subject: Monopoly
style: rant / review
source: To Kill a Mockingbird
"Until I feared I would lose it, I never loved to read. One does not love breathing."
[NOTE: I wrote this back in January, when I thought no one would ever read it. Gahd, I'm such a nerd haha Dx]
Yes, another one, I know. I just have an urgent message I've got to get across. Lol, not really .. It's just a little thing I forgot. (This is a follow-up to my first Monopoly rant.)
I have recently played a few games of Monopoly, with this new inclusion they've created called the "Speed Die." Well, it certainly lives up to its name. Games go three or four times faster than they typically do without it (that is, assuming there are no dreaded "house rules" currently in effect). The only problem is, it utterly ruins the game as it is meant to be played.
First things first : as soon as I had finished my first game using it, I rushed to calculate the odds of rolling each number using the new, blue die. Geeky ? No. Clever and strategic ? Definitely. On the surface, it doesn't work out half-bad. All it does is add an innocent 1-3 onto your roll, or gives you more or less freedom as to where you land. Let's address these aspects one at a time.
Adding onto your roll, contrary to popular belief, does not make the game go by more quickly. It makes you circle the board more quickly. Which means you get more money faster. So is it helpful ? It'll get a Big Fat NO here, methinks. More money means waiting longer for the game to end (hello). Doubtless guna lose Brownie Points for this one...
The bus : lets you choose whether you use one, the other, or both of your dice to move. Again, you will obviously always choose the one that is best for you and your financial matters, allowing you to live longer and forcing the game to keep trudging on. Starting not to look so pretty, eh ?
Mr. Monopoly : while there are still properties in the Bank, moves you to the next one available, forcing you to buy it. Big thumbs-up here .. makes the game progress faster and earlier, so we can all cut to the chase.
Once all the properties have been purchased, though, old Uncle Pennybags forces you to move to the first property on which you will pay rent. Know what that means ? The second the final property is paid for, every player quickly mortgages everything they own except their most expensive land. End result: he who holds the most expensive card wins the game.
I can't think of a better way Parker Brothers could have taken away all traces of strategy from a perfectly decent game. They really should've just left it alone. I must admit, though, they undoubtedly dragged in plenty of loyal customers with their speedy-Rodriguez ploy, who just had to have a second copy of the game just for the one extra piece included. Clever marketing scheme, P-Bros. Very clever.
style: rant / review
source: To Kill a Mockingbird
"Until I feared I would lose it, I never loved to read. One does not love breathing."
[NOTE: I wrote this back in January, when I thought no one would ever read it. Gahd, I'm such a nerd haha Dx]
Yes, another one, I know. I just have an urgent message I've got to get across. Lol, not really .. It's just a little thing I forgot. (This is a follow-up to my first Monopoly rant.)
I have recently played a few games of Monopoly, with this new inclusion they've created called the "Speed Die." Well, it certainly lives up to its name. Games go three or four times faster than they typically do without it (that is, assuming there are no dreaded "house rules" currently in effect). The only problem is, it utterly ruins the game as it is meant to be played.
First things first : as soon as I had finished my first game using it, I rushed to calculate the odds of rolling each number using the new, blue die. Geeky ? No. Clever and strategic ? Definitely. On the surface, it doesn't work out half-bad. All it does is add an innocent 1-3 onto your roll, or gives you more or less freedom as to where you land. Let's address these aspects one at a time.
Adding onto your roll, contrary to popular belief, does not make the game go by more quickly. It makes you circle the board more quickly. Which means you get more money faster. So is it helpful ? It'll get a Big Fat NO here, methinks. More money means waiting longer for the game to end (hello). Doubtless guna lose Brownie Points for this one...
The bus : lets you choose whether you use one, the other, or both of your dice to move. Again, you will obviously always choose the one that is best for you and your financial matters, allowing you to live longer and forcing the game to keep trudging on. Starting not to look so pretty, eh ?
Mr. Monopoly : while there are still properties in the Bank, moves you to the next one available, forcing you to buy it. Big thumbs-up here .. makes the game progress faster and earlier, so we can all cut to the chase.
Once all the properties have been purchased, though, old Uncle Pennybags forces you to move to the first property on which you will pay rent. Know what that means ? The second the final property is paid for, every player quickly mortgages everything they own except their most expensive land. End result: he who holds the most expensive card wins the game.
I can't think of a better way Parker Brothers could have taken away all traces of strategy from a perfectly decent game. They really should've just left it alone. I must admit, though, they undoubtedly dragged in plenty of loyal customers with their speedy-Rodriguez ploy, who just had to have a second copy of the game just for the one extra piece included. Clever marketing scheme, P-Bros. Very clever.
