Monopoly Junior Edition
by Hasbro
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Our Price: $20.95 Availability: Usually ships in 1-3 weeks Buy Used: from $5.99 (click here) Category: Toy See more product details |
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Toys and Games Reviews of Monopoly Junior Edition
Customer Review: Great game! Some tips for alternative rules...
Summary: 5 Stars
One of the best games, if not the best, non computer game I bought for our little daughter (4 and a half years old). She wants to play all the time, and actually I don't mind, since I love playing it too. Its fun, (and she can learn some maths and such) but I changed some of the rules to make it a bit more interesting strategic wise, and a little bit less harsh for young players.
My alternative rules are:
#1 Don't start off with handing out free ticket booth cards, like the official rules suggest, but put all these cards into the chance card pile. (shuffle)
#2 There is no need that you MUST buy a ticket booth while landing on available ticket booth square. Let the child decide whether or not to buy a ticket booth. (an interesting strategic element comes into play now) The child can decide to buy only cheap ticket booths (save money, especially when running low on money) or to buy only expensive ones (more risky, "big" investments) or simply buy everything. It's all up to the child; this makes it a more strategic orientated. Following the official rules however, will result in a pure chance/luck/no skill based game, which is not so interesting and educational.
#3 When drawing a colored `free ticket booth' card from the chance card pile (see #1), don't use the card to occupy a free ticket booth square, or to take over the opponent's ticket booth. Use the card instead as a free ride. So when the child lands on an occupied ticket booth square which is, for example, green, and the child has a, for example, green free ticket booth card, the child can decide to use this card to get a free ride or not. So no money is lost. The spend card is put out of play. This is less harsh than simply taking over somebody else's booth square. Furthermore it's again a more strategic approach, since the child can decide not to use the free ride (when the child has lots of money to spend), but use the card when it's really needed, when running low on money, or when not having money at all... providing another chance to get `lucky', instead of simply loosing the game.
Hope the above alternative rules may offer a more interesting approach to this fine game.
Enjoy!
Customer Review: Not Too Bad.
Summary: 4 Stars
Normally I would suggest that a "junior" (meaning dumbed-down) version of a game isn't worth the time to play it or the money to buy it. However, I do recommend Monopoly Junior for families with children in K-3. The reason for this is that even though kids, with lots of help (which most don't usually get), can learn to play regular Monopoly, the game is brutal. I remember several times (when I was in the first and second grades) getting in fights with my parents and crying because I was just a kid and all these adults were kicking the tar out of me. Though there maybe some lessons there, they are still lost on me (did you ever notice that adults always like to play Monopoly with kids when they're in a bad mood).Anyway, with that said, Monopoly Junior is a really fun game for young children to play. It helps kids learn to take turns, follow directions, and learn basic counting skills. In many ways the game is just like Monopoly. The goal is to end the game with the most money. You have to have a strategy involved (if you don't play by rules included with the game). Properties are bought and there are a lot of money transactions. The major differences are that the game is set up as an amusement park; the money denominations are a lot smaller; the board is smaller; and it only takes about 20-30 minutes to finish one game. There is a bit of luck involved with the various chance cards, but that's no different than the chance cards in Monopoly.
The kids I have worked with really seem to enjoy playing the game, and I really don't find that it is "dumbed down". The game is made with kids in mind instead of adults and cuts out a lot of the brutality common to the regular game. Kids see enough violence nowadays anyway.
Customer Review: Nice Game for Younger Children
Summary: 3 Stars
I wanted to get my son some board games for Christmas, and I thought regular Monopoly would be too complex for him at this stage. So we got Monopoly Jr., and it's definitely easier for kids...perhaps *too* easy for some kids that are 7 or older.
The Monopoly Jr. board is rectangular, with less spaces than the adult version. Set in an amusement park, there are also Rail Roads, but they're just Roll Again spaces. The "properties" are amusement rides, arcades, or attractions which cost between $1-$4 for a ticket booth. When you land on a space, you MUST buy a ticket booth. Players have an opportunity to "kick out" other players if the property is split, but not if there's a 'monopoly'. There are some Chance cards, but they function in the same way: direct the player to a particular square where he may buy a ticket booth.
As with regular Monopoly, if you land on a space occupied by another player, you have to pay the player the fee. Otherwise, you must BUY the ticket booth.
There are four colored plastic game tokens: a yellow carousel horse, a green "log jammer", a blue bumper car, and a red roller coaster car.
There could be more variety to this game without making it too hard, so in my opinion, the game is a bit too simplistic. However, it's a nice way for the parents to spend time with the younger kids. My son seems to like playing the game, although he hasn't asked, specifically, to play it until Christmas.
Customer Review: A Wonderful Way to Begin Learning Monopoly
Summary: 5 Stars
Let's face it, Monopoly can get very long and is certainly not fast paced enough for a younger child nor is it simple enough for one.
Monopoly Jr. is the perfect way to take a great adult game and make it pleasing for the younger crowd. It is based on a theme park with ticket booths, rides, and vendor stands.
There are still properties, actually, ticket booths (although you don't have a choice to buy them, if you land on it you must purchase it). There is money and chance cards. Everything is much more simple and yet moves at a fast enough pace to keep even a 5 year old engaged. If you land on a ticket booth that is not yours, you must pay. And like regular Monopoly, if you own all the colors in that set, rent is doubled. So children need to understand how much it costs for one and for two. They also need to pay attention to their properties to make sure other players aren't passing by without forking over the dough.
We have found nothing yet that would improve on this version of Monopoly and I have purchased a number of them as birthday presents.
I would recommend this for ages 5-10.
As a parent, I don't mind playing this one over and over. The game changes each time and the thrill of getting the dark blue properties just before GO is still there.
Customer Review: Monotony Junior - pure chance with dumb rules, clunky pieces, small board.
Summary: 3 Stars
This is the classic game Monopoly simplified to the point where there is no strategy whatsoever (and therefore no linking of decisions with consequences) but I must admit that my five-year-old loves it and it may get him interested in the real game someday.
Not only is it reduced to pure chance, but the rules are written so that the games are very short, since you lose when you run out of cash regardless of how many "ticket booths" you have on the board. The rules are written so you are forced to buy properties you land on, and you end up paying up a lot before your cash flow builds (and this is with only my son and I playing, the effect would be greatly multiplied with three or four playing).
On top of that, the board is little so that if you are in the habit of rolling the dice in the middle of the board, you are continually knocking the "ticket booths" off their properties, and if that weren't enough, the actual tokens are so big that only two can fit on a given square, but the game can be played by up to four people.
So, for new depths in fun-for-kids-while-parents-suffer, try this game. Too bad it couldn't have been made interesting for kids and their parents.