Best Games Similar to Monopoly

The Best Games Similar to Monopoly

Monopoly remains one of the most popular board games in the world, always bringing all the family members around the board. However, sometimes a little change can be interesting and fun. This is why we’re bringing you some games that share the same general principle of Monopoly, but with a few differences. Just like Monopoly, these games will give you a chance to live out the fantasy of becoming ridiculously rich!

Monopoly Cheaters Edition

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Pros

Monopoly Cheaters Edition
Monopoly Cheaters Edition

✓ A game that encourages taking risks, cheating.
✓ Shorter games than classic Monopoly.
✓ Cheating adds a unique thrill to the game.

Cons

✕ Too complicated for children.
✕ Requires high concentration.

Characteristics

● Brand: Hasbro Gaming
● Number of players: 2 to 6
● Age: 8 years and over
● Duration of a game: 45 to 60 minutes
●Game type: Strategy, cheating, construction

Monopoly Cheaters Edition, as its name suggests, allows and encourages cheating. Players are allowed to skip spaces to avoid paying rent, steal money from the bank, pay less money than they’re supposed to, etc. There are 15 cheat cards that describe how players can cheat.

But beware! If a player is caught cheating, they will pay a fine or get sent to jail. Players who are in jail are handcuffed to the board, which makes it more difficult for them to cheat. However, if a player cheats and does not get caught, they receive a reward for cheating successfully!

Children who are 8 or older can play Cheaters Edition. There are no houses in this version of Monopoly, only hotels. The richest player, of course, wins the game.

Our opinion: In this game, a player who manages to cheat without getting caught gains a large advantage and is likely to end up winning the entire game. You’ll notice that most players will seem to concentrate more on catching cheaters than actually cheating themselves.

Hotel

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Pros

Hotel
Hotel

✓ 3D design.
✓ Easy rules for children.

Cons

✕ Fragile material.
✕ Players’ actions depend on chance.

Characteristics

● Brand: MB Games
● Number of players: 2 to 4
● Age: 8 years and over
● Duration of a game: 40 to 60 minutes
● Game type: Construction, chance

The objective of the game is to get rich by building successful hotels while trying to sabotage the opponents. A 6-sided die determines the action to be taken. When a player lands on a building space, which is indicated by a dollar sign, they can purchase a hotel. To purchase a hotel, the player will have to roll the permission die to find out how much they are going to have to pay for it.

Players who own a hotel can collect rent for it. Opponents who land on a hotel must pay rent which can be expensive if the building has several entrances and extensions. Bankrupt players are eliminated. The last player standing in the game wins.

The 4 tokens are car-shaped, with 4 different colors. There are 2 dice in the game, one standard, and another permission die for determining if a player can buy a hotel and how much they have to pay for it. The game allows you to build many hotels and work on constantly developing them.

Our opinion: The game has an appealing design. The rules are quite easy, even for children. Chance plays a big part in this game, however. So if you want a game that would allow you to come up with your own elaborate strategies, maybe you should choose a different one.

For Sale

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Pros

For Sale
For Sale

✓ Quick games.
✓ Easy rules.
✓ Players are free to make their decisions.

Cons

✕ Can get repetitive.
✕ Player in the last position has less freedom of choice.

Characteristics

● Brand: Iello
● Number of players: 3 to 6
● Age: 10 years and over
● Duration of a game: 20 minutes
● Game type: Strategy, bidding, cards

All the players start with the same resources. Each player receives ten $1,000 tokens and two $2,000 tokens. For Sale is played in two parts. The first part is dedicated to the distribution of the properties, which are sold at auction. The number of property cards turned face up each round depends on the number of players. Players start bidding for the most valuable property.

If a player doesn’t want to place a higher bid, they have to settle for the least valuable property of the ones that are turned face up. Once all the property cards have been used, the players move on to the second part where they are going to try collecting the check cards with the highest values. The players collect check cards by buying them with the property cards they have. The game ends when all the checks have been used. The richest player is the winner.

