Line #17 YMMV/Monopoly


1	!!For the ''many'' VideoGames based on the BoardGame:
2	* SugarWiki/AwesomeMusic:
3	** Some of the MIDI tracks in the 1995 Creator/WestwoodStudios game qualify. Most notably the opening song [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f-PwIn_0GqM "Park Place"]] and two others, those being [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZooAzjdeOj0 "Can't Complain"]] and [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pg-S9NZTkoo "The Railroad Ode"]].
4	!!For the BoardGame:
5	* CommonKnowledge: While the topic is debatable, calling the game "anti-capitalist" as many say only tells some of the story and isn't completely true. It's more about the dangers of ''unregulated'' capitalism and is anti-corruption more than anything; the original author of ''The Landlord's Game'', Elizabeth Magie, was actually a Georgist, an economic theory that is mostly focused on land value tax as a means to help everyone benefit from wealth creation. Her version of the game even included an alternative set of rules that could be voted in by majority that helped that demonstrate this in action, with the spirit of the game still staying relatively similar, something that the more commonly circulated version of the game omitted.
6	* CriticalBacklash: ''Monopoly'' is mostly reviled in board gaming circles, but when it's criticized, there'll usually be someone arguing that the game is fine if played as intended, with the players trading and without the notorious [[PopularGameVariant variants]] that drag out games. (Of course, there are also people countering that while the game is less bad in this case, it's still bad.)
7	* CriticProof: Contemporary reviews of ''Monopoly'' are largely negative, with common complaints including the [[UnstableEquilibrium runaway leader problem]], its use of PlayerElimination, the amount of luck, and the game being too long for what it is. It still sells a ton of copies and is a frequent ThemedStockBoardGame. In fact, it's the fourth best-selling board game of all time, only behind ''TabletopGame/{{Backgammon}}'', ''TabletopGame/{{Checkers}}'' and ''TabletopGame/{{Chess}}'' (all of which have centuries-long histories and are still well-regarded).
8	* DemonicSpiders: The Dark Blue spaces. Did you just land on "Boardwalk" (or equivalent) that has a hotel owned by an opposing player to you? Please pay '''''$2,000!''''' This is ''especially'' bad for players who are low on cash.
9	* EndingFatigue:
10	** The game has a reputation for being almost endless, but extremely long games are usually the result of house rules. Oddly enough it's this same reason which is why no one really understands why "free parking" is called that. Once the properties are all bought up, [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin it's somewhere you can land that is free]]. The instruction booklet includes two sets of rules for shorter games [[labelnote:[Short game] ]](At the start of the game, three properties are dealt to each player, free of charge; only three houses are required for an hotel; players in Jail must exit on the very next turn; the 10% income tax option in pre-2008 North American editions is not used; the game ends at the first bankruptcy, with the winner being the player with the most assets)[[/labelnote]][[labelnote:[Timed game] ]](The players agree upon the time when the game will end before starting the game; at the start, two properties are dealt to each player, which must be paid for; the player with the most assets at the predetermined time wins)[[/labelnote]] in an attempt to avert this, but almost nobody uses those.
11	** "Monopoly: [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin Longest Game Ever]]" features '''66''' property squares[[labelnote:*]] but only 22 ''properties''; buying one makes you the owner of all three squares it represents[[/labelnote]] and only one die, meaning players crawl around the board at a snail's pace. The game only ends when one player owns every property on the board, and even going ''bankrupt'' doesn't get you out of the game. Even worse is a rule that allows you to buy out someone else's property for $10 after you land on it and pay the rent you owe. They [[ButThouMust can't say no]], and you get control of any houses/hotels that are on the property.
