The board game monopoly has been around since 1935 and Monopoly Plus, the PC version of it was released on Steam September 7, 2017. The object is to drive all the other players into bankruptcy, the PC version supports up to six players. If you’d like to know how to play a solo version of the board game you can check out our How To Play Monopoly Alone page.

The game captures the true spirit of the board version of Monopoly and has some fairly good special rules, giving it some variety to the gameplay. Considering all the negative reviews about multiplayer and a somewhat clunky UI, the game is still worth getting but not at full price. Wait until it goes on sale.

This game has mostly negative reviews on Steam but they almost all relate to the multiplayer version of the game. Since this site focuses on the single player aspect of PC games it means this game is still worth taking a look at. Is Monopoly Plus worth the full price you’d have to pay to get it?

Monopoly Plus Dislikes

Let’s get some of the negativity out of the way first since there is more than usual for this game. Almost all the negative reviews I’ve seen concern the multiplayer game. Since this site likes to focus on the single-player aspect of a game that’s really not too much of an issue for us, but since there seems to be an overwhelming dislike of the multiplayer option it’s worth mentioning. If you want a multiplayer version of this, you’d most likely be better off not investing in it.

Another thing I dislike is being forced to sign-up for a Uplay account. I know most of the major companies have that option, but it is an option, not a requirement. You shouldn’t have to create an account to play a game you’ve already paid for!

The user interface is a little vague and counterintuitive. By that I mean keys are used as shortcuts that are not normally used and they are not clearly identified in the game. For example, to select some of the options you need to use a key that shown in the interface as an UP arrow with not text or tooltip to identify it. So, is it the up arrow key in the cluster of the four arrow keys grouped together or the up arrow key on the num pad? If it is on the num pad does num lock need to be on for it to work? Oh, it’s the shift key you say, which doesn’t happen to have any kind of arrow key on it, at least not on my keyboard? It’s inattention to the little details like this that stop this from being a really good interface.

I occasionally have trouble getting the game to launch properly. Sometimes it will start minimized in the background. I have other games that occasionally do that and all I need to do is click on the icon at the bottom of the screen and it springs to life. Not so with this game, my cursor moves about halfway down the screen then acts like it hit a wall. I need to totally shut down the game and start over.

A few other things not to like is the lack of various playing boards to choose from and you can only select one custom rule set at a time instead of several. And the idea of having to select the language every time you start the game is pretty annoying.

Monopoly Plus Likes

With a start like this you’d think I really hate the game, but I don’t. The living board is a really good board with good animations, and the rest of the animations in the game are good as well. The narrator is really a good addition, without him the game would be a little boring. He might be annoying sometimes but I still think he adds to the game.

Despite all the drawbacks I found the game itself to be fun. The AI enforces the rules fairly and there’s no cheating banker to deal with! It’s easy to see what properties you have and if they’re mortgaged. This game does manage to capture the true gaming experience of playing a game of Monopoly.

I think the animated graphics add a special touch to the game. They definitely provide some amusement while waiting for the AIs to take their turns.

The pace is pretty good for this game, I finished my first game with three AI players in one hour and ten minutes. Not bad since some games I’ve played in the past with other people have drug on for hours. The fact that the auction rule is used (I used to always ignore that) and the fact that the AI players will make a deal almost always, no matter how bad it might be for one side (we were notorious for not dealing in our games) speeds the game up a lot.

And despite only being able to choose one special set of house rules at a time they still add some flavor to the game. I turned on the snake eyes option that pays a player $1,000 when two ones are rolled since I’m so unlucky at throwing dice. The dice gods must have been watching, I never did throw snake eyes although some of the AI players did.

Other Ways to Play the PC Version.

If a Bus is rolled on the speed die, then a player can choose to move using just one of the dice or both. If a 3 and a 4 are rolled, for example, then the player can move 3, 4, or 7 spaces.

If Mr. Monopoly turns up a player plays out his turn normally using the white dice. At the end of the turn the player goes to the next unowned property and either buys it or puts it up for auction. In case all the properties are owned the player goes to the next property that isn’t his and pays rent.

One other special variant in this game is that if triples are rolled (same number on all three dice) the player can move to any space on the board.

Other House Rules

“Free Parking Cash” is a house rule I’m sure most players have used at one time. The PC variant places all fines and taxes into Free Parking. I usually like to sweeten things up by adding $500 from the Bank but the game doesn’t do that. Too bad there’s not an option to choose an amount of cash to add.

Another option is “Go and Movement.” With these special rules you get to choose what happens when you land on GO. You can either collect $400 or move to any space on the board. These rules also give you the option to not draw a Chance card instead of being forced to.

“Snake Eyes” allows a player to be paid $1,000 if rolled. Good idea for unlucky players!

The “Rent and Auctions” option looks interesting. You can’t buy an unowned property when you land on it, you must place it up for auction instead. This could make for some interesting, new strategies. Also, if you’re in jail you can’t collect any rent.

The “Property Improvements” rule allows houses to be built regardless of whether you own all the properties in the color group or not. It also doesn’t require a player to have four houses before building a hotel, but the rule is unclear about how many houses you do need to have.

Conclusion

This is a good game with some shortcomings. When I compare it to a PC/Board game like Ticket To Ride it falls short. The gameplay is great but the UI is a little cumbersome to use and some of the rules are vague, you need to play to learn some of t hem. Also, the lack of DLC hurts the replayability of this game, which is unlike the Ticket To Ride PC game, which has a ton of DLC available. There are lots of different editions of the Monopoly board game, surely at least a few of those could be adapted to the PC? I still like the Monopoly game but not at full price, buy it on sale unless you need a family game right now to fill in some empty time.

Need help with Monopoly Rules? Read our Rules Made Simple page.

Don’t have anyone to play Monopoly with? Check out our page about how to play Monopoly alone.