the board blog

My Monopoly hate

By Luke Susko

Hello and welcome to the board blog where I take look at board and card games good, bad, and everything in between.  Recently I realized that there are a lot games I don’t play anymore so after some consideration I came up with al list of the games  that I willing to sell or give away.  The first game on the list was monopoly at least two versions of it.  Before we get into this I have a confession I am kind of hipster with that lets begin picking a part my problems with monopoly.

            My first problem with monopoly is the fact is it far to mainstream.  I doubt very much that there isn’t a version of monopoly in every household across our great nation.  Almost every one has heard of the now 80 year old series.  The design is good (it almost has to be to have lasted as long as it has.)  However, it is very blank and in some versions it almost completely blank. This is to allow the players to decide what go where such as my marvel monopoly (which I can see arguments happening over which marvel character deserves the boardwalk space).  It is so bare bones that there are so many iterations of the same game some of which add new things, which I both applaud and jeer at. 

            My second problem is what some of these iterations are trying to teach the children of today, In one version it takes out the paper cash for credit cards.  With paper cash we learned how to make change and do math with the credit cards you might be possibly teaching them it is better to use credit over cash, which is problem in today’s society in my opinion.  I like the versions that add more strategy elements and choices for the spaces.

            The last problem with is it takes so darn long to play. The play time can vary depending on   who you are playing with.  In my family when I was younger games of monopoly could take days and we only played them during the holidays.  I mean that is ridiculous.  With lord of the rings monopoly the problem is somewhat solved. Every time some one rolled a one you had to the ring. Once the ring gets back around to the start space, the game ends and whoever has the most money and property wins. That is some effective way of making the game end quicker but this is however optional.

            In retrospect there are so many reason to hate monopoly.  However the game does hold a place in my heart hence why I plan to keep my marvel monopoly for myself. With that it is time for me to close.  Next time we have a real treat where produce faces off preposterous pairings, until then if you get bored pick up a game.