Monopoly. Is there a board game that is more well known?
The answer to that simple question is, perhaps unsurprisingly, no. Monopoly has not only sold some 275 million units worldwide, but it also holds a Guinness World Record for most number of players. That’s 500 million, in case you were wondering.
A game that can be played by the young and the old, there’s no doubt that it wouldn’t be seen as an integral part of any family gaming session.
But you know what the worst thing about Monopoly is? Much like many board games, it’s the set-up, the handling of in-game cash, the need to keep the board safe from unruly toddlers or kittens. Thankfully, the virtual version of Monopoly has no such worries. And with Ubisoft’s latest 2024 edition, we think we’ve found the best way to play Monopoly yet; virtual or otherwise.
If you’re a fan of Monopoly, we can wholeheartedly recommend you get involved with what Ubisoft have put together with their latest Monopoly game. If you’re not, well, this is unlikely to be able to turn you, but even then you may well enjoy it for what it is.
Ubisoft should know what makes a Monopoly player tick too. They’ve churned out multiple versions of the great game over the years, from Monopoly Deal on Xbox 360, My Monopoly, Monopoly Plus, up to Monopoly Madness from a couple of years back. We’ve not played every single one of those games, but we’d be amazed if any of them had been put together in a better way than this 2024 drop. We’re not sure if you’ve got the gist yet, but we’ve been pretty taken by this one.
As you would expect from Monopoly, you’re getting the chance to play, well, Monopoly; nothing more, nothing less. But it’s how you play it in which Ubi have gone to town, with a ton of options available, allowing you to set things up as you see fit.
That means you get the opportunity to play solo, against AI, with friends and family on the sofa (adding in AI if you wish), or head to the online world, setting up and joining games mid-match if you so wish. A word of warning, we’d hesitate to say that the latter would be the most optimum way of enjoying Monopoly, and one match we found ourselves dropped into was well into full swing, so much so that we could do nothing on our turn aside from to pay up cash for landing on properties of other players. When that board was full with six players, that was no fun.
By far the best way of playing is, as with the board game version, with family and friends. Ideally do it with a controller per person (again, up to six), as that allows the game to flow nice and easily, without the need to pass controllers. You can do that if you must, and if you’re short on the controller front, it may be your only way, but that does stall things slightly.
With a controller per person, a simple vibrate signifies when it is your turn, so if you must switch off slightly, focusing on something else whilst you play, that’s more than doable. And with all the controls present, swiftly accessible, you’ll find that games of Monopoly are smooth affairs. It’s super easy to roll your dice, buy properties, initiate auctions, trade, draw on the Community Chest and Chance piles and more. It’s also super easy to head to jail. Ask us how we know.
Movement around the board is easy too. You’ve got a choice of manoeuvring your piece yourself, utilising the thumbstick and a jump button for some fun. Or you can skip ahead, letting Monopoly place your piece in a second. You’ll probably find that after a while that is the default for most players. It at least helps speed up the longer games.
The boards are nice too. You’ve a choice of the usual Monopoly board that has powered gaming sessions for decades. Or you can let Ubisoft go to town a little with a Living Board, complete with an ever-evolving city, interactable, full of hidden secrets and collectibles. Little tip, take this one every single time as it breaks up any monotony that you may get with the standard board. Or at least, that’s what we’ve been doing, having fun throwing dice into a stadium, river and suchlike, exploring the inner details as we’ve awaited a turn.
It all looks great too; massively vibrant and fun. When you start including a variety of Ubisoft specific game pieces – wanna play Monopoly as Ezio from Assassin’s Creed? – skins of dice and more, and this is a game that allows for some proper enjoyment. Hell, you can even ‘flip the board’ if you think that is enjoyable.
In Monopoly on Xbox, you can amend a ton of things as well. Standard rules are available should you wish, but for the most part you’ll probably want to switch things up a bit, increase the excitement and ensure it is fresh. You can do that with Speed Die, Fast mode or switch on some House Rules, dictating a number of things like what happens if a player lands on Free Parking or GO, playing some King of the Hill rulings along the way. We like the chance to partake in some shortened games with set rules, like reaching a certain amount of Monopoly Money to win, or gathering up a specific number of properties. If you’re slightly pushed for time, these are great additions to have.
And then you can also chuck in some objectives too. We’ve found these to be a little pointless in the grand scheme of things, but if you must go ticking off absolutely everything that Monopoly allows, then by all means go chasing the purchasing of 40 properties, or starting of 50 auctions, or trying to own all the red and yellow properties in a single match. We prefer to roll those dice and see what happens, but with 25 objectives to go after, at least there’s something extra to work towards.
Of course, you could just go old-school Monopoly and enjoy it for what it is, making the most of the classic rules, traipsing the board forevermore, utilising save states and discovering a game that could last hours, days and weeks. Yep, you know what a game of Monopoly can be like…
So, Monopoly is Monopoly – but it’s probably the best version of virtual Monopoly to date; the version you will want to play going forward. Full of customisation and personalisation, with a pace to the play that is near perfect, this virtual offering of the world’s most popular board game does more than enough to cement itself with a place in family gaming nights going forward. And with the inclusion of both local and online play, you won’t need to huddle around a board to do so.
The thing is, it is just Monopoly. And that in itself will dictate as to whether this one appeals.
Ubisoft Brings MONOPOLY to Life with Enhanced Visuals and Gameplay – https://www.thexboxhub.com/ubisoft-brings-monopoly-to-life-with-enhanced-visuals-and-gameplay/
Buy MONOPOLY on Xbox – https://www.xbox.com/en-gb/games/store/monopoly/9P8H220G3S4P
