Thursday , March 28 2024

Board Game Review: ‘Monopoly Advance to Boardwalk’ from Winning Moves Games

Winning Moves Games is reintroducing Monopoly’s true successor: Monopoly Advance to Boardwalk. There are plenty “-opoly” games out there that applies fan-favorite movie universes, TV shows, or the sites in famous cities in a new skin over the original Monopoly, which can be a lot of fun taking the classic board game to familiar or captivating places. However, the real sequel to Monopoly is Advance to Boardwalk, spun-off in 1985 and now back through Winning Moves.

While the other “-opolies” maintain the same rules with dice-rolling, board movement, and buying territory, Advance to Boardwalk is a whole new game of its own. There are plenty of thematic ties back to the original Monopoly. Mr. Monopoly himself, Rich Uncle Pennybags, makes his traditional appearance, and the art is rich with ties to art deco. Player pieces are suitably random as well, with a rollerskate, bicycle, baby carriage, and sailboat, though the trend is clearly one of travel. At their cores, both games are inherently economic, too, but Advance to Boardwalk adds a great deal more decision-making into winning.

Monopoly Advance to Boardwalk begins with each player picking a color of hotel units. Every turn begins with a player rolling three dice. Two are standard with one to six pips, while the other is marked with four colors, a W wild, and an F. The numbered dice grant an amount of money for players to spend in the turn, constantly randomizing a player’s resources. The die with colors determines which “zone” of the board a player makes a deal in, using the money to build hotel units on the Atlantic City beachfront boardwalk, or if the player will draw a Fortune card.

The object of Monopoly Advance to Boardwalk is, of course, to control the most value in property. Instead of the game going on until one player stands as the last with money as per the original, this game has a built-in timer of the player’s hotel pieces. Once units are built, they can only be moved by Fortune cards, meaning that players will have to make smart decisions on where they place. The player with the most units on each square controls the property, but with some properties worth more than others, players will have to strategize whether to battle for the most valuable or try to slip their control over more, cheaper properties.

Fortune cards in Advance to Boardwalk serve as a reminder of the old Chance and Community Chest cards in the original, performing much the same actions with free money or special abilities. While there is no jail for the favorite “Get out of Jail Free” card, the Fortune cards prove to be very powerful when played at the proper time. Players can damage opponents’ hotels, transfer hotels that are more strategic elsewhere, or gain extra chances to build. In addition to rolling Fortune cards, players may also earn them by landing on an “F” spot on the boardwalk, which acts as a points tracker, meaning players should not only strategize to have the most valuable properties, but also manage of their amounts so they maximize their Fortune cards.

Monopoly Advance to Boardwalk is a board game for two to four players aged eight and up. It is a much shorter game than the original Monopoly, which is legendary for its ability to drag on with statistical rolls. Advance to Boardwalk lasts about half an hour, depending on how quickly players make their decisions on where to place their hotels. Fans of the original Monopoly will enjoy the dice-rolling and cards of Advance to Boardwalk, while its boost in strategy will draw in whole new ranks of players ready to compete to be the richest developer on the beach.

About Jeff Provine

Jeff Provine is a Composition professor, novelist, cartoonist, and traveler of three continents. His latest book is a collection of local ghost legends, Campus Ghosts of Norman, Oklahoma.

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