Christmas fun? (Monopoly)

Member Name: rob_writer

Product:	Monopoly
Date:	02/12/00 (32 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Fun Family game

Disadvantages: Slow, a little boring

Its almost christmas time, and as sure as granny comes to visit , its time to dust off those family games and spend an afternoon playing Monopoly. I can remember long ago when I was young I enjoyed playing these games, I must have driven my parents mad forcing them to constantly play one board game after the next. Monopoly was always one of my favourites, although it took so long to play many games were abandoned after a few hours play, especially if I happened to be losing.

So what is Monopoly? I'm sure everyone knows, but just incase heres a brief description of what it involves. Each player has a token, which travels round a square board depending on the number you rolled on the dice. The squares you land on contain one of a number of things, usually being some kind of property of another. Types of property fall in to three main categories, streets, railways and utilities. Players have to buy properties of course, and they receive a finite amount of money. There are loads of streets, with two or three streets making up a set. A player who owns a property recieves rent whenever another player lands on it, and if a player owns a set of streets he can build houses or hotels which increases the rent that must be paid when a player lands on it. When your bankrupted your out of the game, so the last man standing wins. Other squares on the board make you pick up a card which can be good or bad, usually either gaining you or losing you money. There is also a jail square, where you can be sent by a variety of means. To get out of jail requires payment, the role of a double or a get out of jail free card.

Sorry if I made that sound complicated, it really isn't once you start playing. Although down mostly to luck, the game soon becomes very competitive and of course everyone wants to win. Then of course, you can always cheat. I remember that on more than one occaison I (and I'm sure others do to) quickly snuck a £500 note out of the bank when
no one was looking. Of course if you don't want cheat there a few tips for playing fairly.

Try very hard to get at least one set, houses and hotels make you a lot more money. Its also a good idea to try to get all 4 railways, as the £200 you get for people landing on them makes it worthwile. Apart from this all I can say is don't spend all your money straight away, try to keep a little in reserve at all times. If you get desperate for money you can mortgage your houses, or for a bit more money offer them to another player, while you are helping his cause at least you are keeping your chances alive.

On the other hand, what if youv'e been roped in to playing and want to lose as quickly as possible. Don't laugh!! I'm sure it happens. Buy everything you land on, although try to avoid getting sets, when you have no money just wait till you land on someones property, and hey presto you should lose as quickly as possible, now go and have fun with your own presents!!

Recent years have brought about many versions of Monopoly, including one based on Newcastle and one on Star Wars. While these don't alter the gameplay at all, they do make it seem more interesting if your a fan of either. Ever noticed how Star Wars video games always feel good, well take away the Star Wars and the games would be very average, the same goes for Star Wars Monopoly, especially if you play it on a PC.

You could do a lot worse than play Monopoly, but then again in this day and age there are a lot more fun games out there.

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