The game has 30 property cards, 30 check cards and 84 money tokens. The rules of the game are explained in detail in the included booklet.

Our opinion: The strategy of the game consists of making smart bids to acquire expensive properties and then trying to resell them for the best profit.

Payday

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Payday
Payday

Pros

✓ A game that teaches money management.
✓ Children can easily understand the rules.
✓ The players decide how many months to play.

Cons

✕ The bills to be paid depend on chance.
✕ Actions are dictated by the squares or cards.

Characteristics

● Brand: Hasbro Gaming
● Number of players: 2 to 6
● Age: 8 years and over
● Duration of a game: 45 minutes
● Game type: Management, economy, chance

The squares correspond to the 31 days of the month. Before the start of the game, the number of months to be played is determined by the players. Each player starts with a sum of money. As the dice are rolled, each player acts according to the instructions of the square they’ve landed on. Players have a chance of winning the lottery if they collect a mail card, but it can also be a bill that they’d have to pay.

A player can be forced to sell their goods by landing on specific squares. Players try their best to make as much money and to save as much of it as possible. The last day of the month is payday. It is also the day when players have to pay their bills.

The goal is for each player to save as much money as they can, while paying the bills on time. Players can earn more by investing and selling at the right time. Whoever has the most money in the end is declared the winner of the game.

Our opinion: The game contains a lot of realistic and exciting events. The dice offers just the right amount of chance to make the game a lot funnier and more interesting. The fact that the length of the game is determined by the players before they start makes this a game that can be played at any time.

Richesses du Monde (Riches of the World)

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Richesses du Monde
Richesses du Monde

Pros

✓ An educational game.
✓ Eventful.
✓ Wealth is not just a matter of chance.

Cons

✕ The game can be long.
✕ Mastery of the rules is necessary before starting.

Characteristics

● Brand: Lansay
● Number of players: 2 to 6
● Age: 8 years and over
● Duration of a game: 60 to 120 minutes
● Game type: Economy, action, strategy

The objective of the game is to have a monopoly on world production, including oil, coal, cocoa, sugar, aluminum, etc. There are 24 of them, spread over all the continents. After rolling the dice, each player chooses and buys stocks, according to the country indicated. If they pass through a square where another player has a percentage of products, they pay a royalty fee.

It is better to have 90% of a single product, rather than accumulating small portions of several. The higher the percentage, the more royalties the owner receives from other players. By drawing a double Ace, the player owes the bank 1 million francs, a double 2 makes them owe 2 million, and so on.

Two or more players can join forces to destroy another. Their decisions, therefore, would be made by mutual agreement. A player who has no more money is declared bankrupt. The player who survives this economic war wins the game.

Our opinion: Apart from the randomness of the dice, the player must be discerning. They will have to make the right decision as to which stocks to buy. Hesitation can cause a player to lose all the wealth they’ve garnered, that’s why it’s important for players to be confident in their decisions.

Catan

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Catan
Catan

Pros

✓ A simple game to learn how to develop an island.
✓ Several possible hex configurations.
✓ Easy rules.

Cons

✕ Extensions to be purchased separately.
✕ Requires a good knowledge of resource combinations.

Characteristics

● Brand: Asmodee
● Number of players: 3 to 4
● Age: 10 years and over
● Duration of a game: 75 to 90 minutes
● Game type: Construction, strategy, development

This game rewards those who work the hardest for the development of the island of Catan. Victory points are earned by building settlements, roads, and cities. The first player to accumulate 10 victory points wins the game.

The board, which must be set up at the beginning of the game, represents the island. The 6 sea pieces surround the land hexes, which are placed according to their numbers. Each hexagon has resources which the settlers will benefit from, in exchange for a road and a city. Buildings are intended to help the development of the island. The choice of their location requires a good strategy. Players can negotiate with each other to obtain the resources they need to establish a settlement.

