Whatever people may say about Monopoly, it certainly has been a defining game of the last generation, and it's only inevitable that spinoffs and variations are going to occur. As a teenager, the one that I was most interested in was Don't Go to Jail, a game that tended to mix Monopoly and Yahtzee. I found it an interesting diversion, but it seemed like a smaller, quicker version of the trading properties game. I found a newer version of this game on the internet ( http://host.exemplum.com/hasbro/monopoly_express/monopoly_ex...) and enjoyed my snappy playing of it enough to seek out a copy of the new board game.

Monopoly Express (Hasbro, 2007 - Garrett Donner and Michael Steer) is a remake of this older game, and it's a snazzy production. Sold in a small, compact container with high quality dice, it makes a few changes to the older game to bring players the theme of Monopoly in a much more succinct version. It could simply be known as Monopoly: the Dice Game, and it would be an accurate description. It's light, possibly too light, but with the plethora of dice games being produced these days I actually enjoyed this one, likely because of the theme.

Each player takes a turn in order, attempting to gain $15,000. On each turn, the player takes ten dice and rolls them. After the roll, they check the dice.
- First of all, there are three dice with policemen printed on two sides. The player places any police rolled immediately on the board. If there are three policemen on the board, the player's turn is immediately over; and they score no money for that turn!
- One of the police dice has a green arrow on it; if a player rolls that, they immediately score $200, marking it on their score sheet.
- After this, the player looks at the other seven dice. These dice show different properties colors, railroads, and utilities from Monopoly - each with a number value on them from "50" to "500". Players may place any of these on the appropriate spaces on the board, attempting to make complete color groups. When in a complete color group, properties are worth more points. Brown (50 each) - 600 points, Light Blue (100) - 1000, Pink (150) - 1500, Orange (200) - 1800, Red (250) - 2200, Yellow (300) - 2700, Green (400) - 3000, Dark Blue (500) - 3500, Railroads (200) - 2500, and Utilities (100) - 800. If the player rolls a question mark (chance), they may place it in any group as a wild.
- At this point, the player may stop and take the score of all completed groups and one uncompleted group. Chance dice only have value if in a complete group. If the player decides to roll again, they start over, leaving any dice that they have placed on the board.
- BUT if the player has a complete group of properties on the board, they may add an eleventh die to their hand - the House/Hotel Die. On future rolls (as long as they don't roll three policemen), this die will have special effects based on what is rolled. If the player rolls a broken jail window, they may take a policeman die from the board into their hand - even if they rolled all three this turn! If they roll a house, they take a plastic house and place it in front of them. If they roll a broken house, they must lose a house if they possess one. Finally, if they roll a hotel, they score $5000, but ONLY if they have all four houses.

After a player stops rolling of their own will, they add their score (including $1000 for each house they have), writing it on their score sheet. Play passes to the next player. This continues until one player reaches $15,000 (or whatever players decide to aim for). That player is declared the winner!

Some comments on the game...

1.) Components: No box is included for this game; it comes in a small round plastic container with a snap on lid. As much as I like this container, it doubles as a cup for the dice to be rolled in; the lid comes off without too much trouble, and the dice tend to spill out if you carelessly pack it away. The dice themselves are fantastic - with engraved sides and very clear colors and numbers. The board is a small plastic board with raised clear slots that hold the dice you are going to keep; and four plastic houses ,which are really the size of a hotel piece from the actual Monopoly game, are included. The pad of paper included is a good way to keep score; although if you use one sheet per player, you'll run out. I used the same sheet for all players to conserve them. I like the portability of the game, and it's bright and colorful - attractive especially to those who enjoy Monopoly.

2.) Monopoly: Seizing on that for a second, I don't think that the game will appeal to those who haven't heard of Monopoly before. Yes, you can play the game without knowing that the Dark Blues are Park Place and Boardwalk (or whatever the incarnations are in your respective country); but it does enhance the game, and it helps you understand why the red properties are worth more than the orange ones and why you need four railroad dice to finish a property but only three yellows. The only change I notice here is that the two cheapest properties are brown, while they are purple in the main game (likely a better choice, actually). Does the game feel like Monopoly? It's not about trading and buying; but it does bring about a feel of the game - if only for collecting sets.

3.) Rules: The rules are printed on two sides of a small sheet of paper with a nice layout of each die, and what it does. You can learn the game from the link I mentioned above - in a flash game that's an excellent tutorial but slightly annoying if you want to play it multiple times; since it explains each rule every time it occurs. I was able to teach the game to older children and have them run the game without my supervision - and they easily understood the rules.

4.) Luck: Let's face it; the game depends on a tremendous amount of luck. The only way a player is ever going to get a hotel (and I have seen it happen) is to have chance weigh extremely generously on their side. A player can still weigh out their options, and it's a good thing to check the sides of the dice at all points; but the player who rolls best will likely win. It's certainly not for everyone, but in this age where dice games do tremendously well - such as the ever popular Pickimino, I'd rather a game like this one - in which players already know the theme.

5.) Fun Factor: Is it fun? Well, for about twenty minutes, once a month, I can enjoy this game. More than that, I'll find it monotonous and get annoyed at the extreme randomness. However, I have seen the game find a very happy home with teenagers (who don't mind short lucky games), and folks who are fans of the older game Monopoly. It's entertaining, easy to understand, and fun to play. I liked the original name better - Don't Go To Jail - but admit that the newer name makes more sense.

This is an easy recommendation for me - simply go to http://host.exemplum.com/hasbro/monopoly_express/monopoly_ex... and try the game out for yourself; if you like it there, it's pretty much identical in the published form. Some folks will not like the random rolling, and I can completely understand that; this game has less strategy than Yahtzee, but others will revel in the simplistic rules and high quality components. And in ten minutes a play it's going to be much more enjoyable to folks used to marathon sessions of Monopoly.

Tom Vasel
"Real men play board games"
www.thedicetower.com