Making a Better Monopoly: Or, what games-based learning can learn from a century of game development
Making a Better Monopoly: Or, what games-based learning can learn from a century of game development
By Terry Pearce
January 10, 2024
Summary
If Monopoly is not a good role model for game design, how could modern ideas and developments improve it? What might Monopoly look like if it had been designed today? I'd like to show how we could reconstruct Monopoly as an enjoyable game and also as a learning game - one that families could play over the holidays but that could also teach them a thing or two.
We could make moving around the board more interesting We could introduce interesting decisions by replacing the dice roll with a hand of cards that players play.
What if players could choose between expensive but long-lasting houses and hotels, or cheap ones that often need repair and upkeep? What if on the 'buy property' area, they can choose one of three face-up properties for face value, or an auction on any property in the game, with the risk of being outbid? Worker placement games often limit the capacity of some or all of the areas where players can place pieces.
Let's try to bring in some balance to keep things fun One of the most problematic things about Monopoly from a design point of view is that players can get so behind they have no chance of winning and they then have to play out rolling and moving with no hope of anything but ending their misery by finally landing on a big hotel owned by the leader.
Let's improve the replayability by varying players' starts Choosing the dog, the car, or the top hat is a tiny bit of fun but they all play the same.
What if we gave each of those player tokens a corresponding card, detailing a difference in that player's starting position, or a power and/or disadvantage they had, unique to them? One player could start with less money but pay less for properties.
If you want to take inspiration from existing games for your learning games, look around widely and play a lot of games.
Reference
Pearce, T. (2024, January 10). Making a Better Monopoly: Or, what games-based learning can learn from a century of game development. Www.linkedin.com. https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/making-bettermonopoly-what-games-based-learning-can-learn-pearce-qalae/