The oldest player rolls the dice first. Depending on the sum of the two numbers, they acquire the resources in the corresponding hexes. To build a settlement, a player must have 4 resource cards. This gives them 1 victory point. They can then build a city, which would give them 2 victory points.

Our opinion: The rules are simple, but you must thoroughly study them to avoid hesitation. The players should make sure to put enough thought into where they want to build their settlements.

Chinatown

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Chinatown
Chinatown

Pros

✓ Victory does not depend on chance.
✓ Players are free to negotiate however they want.
✓ Each player receives a card that summarizes the basic principles.

Cons

✕ A game can last a long time as there are 6 rounds, each with 6 phases.
✕ The freedom of the Trade phase can cause confusion.

Characteristics

● Brand: Z-Man Games
● Number of players: 2 to 5
● Age: 14 years and over
● Duration of a game: 60 to 90 minutes
● Game type: Trade, negotiation, construction

The game consists of owning buildings and starting businesses in them. It is the value of those businesses that give their owner their wealth. The game takes place in Chinatown, which is popular for being a commercial district in New York, where many Chinese people immigrated in the 60s. This board game is played over 6 rounds, each of which has 6 phases.

The last player to have visited a Chinatown, in any country, takes the First Player card, and is responsible for dealing out the Building cards at the beginning of each round. The second phase is for drawing the Shop tiles, followed by the Trade phase, where players are free to negotiate with each other.

Adjacent shop tiles bring more value to a player’s property set. Each player’s income depends on the size of their business. Each round corresponds to one year. After 6 years, the richest player wins the game. If everyone has the same amount of money, the player with the most Shop tiles wins.

Our opinion: Players with good negotiation skills have an advantage and have a good chance of winning. The rules are clear, but the freedom of the negotiations will not fail to create some confusion.

Minivilles

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Minivilles
Minivilles

Pros

✓ Teaches players the importance of infrastructure.
✓ Short games.
✓ Accessible to children.

Cons

✕  The game becomes boring if the player fails to develop their city.

Characteristics

● Brand: Asmodee
● Number of players: 2 to 4
● Age: 7 years and over
● Duration of a game: 30 to 60 minutes
● Game type: Construction, development, creation

In Minivilles, each player creates and develops their city. They try to make it habitable by integrating the necessary infrastructure. The infrastructure is represented by cards. Each card has a number corresponding to the result of the dice, and the actions to be taken. At the beginning of the game, each player receives a Wheatfield and a Bakery, and 4 monuments (Train Station, Shopping Center, Radio Tower, and Amusement Park) which they have to build to win the game. The remaining cards are placed in the reserve.

The last player to have visited an amusement park starts the game by rolling a single die. They then turn over the card with the indicated number, that card is now activated. A player can choose to construct a building or a monument by paying its purchase price. Once a player has built their Train Station, they may roll 2 dice.

Each player can collect money from the bank or from the other players if the activated card indicates that they should do so; sometimes, however, they’d have to pay money instead of collecting it. The first player to build the 4 Monuments is declared the winner of the game. Minivilles has various extensions that can be purchased separately for more players and more fun and creativity.

Our opinion: If the dice roll doesn’t force the player to perform a certain action, then they can decide whether to spend or save their money. Good decision making can allow a player to develop their city much faster than their opponents.

Comparison Table

Monopoly Cheaters EditionHotelFor SalePaydayRichesses du Monde (Riches of the World)CatanChinatownMinivilles
Number of players2 to 62 to 43 to 62 to 62 to 63 to 42 to 52 to 4
Age8 years and over8 years and over10 years and over8 years and over8 years and over10 years and over14 years and over7 years and over
Duration of a game45 to 60 mins40  to 60 mins20 mins45 mins60 to 120 mins75 to 90 mins60 to 90 mins30 to 60 mins
Game TypeStrategy, cheating, constructionConstruction, chanceStrategy, bidding, cardsManagement, economy, chanceEconomy, action,

strategy

Construction, strategy, developmentTrade, negotiation,

construction

Construction, development, 

creation