I have to admit that I’m not a Monopoly player anymore. Ever since I taught Liv my strategy of “buy everything and damn the expense” she’s won every game, and frankly I think the dice hate me. So I just stopped playing.
But that said, some of my favorite gaming memories from childhood revolve around the old Monopoly game board. Fighting over who got to be the race car with my brothers. Trying to figure out why there were never enough 20s. Making fun of Dad when he ended up Going Directly to Jail without passing “GO.”
And it’s because of those memories that I’m a little disappointed with the newest redesign of the Hasbro standby. Monopoly Revolution Edition has a circular board that just isn’t the same for me. Sure, from a design standpoint it’s kind of pretty, but there isn’t the format that allows easily for designation between the high and low value properties.
Additionally the use of “popular” music on some commands seems more irritating than functional to me. I don’t want to hear Rihanna or Daniel Powter whenever I make a purchase or land on “Free Parking.”
Another part of the redesign that bothers me is the use of “credit cards” instead of the old cash system. One of the greatest things about the older versions of Monopoly was that it taught children how to add, subtract, and manage money at a young age. Now the computer does it all for you. This seems like a detraction from the game.
Maybe I’m just getting old. Maybe I’m just too reminiscent of my childhood. Either way, I think Hasbro has done a disservice to their game and to the Monopoly lovers out there with this redesign. They’ve taken a game that was entertaining and educational and turned it into another battery eating monster.
I will admit that some of the changes that the Monopoly Revolution edition entail do make sense to me. Adjusting the prices to meet modern equivalents is right, and does prepare players for the reality of the Real Estate market (sort of.) The retention of the original Atlantic City street names is a comfort as well, and as I said before, the board (circle?) is very slickly designed, pretty and functional.
The game hits shelves this Fall. Will you be buying it, or will you follow my lead and send it “Directly to Jail, do not pass Go, do not collect $2 million?”
Sources: 5 Blogs Before Lunch, Yahoo Finance
