Customer Reviews

Monopoly

5 star:		(61)
4 star:		(25)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

I played this game with a friend last night so I thought while the memories are still fresh in my mind I should write a review about :)

I definitely have to side with A G Purkiss and say that the original version of Monopoly is still the best version. The electronic board game version is very popular at the moment, but I played that version once and to be honest I really didn't like it. Instead of having a banker, you have those silly ATM's, which means you don't have to use your brain at all which for me defeats the whole purpose of the game.

Monopoly is a real classic and I wouldn't be surprised if there wasn't at least 1 in every 3 homes across the English speaking countries. Like Mark O'Brien said this game has stood the test of time. It's been the family favourite for well over 70 years now, and I'm sure in another 70 years it'll still be in the top 5.

If you've never played Monopoly before, here is a quick summary.

Each player starts at Go which a character of their choice (the most popular is the Car I believe) you then take turns at rolling the dice with the person with the highest roll going first and then moving around the players clockwise. After you've been round the board once you are free to start buying properties, and there are many to choose from. The best ones to buy are Blue, Orange, Yellow and Red. If you manage to accumulate them, you are well on your way to winning. If your opponent lands on a property you own, they must pay rent and visa versa. If you have managed to collect all the properties in a set (e.g yellow) then you may purchase houses for your properties, which means when your opponent lands on them they must pay double or even more in rent. The game ends when a player goes bankrupt!

It's not a game of chance, I've picked up a lot of tricks on how to play over the past 9 years and I win almost every time. You just have to know which properties to buy and when to buy them. When to do a deal and when to spend your hard earned cash. If you slip up just the once, it can cost you the game.

It really brings not only families together but also friends. And it teaches younger children the value of money, which I think is the one of the most important lesson a child can learn.

This is the original Monopoly and in my opinion, it is the best version. There are many different versions of this game (Star Wars, Here & Now, World etc) but I am very glad I chose the original one with its original London streets, property values and paper money. This product was very cheap compared to other online retailers, auctions sites and shops and I would recommend it to anyone.

Its a shame to see the negative reviews of this game. Afterall, if its the educational value thats being questioned, this game was made over 70 years ago! So it doesn't incorparate the modern educational values. Instead, it is indeed a game of luck, but also stratergy,

It takes a mature person to last out an hour or 2 to play Monopoly. Its not for the people (or children) that find they get bored after 5 minutes and say "This is rubbish". Its not like other board games, because it requires you to build your way up to winning through fortune - not through simply making small descions while cruising around a colourful snazzy board. The reason people love the game is because it actually links to real life - theirs the water works, electric company, real roads and streets, railway stations - not fictional characters with wierd names, that makes you wonder "whats the point?". The great thing aobut Monopoly, is that it does feel real. And thats why I could never take losing!

Unlike other games too, you learn techniques and stratergies over many years. My dad's been playing Monopoly on and off for over 40 years, and I can see a deifnate pattern in the way he plays, that can only be brought on over time. As a mature person, who's been playing the game for many years, I'm still only learning new things each time. But the only time I play the game is in lazy summer nights, whic I think suits the time scale - you'll be playing the game for at leats 45 minutes/ an hour if you play properly.

The playing 'pieces' are now all too familiar, and most older gamers have a favourite. They are well made, and they'll never break thankfuklly! (seems like one of the few toys thats not built with cheap plastic). I'm sure most people have played the game, but for those who haven't, its a simple idea - the objective is to force the opposing players into debt, so that he/she has no money left, and cannot pay up any charges you have. The fun comes in the building up to this... You may want to buy a 'house' and place it on cheaper property, like The Angel Islington (this was actually a pub - the men who went around collecting street names went to a pub, not knowing what last street name to get - hence the pub Angel Isslington was used) therefore not using lots cash, or you could try being really harsh and buy Mayfair, whilst placing many houses on it, though this costs mega money.