12	** A fan produced variant known as [[https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2799779462 Insane Monopoly: Pyramid Scheme Expansion]] which exists only in Tabletop Simulator extends Monopoly's already infamously long game time to NIGHTMARISH levels and makes "Monopoly: Longest Game Ever" look quick in comparison. Highlights of the game include THREE WHOLE BOARDS, each with multiple rings: the main board representing [[UsefulNotes/UnitedStates the USA]] with four rings that players can travel up and down as they go around the board, a secondary board representing [[UsefulNotes/{{Europe}} Europe]] which also has four rings, and a jail board taking the place of the 'in jail' space which players must either land on a 'get out of jail free space' or complete one full trip around the board to escape (along with a few other nasty spaces). There's also a stock market, four additional decks of event cards in addition to chance, community chest, and bus tickets; such as employees and shady dealings; a pyramid scheme mechanic (hence the name); and 252 properties available for purchase! And that's not even getting into all the other strange rules thrown into the game such as the alternative go spaces such as the lotto and stimulus checks. As of this writing there has only be ONE recorded instance of the game being played to completion, [[https://youtu.be/iWTt8f_dqCQ shown here]], and the entire match took approximately 8 HOURS to finish; what makes it worse is that the group was playing under a house rule where the game ended when one player went bankrupt with the winner being determined by whoever had the highest net worth at that point in time. So imagine how long a game of Insane Monopoly would go on for if it was played to the last man standing. If there's a hell for board game fans, this is probably what they'd have to play.
13	* GameBreaker:
14	** The Bank has 32 houses and 12 hotels (in most versions) because the players are supposed to upgrade their houses to hotels, returning the houses to circulation. The rules prohibit building more houses when all the houses are on the board. This makes it a very profitable strategy to buy lots of houses without ever upgrading them to hotels, as it prevents the other players from buying any, and also prevents a player with a hotel from downgrading or mortgaging the property.
15	*** To make even more sense of this, one hotel requires four houses to be turned in, in addition to the price of the house. Thirty-two divided by 4 is 8, so if you have three monopolies (let's just say Boardwalk and Park Place, and the two monopolies between Jail and Free Parking) and all eight of those properties have four houses on them, ''nobody can build any houses until you decide to upgrade.''
16	*** Of course, this is a moot point if you use the common house rule where you can directly skip to hotels (which also became an official rule in 2023) even if not enough houses are left as long as you can pay the equivalent price.[[note]]And let's not get started with the "infinite buildings" house rule...[[/note]]
17	** If a player gets a non-utility/non-railroad monopoly early and immediately builds houses, it usually quickly cripples his/her opponents.
18	** The orange and red properties, when developed. Jail is the most commonly occupied space. The oranges are 6, 8 and 9 spaces away. The reds are 11, 13 and 14 (and one of them has a Chance card that sends you directly to it). Basically, anyone leaving Jail has VERY HIGH odds of landing on at least one of those properties in 1 to 3 turns.
19	** The Speed Die, by design to speed the game up. The most notable feature of it is Mr. Monopoly; if one rolls it, they take their turn as normal and then immediately move to the next un-owned property, or next property the player has to pay rent on if no un-owned properties exist. A player with most of the board against another player with only a few properties with buildings on them could find the entire game turned around in the bad roll of too many Mr. Monopolies in a row.
20	** The building repair cards, requiring a player pay $25 per house and $100 per hotel (for the Chance card) or $40 per house and $115 per hotel (for the Community Chest card). Easily a game-ender if you have more than a few house or hotels.
21	* LowTierLetdown:
22	** Railroads and utilities are pretty worthless, often not even making back the money it takes to buy them.
23	** The green properties are certainly this compared to all the other traditional properties. On the opposite end of the jail corner, is expensive to purchase and maintain, and doesn't have any instant-warping cards to benefit from (the blue properties at least only have two spots to maintain and has a chance card to warp to the Boardwalk).
24	* MandelaEffect: People often think Rich Uncle Pennybags wears a [[HighClassGlass monocle]], but he's never worn one in official art besides [[https://www.facebook.com/monopoly/photos/im-not-above-accessorizing-with-my-mighty-monocle/10153545232881517/ a 2016 post on Monopoly's official Facebook page]].
25	* MemeticMutation:
26	** "Go directly to Jail. Do not pass Go, do not collect $200."
27	** "[[GetOutOfJailFreeCard Get out of Jail free]]. This card may be kept until needed or sold."
28	** "You won SecondPrize in a beauty contest. Collect $10."
29	** The game's reputation for turning even the most close-knit of players into vicious, backstabbing monsters.
30	** Cropping the box-art to have Mr. Monopoly point at the letters "NO". Often used as a reaction image.
