Monopoly mash-up
|
It's Monopoly, of course. It's fun the first few times, but as you get older and wiser, you'd rather chew off your own leg than play it.
One way I have played it to make it faster is to simply deal out all the property at the game start, and give everyone a chance to auction properties. This makes life a little easier.
I came across a site that lists lots of modifications to the usual rule set. I picked out a few of the most interesting to share.
|
|
|
|
|
| Images from Fark. |
Players may build houses on any property they own, even if they do not have a complete set. If a player lands on a property which has been improved, they can either pay what they owner asks, up to a maximum of the normal amount required, or they may instead pay rent to any other owner of one of the other properties in the group, paying whatever rent that owner requests. If the player chooses to pay a different owner, including his or her own property in the group, then the player also moves his or her token to that property.This makes getting a "monopoly" on a property set far more important, and better mimics the real world.
Partnership
Two or more players may agree to form a partnership with a property group in which they have a monopoly between them. Each partner may then purchase houses or hotels for the property they own as long as they follow rules for building evenly. A player may leave the partnership between dice rolls, forcing all players in the partnership to sell all of their buildings.
This is another rule that emulates the real world. Isn't it amazing how all the gas stations in town change their prices to the same value on the same day... every time the price changes? Now partnership monopolies can be brought into the game!
Profit Sharing
Two or more players may agree to split the rent from a property or set of properties.
Immunity
A player may grant full or partial immunity from paying rent on one or more of his or her properties as part of negotiations. The details of the immunity are up to the players involved in the trade.
I think Partnership, Profit Sharing, and Immunity go all hand-in-hand. ie: If two players share the Boardwalk and Park Place properties, they could create a partnership to allow for building houses/hotels, share profits, and let each other rent for free. Those two players, along with other properties they share, will likely be a real challenge for the other players.
Other good/interesting rules to check out:
Instant Hotels: no need to buy houses incrementally before the hotel (avoids housing shortage problems)
Double Prices: properties are bought at twice the listed price (so you actually have to think before you buy)
Traveling Railroads: "rent" on a RR allows you to move to any other railroad with the same owner
Six Railroads: The two utilities are treated as additional RRs
Dice Control: A player can choose to roll one or both dice. However, rolling a "1" sends you to jail for an "impossible" move on the board.
Maximum Punishment: when in jail, you can't earn any money; you can buy your way out for $100
Two Tokens: each player uses two pieces on the board
Uneven Building: when you have a monopoly on a property set, building doesn't need to be balanced
Doubling Up: two tokens may not exist on any property; the penalty is returning to Go (no payment). This gives lower-valued properties more traffic.
Based on the fact that all these playing options exists, it's clear that I'm not the only one to find the game tedious, creating a need for ways to make it more interesting.
If you, like me, are still concerned about the game taking too long, just employ the ultimate rule:
Sudden Death
Before the game begins, one player is secretly and randomly determined to be the "Angel of Death". This can be done by having one slip of paper put into a hat for each player, with a star on one of them, and then each player draws a slip. The Angel of Death player has the option, once the game has been played for two hours, of smashing the board and declaring the game over without any winner.
Visitors