Monopoly Town

Even games for young children should include some element of decision-making. Without it, there is no real interactive element while you're playing. No matter what you do, the outcome is predetermined once the game is set up.

Unfortunately, Monopoly Town fits into that category, joining Candy Land and the public domain card game War as children's games which are mindless and can drive parents crazy. It's unfortunate, because the idea of a Monopoly game designed to help young children learn how to count has some promise, and the talking Mr. Monopoly is a cool component. But I cannot recommend this game.

Pros

Cons

Setting up the game board for Monopoly Town may give you hope that the game will be fun. Do not be fooled. This is only false hope.

The board is a plastic track onto which you slide the talking Mr. Monopoly figure. (He's in a car, travelling around Monopoly Town). Once the board is built, Mr. Monopoly controls your destiny.

Players begin with $6, 10 building blocks, five roofs of their own color, and one golden roof. On his turn, a player presses down Mr. Monopoly's head and then follows the instructions. Most often, this will be something like, "Move three spaces." Occasionally, Mr. Monopoly will give players a small choice (e.g. "Lost in fog. Move forward or back four spaces.").

The board is made up of 16 property spaces, two Chance spaces, Go and Free Parking. When a player ends his turn on a property space, he either adds a building block, adds a roof, or pays rent to the player who owns the property. Landing on a Chance space can be good or bad, while passing Go earns every player $2.

This is the kind of game that parents dread. Children may be attracted to it by the cool components, but Monopoly Town is an exercise in patience much more than it is a game. There are better games if your goal is to teach children how to count, and there are much better games if your goal is to have fun with your children.