31	* MisaimedFandom: The game was intended to teach the evils and greed of unchecked capitalism. Ironically, fans enjoy the capitalism theme in the game because it gives them the opportunity to have endless wealth.
32	* MisBlamed: Monopoly's infamous reputation for being an overly long game is usually caused by [[PopularGameVariant player-created rules]], the two biggest ones being No Auctions and the Free Parking Jackpot. Games can still be tedious without these, it's not as well-balanced as modern tabletop games, and the fun of trading is only as fun as the people you're playing with, but those two house rules are still responsible for more of the grief than many rants will let on.
33	* NoSuchThingAsBadPublicity: ''Monopoly For Millenials'' has been given backlash in videos, with people seeing it as insulting (especially with the TagLine at the bottom). That backlash also gave it free advertising.
34	* OnceOriginalNowCommon: When ''Monopoly'' was released, a lot of the available board games were either simple RollAndMove games or [[VariantChess chess variants]]. Against that backdrop, mechanics like buying properties to form sets and then build stuff on them to make them more valuable, charging other players money, auctions, random chance cards, [[PlayerElimination eliminating bankrupt players]] etc. seem pretty exciting. However, they have been replicated often enough that none of them seem novel anymore, and they suffer from either (1) players souring on the mechanics and deeming them obsolete[[note]]most forms of RollAndMove, as well as the harsh PlayerElimination[[/note]] or (2) being used in better games built around them[[note]]for instance, ''TabletopGame/{{Chinatown}}'' is often cited as a better trading game[[/note]]. Moreover, since it's been the best-known and most commonly played commercial board game in the Western world for nearly eight decades, it's probably not too surprising that a lot of folks have become a little sick of ''Monopoly'' by now. Check in at [[http://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/1406/monopoly BoardGameGeek.com]] sometime to peruse the litany of complaints that many folks have with the game -- board game enthusiasts are especially annoyed by its ubiquity since many associate "board games" with ''Monopoly'' and bad memories of playing it, discouraging them from trying other, much better games.
35	* PopularGameVariant: There's a plethora of house rules, many of which are so ubiquitous that people are surprised when they find out that they aren't the official rules. Many of them aim to be AntiFrustrationFeatures, as the game has a [[EndingFatigue grinding endgame]]; however, they tend to be insufficient as {{Comeback Mechanic}}s and end up making the game longer by preventing losing players from going bankrupt. Others are just designed to spice things up or resolve disputes, especially among players who play regularly; as Creator/VictoriaWood once put it (in the context of spending Christmas with a friend's family), never play ''Monopoly'' with people who've been playing it together for decades, because everything you do will be wrong. [[http://www.playagaingames.com/games/monopoly_home_rules This page]] lists some of the most popular over the years, but to summarize here:
36	** A particularly common house rule is to put various fines and taxes (which, by strict rules, would go to the bank) in the center of the board and giving all the money to whomever lands on "Free Parking". It's not part of the official ruleset because of the EndingFatigue it tends to cause -- in fact, at least one edition actively warns you ''not'' to use it.
37	*** Confusingly, Monopoly Junior adds the free parking jackpot as an official rule, called "Uncle Pennybags' Loose Change".
38	** One rule is to remove the limit on houses and hotels that can be on the board. By official rules, once they're gone, they're ''gone'' unless someone decides to sell them. The house rule allows you to just keep building more and more, marking them with pennies or other random tokens. Again, while it seems like it would make the game more fun, it ends up just forcing the same few players to trade around the same few thousand dollars with no end in sight, turning the endgame into an interminable LuckBasedMission.
39	** One rule to make things more interesting is "double money for landing on GO". Like most rules that increase money in circulation, it tends to stretch out the game. It's also the source of epic debates about what happens when you draw a card that says, "Go directly to GO; collect 200 dollars": does it mean you only get $200 (because that's what the card says), or does it mean you get $400 (applying the house rule or ExactWords), or does it mean you get ''$600'' (applying both: the card says $200, but not that the $200 ''comes'' from GO, so you get it in addition to the $400 from the house rule)? This is how [[SeriousBusiness friendships are destroyed, families are broken, and lives are lost]].
