Last Friday at my local game store three people argued for 20 minutes about whether Monopoly is actually a good game

I was just trying to grab a copy of Wingspan when this group at the table next to me got into it. One guy kept saying Monopoly is a classic that teaches real money skills. The other two were calling it broken and boring. The store owner finally came over and told them to either buy something or take it outside. Has anyone else noticed how heated board game arguments get over the dumbest games?

3 comments

3 Comments

bennett.harper8d ago

Honestly, the "teaches real money skills" argument always cracks me up. That game is basically a random dice fest where one person inevitably runs away with it, not exactly a lesson in budgeting. If you want actual economic strategy, grab The Estates or Food Chain Magnate instead of wasting 3 hours watching someone lose.

gavin2288d ago

Three hours is optimistic. More like "watch your friends slowly realize they've been trapped for four and a half hours." @murray.cora nailed it - Monopoly lets bad players hang around forever. The real lesson is how to fake a bathroom break to escape.

murray.cora8d ago

The Estates is a brutal lesson in supply and demand, I love it. Monopoly just teaches you that rolling doubles and owning the orange properties wins, not how to manage a budget or negotiate a deal. Food Chain Magnate at least forces you to think about labor costs and pricing, which is way closer to real business than anything in Monopoly. Plus, Monopoly can drag on for hours with that guy who thinks trading Baltic Avenue for Boardwalk is a genius move. Give me a game that punishes bad decisions fast instead of letting someone limp along for two hours.