Monopoly
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Rate:
5 out of 5
Difficulty:
2 out of 5
Played:
10/26
Opinion:
Everybody knows Monopoly. It's the most famous board game ever. Therefore, there has to be a NES
version of it as well as other consoles. I've got no complaints. Even the AI isn't bad, especially when it
comes to trades, i.e. proposing a property from an opponent that will finally let you build houses for crappy
cards and/or cash isn't going to work. Unfortunately, just like the board game, the replayability value is
low which explains why everybody always puts it away in the closet where it stays untouched for years.
I consider this game beaten if you play one match with at least four players total.
Technical Notes
Basic Moves
♦Everything is straightforward, so you shouldn't have any trouble figuring it out.
Match
What To Do
I'm not going to explain how the game works. Thus, you should read all about it in the manual. But what I can
do is offer some practical tips to create a winning strategy.
♦You may get lucky by landing all cards of the same color by the roll of dice, but it's rare.
♦Forget utilities and railroads; they're trash for failing to generate enough profits. Instead, use
them for trade.
♦If you collect two cards of the same color, have one of a different color, and know an opponent
is in possession of them in the reverse order, start thinking about a trade. You have to take a calculated risk,
depending on what the colors are.
♦Therefore, the highly desired colors are: light blue, maroon, orange, and red.
♦You can collect purple, yellow, green, and blue if you want, but the probability of landing on these
properties is very low and not worth it in the long run unless they're valuable for trades. I've played this
game for decades but am still befuddled why it's so hard to land on these colors.
♦Another way of looking at making trades work is to get a card from somebody that a second opponent really
wants as long as you have two cards of the same color and that second opponent has the third one.
♦If everybody but you is low in cash, opt for an auction to save money.
♦Going to jail isn't a bad thing late in the game since you won't have to risk going to properties
with houses/hotels for three turns unless you roll doubles. However, if it happens early in the game,
just pay the fine because you can't afford to waste time.
♦In this version, landing on "Free Parking" doesn't entitle you to cash that's normally collected when
playing in person.