40	** One rule (or perhaps common misconception) is that when a player lands on an unclaimed property but chooses not to buy it, it's just left alone until the next person lands on it. By official rules, when a player chooses not to buy the property, it goes immediately to auction, so ''someone'' has to buy it. Most people ignore this because they can't be arsed with auctions (or perhaps because they don't know how to run one smoothly).[[note]](A common problem associated with auctions is that they often degenerate into +$1 pissing contests, which can be solved by instating a minimum between bids, usually $5 or $10.)[[/note]] This causes more expensive properties to go unowned until near the endgame, which lengthens the game. However, the 2023 rule change states that if no one wants to join the auction, the property is not sold.
41	** A different rule is a twist on the above rule; when a player lands on an unclaimed property, it immediately goes to auction, regardless of whether the player who landed on it wants to buy it at face value. This is the sort of rule popular with more serious gamers who would otherwise turn their noses up at ''Monopoly''.
42	** One rule prevents players from buying property on their first lap around the board. It's intended to balance out the advantage gained by going first, but tends to unbalance the game more -- often one player lands on Chance on their first roll and draws "Advance to GO" or "Take a ride on the Reading" while another player ends up in Jail.
43	** One rule prevents players from collecting rent while in jail. It's an ObviousRulePatch to prevent players from trying to go to jail intentionally and staying there for as long as possible, racking up rent money without the risk on landing on someone else's powerful monopoly.
44	** One rule allows players to form alliances and trusts. While it's certainly in the spirit of the game, it's not part of the official rules. Similarly, the official rules prohibit players from lending money to each other; this prohibition is often lifted by house rule (or evaded by [[LoopholeAbuse players making equivalent but separate gifts of money to each other]], although this is [[SchmuckBait difficult to enforce and open to abuse]]).
45	* SurprisinglyImprovedSequel: While the original game is mostly hated by board game enthusiasts, ''Monopoly Gamer'' is viewed more favourably because it's more streamlined (no more EndingFatigue or waiting for everyone else to finish after [[PlayerElimination you got eliminated]]), as well as adding some fun new elements like the Power-up Die and {{Boss Battle}}s.
46	* TheyChangedItNowItSucks: The major changes that have happened since the TurnOfTheMillennium saw that kind of reaction from a lot of long-time players. Those include the major graphical redesign in 2008 that ditched the hand-drawn Mr. Monopoly in favor of a creepy-looking CGI rendition among other changes, particularly to the North American edition[[note]](the cheapest properties changed color from purple to brown, the GO letters became black instead of red, the 10% option on Income Tax was removed and Luxury Tax was upped from $75 to $100; to be fair, all those changes were done to put the North American version in line with the UK and European versions, which already had the brown group, black GO, no 10% tax and the £100 Super Tax)[[/note]], the replacement of the iron token with the cat in 2013, the replacement of the boot, thimble and wheelbarrow tokens with the T-rex, rubber duck and penguin in 2017 (though the thimble would be reinstated after a fan vote in 2022, replacing the T-rex), and replacing all 16 Community Chest cards in 2021.
47	* UnintentionalPeriodPiece: This game made the mainstream in the 1930s, and it shows thanks to stuff like a cast-iron clothes iron piece and ''$2'' for the lowest base rent in the game (Mediterranean Avenue).
48	* ViewerPronunciationConfusion: "Reading Railroad" is commonly called the REED-ing Railroad, but it's actually the REDD-ing Railroad (i.e. the color "red", not the present tense verb "read"), which served Atlantic City until 1976 (and was named after the city in Pennsylvania and, by extension, the town in England).
49	----
50	!!For the GameShow:
51	* QuestionableCasting:
52	** Passing up two experienced hosts of the genre ([[Series/DoubleDare1986 Marc Summers]] and [[Series/PressYourLuck Peter Tomarken]]) for a former ''Series/{{Jeopardy}}'' contestant who had no TV experience? (To be fair, both had to be passed up for reasons beyond the show's control, but still...)
53	** Having a little person as a living token in the 1989 pilot, though this is more due to how the idea was treated by the producers (Creator/PattyMaloney wasn't allowed to speak on-air since Rich Uncle Pennybags was male and an "entity" and Tomarken wasn't allowed to interact with her during the show, an idea he didn't like).

Context YMMV / Monopoly