I'M IN THE MONEY (Monopoly)

Member Name: mdstone

Product:	Monopoly
Date:	24/11/03 (247 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Great family Fun, Lots of variety boards, value for money

Disadvantages: can get boring if no-one trades properties

Everyone at some point in their lives must have played Monopoly. It is probably (and arguably) the most famous board game in the world.
I remember playing it as a kid with the rest of my family (well trying to be exact). I was probably too young to fully understand the rules of the game, but we kind of had our own rules to the game (as you do).

One memory that comes to mind is when I had one of those toy puppies, the ones which move about on the floor and then bark. I thought it would be funny to put the dog piece of the Monopoly board into my toy's mouth and stuff it down. It got stuck inside and they had to take my toy apart to get it out :-(
Anyway enough of that, I was too young to understand what I was doing, but that was my very first encounter with the board game before I actually started playing it.

When I was older and knew how to play the game properly, it became my favourite and it was never left to gather dust. I always had to go the hat, don't ask me why but I just liked it for some obscure reason.

Basics & Rules
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Playable by 1-6 players, Monopoly involves buying, renting and selling of properties with the intent of gaining a profit higher than that of the other players in the game. It is the richest player who will eventually win the game by making everyone else bankrupt and being the only player left in the game.

When starting the game everyone begins on 'Go' and whenever this place is passed on the board by a player, they will receive £200. When a player rolls and lands on a property they have a choice to buy it, if they don't it is auctioned off to the highest bidder. When you own a property and another player lands on it, they have to pay you rent, which can increase depending on how many houses you have on a property or whether you have bought a hotel on it.
Other landing places include Community Chest cards and Chance cards, for which you have to obey the
instructions given. It is possible that you will be sent to jail at some point in the game too.

A banker is chosen before the game starts and each player is given £1500, which is divided up from the various notes in the game. i.e. £500's, £100's, £50's etc.
The selected banker may play as a player in the game or choose to take on this role only and is responsible for looking after the property deeds as well as the money.

To decide who goes first, each player rolls the dice in turn and the highest starts off the game and then the turn passes to the next player on the left.

Now your up and running and you can start playing.

I could probably write a few hundred lines on the rules so I will put an end to your misery right now and stop. I'm sure most of you know how it works anyway.

You could probably say that 'luck' has a great deal to do with this game, but it is how a player manages their finances and properties, which relates to the final outcome.

My Tactics
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It is aparent that most players will do everything in their power to get their hands on Mayfair and Parklane, but it is not always the person who gets these who wins.
Instead I tend to go for the Reds; Trafalgar Square, The Strand and Fleet Street and also try to get either the Yellow's or Greens. If you manage to do this and get houses or hotels on them, then this puts you in a strong position and almost makes it inevitable for someone not to land on your properties.

Other Monopolies
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I also happen to own the World Cup France 98 Edition and the Wales edition, which are probably even more fun to play and provides a different view and aspect of the game.
Their are also other editions like, Junior, Pay Day, Star Wars, Manchester United, Simpsons and a host of others.

This is probably a game which is going to be around in the future, whereas others will gr
ow old and die. It's an all time classic in my books.

Summary: