10 Responses to “Monopoly Reviews”

1. Robert Graves Says:
   August 17th, 2010 at 9:21 am

   Review by Robert Graves for Monopoly
   Rating:
   Monopoly is often overlooked as a gamenight option these days, many people considering it outdated. But it’s a classic for a reason, combining lucky rolls and strategy in a very unique way. The fact is that most people don’t play Monopoly by the correct rules, and that makes all the difference. The key to enjoying the game is the inter-player deals and politics. That’s where all the fun lies, and much of the strategy. Any player can strike any kind of a deal with another player – want to trade all the purples and light blues for Boardwalk? No problem. Want to trick someone into trading a property you need for all your railroads? This is where the real enjoyment comes from. I encourage you not only to get the game and play it, but to read the rules and “get into” the game. There are also some fun alternate rules you can use, such as collecting $400 (instead of $200) when you *land* directly on “go”, or putting fine money (from chance cards, utility expenses, get out of jail money, etc.) in the center of the board and collecting it when you land on “free parking”. Don’t overlook Monopoly as an outdated option. It’s still one of the best games out there.

2. retrowens Says:
   August 17th, 2010 at 9:55 am

   Review by retrowens for Monopoly
   Rating:
   There’s no doubt that Monopoly is the most popular and best known board game ever made. Everything about it is a true classic. Everything from just choosing what your character will be out of metal characters such as a cruise ship, a wheel barrow, a car, etc. to buying property and placing hotels on it in order to drain money from your opponents, is as classic as it gets. Monopoly is definitely a game that anybody no matter how old they are can enjoy. It involves strategy, and even some luck, and it’s a lot of fun. The only downfall is that sometimes it can take a long time to play a full game of Monopoly and that some people, especially kids, might get bored with it and want to quit. I recommend anybody who likes playing board games to get Monopoly more than any other board game ever made.

3. Adam Keiper Says:
   August 17th, 2010 at 10:00 am

   Review by Adam Keiper for Monopoly
   Rating:
   This Monopoly set was cheaply produced in China, as you might guess given its price. For a family looking for a first set, it seems satisfactory. But anyone who has played Monopoly for years should be on notice that this set, redesigned in 2008, includes several minor annoyances.

   First, the most practical annoyance. The board folds up into quarters, which allows the manufacturer to fit the set into a smaller box, presumably to reduce production costs. But because the box is somewhat smaller (about 16 inches long), there is no room for the sort of convenient tray for Monopoly money that was once standard in the old boxes (which were about 20 inches long). This is annoying for both gameplay and storage.

   Second, the producers have unnecessarily and inexplicably made small changes to the rules of the game — rules that have stood for more than half a century. Landing on the Luxury Tax space used to cost you $75; now it costs $100. The new rules also change the numbers of each kind of bill to be apportioned to players at the start of the game — and in fact, the game comes with a smaller supply of some bills.

   Mention of this set’s Monopoly money brings us to the third annoyance: the manufacturers made numerous gratuitous changes to the look of the game. The palette of colors used for Monopoly bills in the United States since the 1940s has been changed: The $10 bill used to be yellow; now it’s blue. The $50 bill used to be blue; now it’s purple. (These changes make it hard to reuse money from older Monopoly sets.) Among the other unnecessary changes to the look of the game: The formerly purple properties on the board (Mediterranean Avenue and Baltic Avenue) have been recolored brown. The Community Chest and Chance cards are now printed on white cardstock instead of the familiar orange and yellow, and the classic drawings on those cards have been replaced with computer-generated 3D cartoons. Even the “Go” space has been redesigned: now the word “Go” is written in black instead of the familiar red. (Stodgy purists might also be put off by the various alterations to font, logo, and other design elements.)

   To be sure, these changes do not alter the fundamentals of the game itself. But they are annoying enough that anyone with nostalgic memories of the game from childhood should consider a different set.

4. 'MaryLou Cheatham Says:
   August 17th, 2010 at 10:14 am

   Review by ‘MaryLou Cheatham for Monopoly
   Rating:
   What did children do before they had 100 channels on their televisions, the latest I-Pods, cell phones, computer games, and door-to-door transporation? ANSWER: They played Monopoly! Having gone through my formative years in the 1950′s, when we had two channels on a snowy black and white screen and the use of our aunt’s eight-party telephone line, we learned how to have a good time with what we had. And we had a rip-roaring good time playing Monopoly, the king of board games.

   We played it fast paced, and we developed many skills. We learned from interacting with each other in a nonthreatening environment, as we sat around a little square table. (Imagine a family sitting around a table and conversing for hours!) We learned how to handle imaginary money, count, add without paper or a calculator, make change, handle real estate, roll with the punches, lose gracefully, and win without too much bragging. We developed social skills and vented our frustations as we played Monopoly.

   I’m glad I grew up with Monopoly, a social feast in a box. We wanted to play to the end of every game, but sometimes we had to go to bed or do our chores. At that time, we would cash in so we could declare a winner.

   Monopoly is the perfect balance between luck and skill. It is great for young players and adults alike. Playing with children is a super way for parents to learn about their children and teach them.

   There is one problem I have with the new Monopoly games: I loved the little wooden figures that we used. It does not seem the same without them.

