Monopoly Electronic Banking

Source: amazon.com via eko on Pinterest

Hasbro continues to tweak with the Monopoly formula that has been a staple of American households for over 70 years. As in most cases, thoughts are mixed on this newest venture. Along with the standard Monopoly: Here and Now Edition board, comes an electronic banking device.

For those unfamiliar with the Monopoly: Here and Now Edition, it includes current buildings and locations. Not only that, but these properties come with drastically inflated prices. Gone are the days when you could buy a stretch of land for a few hundred dollars. This time you better be prepared to shell out hundreds of thousands of dollars. Also expect to see new Chance and Community Chest cards which includes modern day consequences such as identity theft. Ultimately the prices are the same since all of the values are inflated to the same degree.

The electronic banking device eliminates the need for paper money as it keeps track of your balance for you. You use debit cards to spend and receive money which surely makes things easier for those that are mathematically impaired. Unfortunately this aspect also makes it difficult to plan too far ahead since the only time you can check your balance is if you insert your card in the banking device. One other issue I had trouble adjusting to is the fact that on the banking device the spend side is on the right. Since there is no paper money, cleaning up is much easier though.

Overall, it's not bad. The banking device does make it significantly more welcoming and easier for those that are discouraged by the constant math skills that would normally be utilized. Cheating is still a possibility so it doesn't help players that pay little attention to what is happening on the board. It brings many of the elements of the computer renditions of Monopoly, while keeping the classic feel of still using a board, rolling of the dice, and manual movement. This is great for groups and families that would prefer not to spend the many extra hours of calculating payments that typically comes with a typical game of Monopoly!

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