iPhone Monopoly

For all of you Monopoly lovers out there who have an iPhone or an iPod Touch, Electronic Arts has just recently released Monopoly Here & Now: The World Edition at the iTunes App Store.

Buy From iTunes App Store:

Playing the iPhone version of the most popular board game of all time is pretty much what you'd expect. You still play by the same rules and the gameplay is the same as well. This is not a dumbed down version like Monopoly JR or something, this is the real game. And they've added some nice animations to the mix. You have to actually shake your iPod Touch or iPhone in order to roll the dice.

The one thing that seems to bother a lot of people is that they decided to go with Here and Now Version of the gameboard and not the original Atlantic City version. Perhaps that can be addressed in a future update but as of right now, it's Here and Now or nothing.

And for those who think it might be a little weird playing Monopoly all by yourself there's some options for multiplayer mode. There's the Pass and Go option, which consists of passing the iPhone to the other players when it's there turn and the much cooler option of WiFi enabled play.

The game was originally $7.99 but has come down in price since then. At the time of this post it was priced at $4.99 and I think it's a great bargain at that price.

Buy From iTunes App Store:

Monopoly Here Now

Monopoly Here and Now Edition
The Monopoly Here & Now Edition answers a simple question that serious Monopoly players have probably been asking for a while now. What would Monopoly be like if it was created here and now? The Here and Now Edition is Hasbro's answer to that question.

So what's different?
Well, for starters, the properties on the Monopoly Board are no longer limited to Atlantic City, New Jersey. Now you can buy properties from all over the country (USA) including Cleveland's Jacobs Field and New York's Times Square.

The railroads are replaced with airports like LAX and JFK which make sense because really when was the last time people took a train to somewhere other than in their daily commute.

And the tokens have been updated as well. I'm not crazy about this change because it seems very sponsored. Now there's a Toyota Prius, New Balance Shoe, McDonald's French Fries and a Motorola RAZR Mobile Headset. I'm not a big fan of product placement and this seems a little cheesy to me.

And the biggest change in the Monopoly Here and Now Edition is a serious case of inflation. The lowest priced properties on the board go for $600,000. Yikes!

Gameplay remains the same. Trying to bankrupt the other players by purchasing as much property as you can is still the goal and I'm glad they didn't change that.

So if you're looking for a change and getting tired of paying $60 for properties like Baltic Avenue, then you should give Monopoly Here & Now Edition a try.

The Monopoly Board

I made this video of The Monopoly Board using Animoto. It was actually pretty easy to do. After I took all the pictures, all I had to do was upload them, choose the music and then I was done. And if the pictures were already on Flickr, I wouldn't even have had to upload them. And see for yourself, Animoto does a great job.

Monopoly Video

This is awesome. It's a stop motion video of a game of Monopoly set to the music of Pink Floyd. Very nicely done.

Monopoly Pants

When I started this Monopoly blog, the goal was to focus on the rules of the game. But since I've starting posting, I'm finding all kinds of cool Monopoly news and stuff that I want to share.

Like these Monopoly Lounge Pants. You know how some Monopoly games last forever? Well when you're playing the same game for hours the last thing you want to worry about is uncomfortable pants. These Monopoly pants look so comfortable that you could probably use them as pajamas.

Monopoly Free Parking

Rules of Free Parking
Nothing happens when you land on Free Parking. No prizes, no bonuses, no nothing. It’s in the official rules and that’s all there is to it.

Now you might be saying to yourself, huh, I always thought that Free Parking is when you receive all the money that’s been placed at the center of the Monopoly board. Well you’re right too.

One of the most commonly adopted House Rules is to place all taxes and fees in the center of the board to be awarded to the first person that lands on Free Parking. Why, I’ve even seen people put all the money owed to the bank for buying properties, houses and hotels in the center of the board. And that’s fine because, House Rules are House Rules. But if you want to play by the official rules, Free Parking is just a rest space where nothing happens.

House Rules
The problem with this Free Parking House Rule, is that to makes the game take longer to play. How many times have you seen a player, down on his luck, tons of mortgaged properties, nearly bankrupt and then he lands on Free Parking and he’s not only back in the game but he winds up winning. Without that fresh infusion of cash from Free Parking, that player would gone bankrupt and spent the rest of the game getting snacks and drinks for the rest of players. And who doesn’t like to have a snack while playing Monopoly?

So if you enjoy a marathon session of Monopoly, then by all means, use a Free Parking House Rule. But the official rules, which were created to speed up the game, state that nothing happens on Free Parking.

Monopoly Jail

The Rules of Jail
There are three ways that you could wind up in Monopoly Jail.

1. By rolling three doubles in a row
2. Landing on the Go To Jail space on the Monopoly Board
3. Drawing a Change or Community Chest card that says Go To Jail

When one of the above three things happens you must go directly to jail, you do not pass Go and you definitely don't collect your $200.

If you land on the actually Jail space on the board (not the Go To Jail space), there's no penalty or fee to pay, you just park your piece in the Just Visiting section of the space and proceed as usual on your next turn.

Now a lot of people think that when you're in jail that you can't collect rent. That's not true. According to the official rules of Monopoly, you can collect rent and buy and sell hotels and houses while in jail.

How To Get Out Of Jail
There are several ways to get out of jail.

1. Rolling doubles
2. Using a Get Out of Jail Free card
3. Paying $50

If none of the above happens before your third roll of the dice, you must pay $50 and proceed the number of spaces on the dice. For example, if your third roll isn't doubles, say it's a 2 and a 1, then you pay $50 and proceed three spaces.

If you do roll doubles before your third try, you proceed the amount of spaces shown on the dice but you don't get to roll again as you normally would when rolling doubles.

Jail Tip: Since you are allowed to conduct business while in jail, try buying a Get Out Of Jail Free card from one of your opponents.

Jail Factoid: The Policeman on the Go To Jail space is named Officer Edgar Mallory