   We are on the verge of a renaissance of board games. Monopoly is a great game for starters.

5. Ida G Says:
   August 17th, 2010 at 10:20 am

   Review by Ida G for Monopoly
   Rating:
   There’s nothing to say about Monopoly that everyone doesn’t already know, but why oh why does Hasbro insist on designing the board to fold twice? There’s a permanent slit going halfway through the board to allow for an extra fold, so you can forget trying to play on a soft surface, and it looks awful. I wish I had bothered to find this out before ordering, because it really is a deal breaker, and the game just sits in a cupboard now.

   In trying to cut down on space, Hasbro also made the lousy move of getting rid of the old money tray. It’s now a flimsy plastic, with slots for putting the bills in sideways. I could possibly live with that, if the box could be closed with the bills in that position. Alas, the box isn’t tall enough, so when you pack up you need to stack the money, then separate it into the slots when you’re ready to play.

   In short, a slightly wider, slightly taller box would have elevated this review from two stars to five. You got that, Hasbro?

6. Jason Says:
   August 17th, 2010 at 11:00 am

   Review by Jason for Partini
   Rating:
   This is a great game – or set of games more accurately! Each of the different mini-games inside are a blast. It was the most fun a group of 7 of my friends have had in years playing a game. “Clay smoothie” and “Bouncers” seemed to be the favorites. I think it’s a great game for young adults. It sets a fun party atmosphere and is a great way to get to know the other people. You won’t be disappointed!
   

7. T. Marshall Says:
   August 17th, 2010 at 11:28 am

   Review by T. Marshall for Partini
   Rating:
   Partini is a great game. Actually, it is multiple games in one. It helps if the group is somewhat sober, but still wants a good time. Probably geared to the 25-45 crowd (or some really hip 45-60 year olds)especially with the music choices in the humming game. It is fairly similar to Cranium (molding things out of clay, humming songs, etc.) but with more of an adult spin. It adds elements of games like truth or dare, beer pong, quarters, etc.
   
   My friends and I played this at a beach house on a rainy night and we really enjoyed it. The only drawback was that my friends were too drunk when they started the game and started to pass out right in the middle. Which was not the fault of Partini at all.

   Great, easy game for adults who are looking for relaxation and fun. The game does not take a lot concentration like some trivia games or pictionary, etc. Anyone can play which works well for those who just want to have a good time without having to “be smart.”

8. Nancy Drew Says:
   August 17th, 2010 at 11:32 am

   Review by Nancy Drew for Partini
   Rating:
   After reading the rave reviews, I was excited to receive this game as a Christmas gift. I am a board game junkie and I’m always looking for new party games. Well, I finally had a party at my house this past weekend and this is the first game we played. What a disappointment!!!

   We all thought this game was lame and lacking in creativity and fun. And the rules…OMG! Every game has a new set so we kept having to refer back to the instructions. One of our guests had played this at another party and she was surprised we even managed to get through an entire game. At the other party, they gave up after a few rounds. It was just too frustrating having to refer back to the instructions constantly.

   At my party, there were 21 people playing, ranging in age from their early 20′s to late 30′s. Since I live in a small condo, some of the challenges posed by the Bouncers game required too much space. Hum Punch was beyond difficult. Most of the songs we had never heard of before or were beyond hummable. In the end, we opted to change how that game worked. Playing the other games, a Topic was given so the answers were shouted out before the picture was drawn, acted out, or sculpted. For instance, sculpt something found “at a gym”. Well, before the person started sculpting, answers were shouted, “weights”, “bodybuilders”, “treadmill”, etc. Since it’s meant to be fun, I’m not going to tell my game players to wait before the action is started.

   I don’t know. This game just didn’t work for us at all. I’d definitely save your money and stick with Cranium. You’re guaranteed to have more fun with that game.

9. Amazon Lover Says:
   August 17th, 2010 at 11:56 am

   Review by Amazon Lover for Partini
   Rating:
   We are Cranium and Beyond Balderdash fans in our household (we moved on from Taboo and Pictionary–our previous faves). Those two games get played the most on game night and get multiple requests. As someone who owns over 40 board games, we know most games copy others and it’s hard to be original. This game is a total rip off Cranium without using as much thinking power….BUT that’s exactly what we like about it. We love Cranium but sometimes you just want to play a game to play…not think critically and seriously (trying to figure out trivia and jumbled up words). It’s not a complete thoughtless game but definitely lighter than Cranium. The “bouncers” part of the game is original and gets people up and moving. Overall, it’s a keeper and will be added to our game rotations.

10. The Chiro Says:
    August 17th, 2010 at 12:21 pm

    Review by The Chiro for Partini
    Rating:
    I’m not sure if it is because my fiance and I have been playing Cranium since it came out or what but I didn’t think this was as fun as others were reviewing it as.

    The humming category is terrible. It has too many odd songs, either are really OLD or hard as heck to hum. We’ve started playing without those in the pile.

    Make sure to play with good/close friends because the one dice category is so unfair if you don’t really know someone in the group (say, someone’s new girlfriend). It’s an easy way to cheat if only 1 person knows that person.

    They have fun categories…I just think it was built not so good. They have a good idea, they just need to modify it a little bit.

    If you need a game for a party, this is an OK game to have. I’d recommend all the Cranium games over this though…

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