My husband and I are frequent travellers to the Outer Hebrides and to make the 3 hour long boat journey go quicker we used to bring cards, travel games, magazines, laptops and anything else we could think of to entertain ourselves, that is until we found Monopoly Deal!

We both enjoy the traditional Monopoly game but it's not very practical for travelling and 3 hours is not long enough for a game in The Shoes world (we get very competitive!). We have also tried travel Monopoly but its bulky and there are too many fiddley little bits that can get lost easily and you need a very flat surface to play which when travelling is not always possibly. We came across Monopoly Deal in our local supermarket and it was on offer of 2 for £8 along with another card based game from Hasbro and on reading the back of the pack it seemed like we could be on to a winner with a new travel game.

The point of the game is to collect three full sets of different coloured properties and it is the same properties that are in the original game e.g. Water Works and Electric Company so if you have played Monopoly before you already have a handle on the properties. Each player is dealt 5 cards to start with and on each turn the player must take two from a draw pile and can then play up to 3 cards by banking money, placing properties down or playing an action cards. Action cards are great and keep the game going, you can force a player to give you birthday money, steal a property or even a complete set but beware other players can have an action card in their hand which can do the same or say no to a steal move you make! You could be almost winning with 2 full property sets then get hit by your opponent with a huge fine for rent on their property and lose the lot so it's important to keep lots of money in the bank to pay fines! I guess what we find best is that it is really a game of luck and there is not always going to be a better player - it all depends on the cards you are dealt!

The game can be played with 2 to 5 players and is very easy to pick up, we got the hang of it by the first game and is fast enough that you can play a game in 15 to 20 minutes so it doesn't drag out. The pack contains 110 cards and two card sized Quick Start Rules which are really handy to remind yourself as you go along. The pack is only twice the size of a pack of cards and the box is robust enough that 2 years later we have not ripped it or had it fall apart on us and the cards go back in easily. There are no fiddly bits to lose and we now take the game with us every time we travel as it is all so much fun and we don't feel we need to bring any other entertainment. Monopoly Deal is a winner for us and would recommend it to anyone looking for a handy travel game or even just a games night in the house.