Along the way around the board, you'll come across other features - Chance and Community Chest cards provide additonal luck in your money spending/gaining, while placing a wrong move could send you to Jail! The railway stations on each board side can be bought too, and the utilities (water and electricity) add more variety, but you rarely land on them!

I think this game proves something very special - its timeless. It doesnt focus on something that is era-based, or any techno-babble. It focuses on tactics and right descions. And their values that surely won't fade away?

Have just progressed from Junior Monopoly to the adult version and my 9 year old loves it!

My only disappointments with this version are that the £s have been replaced by a Monopoly currency called "M". It sounds ridiculous saying "I'll collect 2 M's for passing Go."

Also, the houses are plastic - pity they aren't wooden. The pieces are metal, although not as good quality as the ones we had when we were younger.

However, a great game and great to have the family all joining in and chatting.

Good old favourite with a lick of new paint from the original boxed version I owned and played as a child. More compact, hence easier to store. My son loves it just as much as me and at this price and service back up - everyone's a winner.

It's funny, but the only reason I bought this game really was because I enjoyed playing it so much as a child, and in my twenties. Now, however, I realise that the game is not only great fun but it has excellent educational value too. My seven year old niece was playing it recently and, although English is her third language, she had to read the instructions on the chance and community chest cards, and calculate the amount of change she needed after purchasing property or after paying rent for landing on other players' properties. The fact that she didn't even want to stop playing at midnight, says a great deal about the game's enjoyability. I think there are a couple of new pieces in the game now, (I don't remember there being a thimble or a wheelbarrow in the seventies version) and the houses/hotels etc... are a little less substantial than they were in the past, but it's still fantastic fun. I'm not sure about the speed dice though. As far as I can make out it makes you go round the board quicker, but surely that doesn't help you to acquire property any more quickly, so how does it speed the game up?

Its all down to the luck of the dice, failiure or success could be right around the corner. Will you end up in jail, or will you manage to get a monopoly and start on houses?

Admittedly Monopoly is very repetitive but there is such an element of risk when playing, should you put all your eggs in one basket and buy a hotel on Mayfair and Park Lane, or should you try and get a few houses on everywhere. The fact it relies on the dice means that everything is down to chance, one minute you could be down to £1 and the next you could have £1000. Anything can happen, nothing is definite, you're never out of it until you've gone. THE Beautiful Game!

I remember playing Monopoly as a child with my family. One of the best things about the game is that it reestablishes true "family time" in a modern world where the typical family no longer sits down to eat dinner together. Our Monopoly games would sometimes span a couple of days and we would wait with great excitement for our Dad to say it was time to resume playing after the dinner table had been cleared. Well done to the makers for bringing out an updated edition featuring modern London landmarks. I shall be playing this version with my children in years to come...but will still be keeping the original for the nostalgia.

There cannot be many people in the English speaking world who havenot played or atleast seen a box containing a momopoly set.

At present it has been printed in 34 different languages and as the basic rules are within the grasp of most people from single figures to triple figures.

Looking at the rules you would think this was a game of chance really desided on the luck of the dice but this game is played at championship level and if you know the odds of how the dice may land its almost possible to win every time aslong as you know what properties you need to buy.
I have a book written some years ago outlining the properties that you will land on no matter what you throw.

As you may have gathered the most expensive properties in Green and Purple can and easily be missed several times.Those Orange,Red and Yellows may be a little cheaper to develop but you are guaranteed to land on them far often with dire consquences if they have been developed.

By the time your opponent has landed at Park Lane or Mayfair you may be out of the game.

Monopoly can be played by all ages and the fact that Speers games have kept the price down over the years must say something about its popularity and sales.

This game without a doubt is truly one of the greats.Nothing would please me more than to have a few family members around to play with and to have some fun. This game is truly a classic. With all the new technology around that could go into making fantastic board games, this game is still leaps and bounds ahead of the rest. The duarability of this game through the ages is phenominal.
Hall of fame game, Period.