So who will scan the cards and make a file that you can print at home on similar colored paper? I figure that you could set it up to reprint all of them in the correct proportions so that no paper is wasted and you get the old images we all grew up with and love.
Most people just play four boardgames in their lives ā they start out with Candyland, move to Monopoly and Clue/Cluedo and in their highschool/undergrad years move to Risk. Yes, you can talk about the joys of Catan, or Ticket to Ride, or whatever high-end boardgame you like, but they are just too complicated to attract a mass audience in the same way. Yes, I like those, but then I played pen-and-paper RPGs as a teen and arenāt frightened by pages of rules. Most people are.
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You caused me to have a flashback to leisure suits, specifically burnt orange leisure suits from the 70ās. Gadz, they were horrifying! [as you might have guessed, yup, Texan here]
Makes sense to me. After playing Risk, youāre done with board games forever.
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There are much better games than Monopoly out there, quite honestly. This cracked article mentions a few, including Power Grid as a replacement for Monopoly.
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Thank you for that.
Rules help control the fun!
ā Monica E. Geller, Friends
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If I may:
Hasbroās Sociological Review Committee found that the early āGet Out of Jailā card unfairly depicts indiscriminate violence against the elderly, against males and against mustachioed persons of all genders. A majority of the committee deemed the new cardās design inoffensive, although two members objected: one on āgoatseā grounds (toh Brainspore); the other because the bent bars conveyed a slight against steelworkers.
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I actually donāt mind the new card design (blasphemy!). Having said that, I have no intention of ever buying Monopoly for my kids. There are so many amazing board games out there, and while I have fond(ish) memories of playing Monopoly as a kid in the 80ās, there are WAY better options out there today.
The sad thing is these games arenāt more complicated.
Theyāre just better 
The only thing separating them in real terms is marketing and department store buyers. Itās also generational, these games are āmodernā and so only have traction amongst people actually interested in board games. 50 years from now I wouldnāt be surprised if Monopoly was relegated to an inside joke amongst parents.
Oi, @frauenfelder - have you played Waldschattenspiel with your littleāun? Iād love a copy myself but from what I gather it has limited appeal unless youāre playing with kids. Iād invite some round, but, ya know.
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Now thereās a game I could not get anyone to play with me. I donāt think I ever finished an entire game.
Ooooh, thanks for this. Iām trying to get back into boardgames, as my son is getting to an age (4) where we can start to have a lot of fun with them, and alternatives to the crappy childhood staples are just what the doctor ordered.
A kick-ass Robot token would kick that card designerās ass.
The only board games I remember with any fondness are Scotland Yard and Stratego.
Though I wish Iād played Space Hulk.
I think the infatuation with Catan fades quickly once you realize itās also not a very good game. It is generally the first euro style game people play though.
Heathen! I like the Seafarers expansion myself.
I got the Ankh-Morpork game for Christmas and thatās good fun. Like a CCG crossed with a board game. As a fan of both (and Discworld!) it scratches an itch.
My biggest trouble is finding games that work well with 2 people.
Mostly I agree; I really dislike the āget money for free parkingā and such because it turns it all into āluck of the diceā rather than keeping the strategic elements, and makes it longer. I might as well flip a coin for a couple of hours.
I am wondering about your āself imposed ājailāā remark, though; that seems to imply you can choose to stay there, which is something Iāve never ran across.
To all those complaining that Monopoly is not fun: are you actually playing it by the printed rules which accompany the game? Because most people donāt. Apparently reading and following the instructions leads to very exciting gameplay.
While I donāt object to any of their choices as games, what they recommend the games as replacements for often reads less like āX is a good replacement for Yā and more like āI donāt like X. I like Y. Can I find someway of combining the two into an article, even if it makes no sense?ā
I think the oddest is their Connect 4 entry. Now, letās get this out there: Connect 4 is not a good game. Iām not arguing that. But what it is is a simple, relatively compact, and quick game for 2 players. What the author suggests instead? Alien Frontiers: medium weight (so scratch simple; yes, itās not that complex, but youāll still probably spend about 20 minutes explaining it to someone whoās never played it before), not that compact, and suggested play time is 90 minutes, so definitely scratch quick. A good game, yes, but not what Iād suggest as being anywhere near the same niche as Connect 4.
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thereās a lot of even weirder āhouse rulesā that have evolved, apparently:
One of my sources says the kids on his block had worked out an even better scam: whenever you landed on Free Parking, you got one bill of each denomination from the bank ā $686, if my addition can be relied upon. Such corruptions make it just about impossible for anybody to go bankrupt, meaning games go on forever. Talk about creeping socialism.
there are about 5 more rules in the link, plus 2 or 3 satirical ones.
I accidentally lucked into the only tolerable way to play Monopoly (while sober and clothed) when my kids wanted to play it one evening. I was feeling too lazy to count out all the money at the start of the game, so I gave everybody $200 and said we were playing a new version called Bootstrap Monopoly. You had to actually save up to buy most properties, and it created scenarios in which people could actually go bankrupt.
As itās generally played, Monopoly is predicated on the assumption that every player is a trust fund kid whoās being bankrolled by his or her parents as he or she dabbles in real estate speculation. Bootstrap Monopoly keeps it real, man.
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