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Monopoly Board Games to Play

The classic board game Monopoly still holds up after 75 years. However, Hasbro offers a large number of variants to keep the game fresh for players. These different versions offer new game play options, unique settings and even licensed themes. Thus, the myriad forms of Monopoly expand the audience for the game while simultaneously appealing to longstanding fans. The following list covers board games only, although various electronic game versions also exist on different formats and consoles.

Revised Game Play
- Experienced players seldom need to look at the instruction manual to confirm any of the rules, but Hasbro has introduced variants that add challenges even to seasoned Monopoly fans. Monopoly Here and Now introduces credit cards and electronic banking to bring contemporary elements to a game that still reflects 1930s economics in its standard form. Monopoly City provides new building options for players, switching out houses and hotels for schools and skyscrapers. Monopoly Junior simplifies the rules for younger players, thus creating new fans of the game at an earlier age. Mini games such as Monopoly Free Parking and Monopoly Get Out of Jail barely resemble the original game, but they still offer unique game play for those who lack the time for the original game. Monopoly Deal transforms the familiar real estate motif into a card game. These and other variants strive to retain the appeal and quality implied by the Monopoly name.
New Settings
- Although spaces such as Park Place, Illinois Avenue and Reading Railroad will always hold a nostalgic appeal to players, the unique locations featured in some of the newer boards offer a delightful touch of variety without forsaking the classic game play mode. Monopoly Littlest Pet Shop Edition appeals to young animal-lovers and pet owners with its cute game pieces and colorful board. Sports-themed boards are popular, such as those for the National Hockey League, National Football League and Major League Baseball teams. The branches of the U.S. Armed Forces--the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines and Coast Guard--are featured on separate game boards, according to the Monopoly Game Store website. Elvis Presley and the Ford Thunderbird also have their own boards. Editions such as these also exist for some of the more popular game play variants, such as the World Edition of Monopoly Here and Now.
Licensed Games
- The Monopoly franchise name always draws the attention of customers, but new board themes inspired by other successful licenses ensures that new players will try the game even if the idea of buying and selling property does not appeal to them. The Hasbro website sells boards based off many popular franchises, including The Simpsons, Disney, Pixar, SpongeBob SquarePants, Star Wars: Clone Wars and Transformers. Monopoly Game Store offers additional boards inspired by M&Ms, American Idol, James Bond, Seinfeld, Peanuts, Shrek and Star Trek. This list is hardly exhaustive, because Monopoly has offered such licensed variants for several decades. These boards usually stick to the normal game play or bring in the Here and Now updates, and they almost always include new settings that reflect the fictional universes presented in the various licenses.

Board Games