beginner, it's not a hard game to learn for a preteen, teenager, or adult. However, many parts of the game like movement, chance and community chest cards, and jail play for itself. Strategy is what usually frustrates many people. I think of strategy like this, it's not all that hard to learn if you listen carefully to the instructions of another more experienced player when playing (if you aren't convinced that they're out to get you). However, certain more advanced strategies, like which monopolies are more valuable, are harder to figure out if you don't have more than 10-15 games under your belt. However, even if you don't understand all of these strategies, there is still a good chance for you to win, which is why this game appeals to many people.
The game itself is study, yet cheap. It'll only cost you $10 at a store like Toys R Us. However, I have seen people with copies of the game that have survived for more than 20 years. The newer version I have had since 1997 and it's still running strong. The cards have not folded, split apart or disintegrated. The board, instead of being folded in half like older games, is folded into quarters. I think this improves the lifespan of the board. If properly taken care of, this game can last you many years.
Finally, this game isn't confined to the rules that are inside the box. Families have been known to make up their own "house rules" to the game. Feel free to experiment with this, however if you do this, the game can "diverge." What I mean by diverge is that people might collect more money from the bank than players collect from the rent. What this means is that all players get richer and richer until no one can realistically win. Here is a page that links to creative Monopoly variations:
http://www.wunderland.com/WTS/Jake/Monopoly_Links.html
A typical game where people strictly follow the rules and are open to trading properties, can last anywhere from 2 hours to about 5 (I rarely had one last longer). Variations can dramatically lengthen the game to more than a just a night, or even create a divergent game, as I mentioned before.
Where Monopoly Falls Short
I remember hearing that Charles B. Darrow first tried to sell his Monopoly idea to Parker Brothers and they cited 52 design errors when they rejected the game. Looking at the game itself, some of those probable "design errors" are obvious. First of all, the game is not balanced. If players are resistent to trading, the game will diverge and people will have to resort to a tie or something like that. Many properties are vastly better than others. Finding a medium in which to trade can be hard for many games.
Although there are probably some people who disagree with me, this is a game of luck rather than skill for the most experienced players. The dice roll aside; the game has so little skill, that it has very little impact in the outcome of a game. When trading properties, there is a clear value for each monopoly. To experienced players, one will very rarely trade for a monopoly that's valued less than another, much less can be talked into it. There has been extensive statistical calculation as to which properties are the best and why. There is a quirk though. When playing in a group of 3 or larger, if only one player gets a Monopoly and it isn't possible for any other player to do so by buying it from the bank, it forces the other players to trade or face losing. This is where many people can argue for a negotiating skill. However, this also just breaks down into luck. Skilled players might have to settle for a lesser Monopoly in order to have a decent shot at winning. They know that they are coming out on the short end of the stick. Yet, it still breaks down to players trying to get the greatest chance to win. The skill that the players use is the equivalent of a game of chicken where someone has to give in and take a lesser chance of winning. If they both don't give in, then they both lose. Even then, the resulting trade isn't all that lopsided for experienced players, so that the influence of this decision into the outcome of a particular game is very very small. When comparing it to the impact of a dice roll, I don't think you can count it at all.
Who Should Play This?
This game isn't for small children. This game requires money management skill, specifically being able to count large sums of money in your head using basic arithmetic. That is, if someone owes you $325 and they pay with a $500 bill, what change do you give them back? Parents can help a child with this, although if helped too much, they don't really feel like they're playing. This game should also be discouraged for parents with infants and toddlers who might choke on small parts. This game should be kept out of reach of them because the tokens, dice, houses and hotels look like candies, and are small enough to block an airway. My suggestion is that this game should be played for kids 9 and up.
Besides children, many adults of all ages and backgrounds will probably like this game. It makes a great game to give to your child when they go off to college (makes a great freshmen ice-breaker). I have been told that you can learn a lot from a person when they play a game, and Monopoly is no exception. This game creates great conversation among friends and relatives. However, due to the amount of luck involved, some kids and less mature adults may get upset if someone doesn't land on their property that they built a hotel on. This is a very versatile game and is fun for the whole family.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 10
Type of Toy: Board Game
Age Range of Child: 9 Years or Older
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Epinions.com ID:
kjell1979
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Location: Oxford, Mass
Reviews written: 253
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Ecclesiastes 6:11 (the NIV translation is the best)
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