Did anybody ever figure out a way to shorten Monopoly? I remember liking that game when I was young, but giving it a pass once i realized how long it could take to finish. And I have lived most of a lifetime never regretting it. But now, I have to face this all over again--My wife wants to buy the grandkids a Monopoly bored or is it "board?"
Maybe Google knows..
I'm back, and--I am not making this up--there is, in fact, a way to shorten the game to only four hours (instead of 70 days--the longest game reported on that bank of all intelligence that is Google)--JUST FOLLLOW THE RULES!
It seems that Monopoly, which was created in 1935 and sold by Parker Brothers (Since taken over by Hasbro), is played by most people "the way we've always played it." This usually means that people or, rather, little kids are taught the game by playing it with others --like parents or older siblings. This demonstration approach is easier and more fun than actually reading the rules. Not only do you get the actual game started faster. It''s a ton less boring than reading the rules.
The down side of this is that nearly everyone misses a crucial rule. If a player lands on a property and chooses not to buy it, "The banker then auctions the property, and the property goes to the highest bidder." And, "The bidding may start at any price." All players may bid, including the player who landed on the property and chose not to purchase it in the first place. It is said that this speeds the game up by allowing people to acquire the full set of properties and thus begin building properties, which raises the rent and so on...
The auctions immediately create more interaction among the players earlier in the game, as they try to bluff, trick and otherwise dupe the other players into doing what they want them to do. In short, to behave like little capitalists. Once that is accomplished, Monopoly becomes more instructive about life and business in general; making it more fun for all your young, budding capitalists.
It turns out there are a couple of other rules that are not included in the word-of-mouth approach by which we were all taught--money may be borrowed only from the bank, and only by mortgaging property. Borrowing from other players is forbidden. The other little known rule is that only one hotel may be placed on a property. I can't remember the intricacies of the game well enough to tell you what effect the latter rule might have, except to prevent overly dense development. But I do remember the loans between players that taught another important life lesson about dealing with loan sharks that only television series and movies about gangsters will now teach.
Now I fear, we will soon have the chance to see it in action--I'm pretty sure Grandma had made up her mind already and would buy the game regardless of my objection. Furthermore, I think I will be compelled to play myself to ensure these long-lost rules about the auction process, loan-sharking and over-developing are applied. Or maybe I can just leave it to another of the estimated 1 billion people who have played Monopoly since it was introduced. If I live to tell, I will report back.
