Monopoly Bid Review

We all love the classic Monopoly, or even one of many different themed versions that has been released over the years.

The classis board game was realised back in 1935, that’s right the board game we have all played , and I’m sure that most households owns at least one version of the game.

Fast forward all those years and the creators at Hasbro had created and released another version of the game. Another one I hear you say.

This time things have changed, and when we say changed we don’t mean the theme of game. Monopoly Bid is played with no board, no character tokens, and no dice to roll. Have I got your attention now? Get yourself a brew and make yourself comfortable.

What’s in the Monopoly Bid box that’s so different?, I hear you ask.

We will start with the box, unlike what you are used to, the box for Monopoly Bid is a hand held cardboard box that hold the contents of 110 cards.

Having a closer look at the cards, we have 3 different types that allow the game to play, these are Property, Money and action cards.

Cards

Property cards- 28 cards of the deck are properties. There are 10 different coloured properties just like the board game, each with a number in the left hand corner. The number shown is the amount of that coloured property within the deck.

Money: 50 cards within the deck make up the Money, with values from 1 to 5. Just like the property cards the money is broken down in to 5 different colours. Blue is 1 value, Green is 2, Orange is 3, Purple is 4 and Red is 5.

Action cards: 32 cards make up the action cards within the deck, looking at the action cards there are 4 different actions that can be used.

Wild – This card counts as any one property, you can use a wild to help complete a set you have in front of you.

Draw 2 - Just like it says on the tin, you draw 2 cards from the deck and place them into your hand.

Steal – This card allows you to steal any one card (including the wild) from any other player. You cannot steal from a complete set.

Nope – You can play this to cancel any other action card being played (including another nope card) this card can be played at any time.

Set up, Play & End Game

To begin a game of Monopoly Bid, you need to sort the cards in to 2 piles and ensure each pile is well shuffled. There needs to be a pile which has action and money cards, then a pile of property cards. Each player then gets dealt 5 cards.

From here the youngest player will go first to play host, with game play continue clock wise around the table. Firstly all players draw 1 card each, and then you may play any action cards in your hand.

There is no limit at how many action cards you play, however opponent players can use a Nope card at any time. Once all then action cards have been played from your hand, the top card from the property pile needs to be flipped over to be auctioned off.

Auction stage: At the same time all players secretly decide how much they want to bid for the property. (You don’t have to bid if you don’t want)

When all players are ready, the host will call out 1,2, 3 bid! Then all players will reveal the money value, the highest bidder will take the property and place it in front of them.

What If Players Bid The Same Value?

In case of a tie those players can continue to bid higher to take the property, IF it continues to be a tie then the bidding will come to an end with the property going to the bottom of the property deck and the money returned to the player’s hands.

What If No One Wants To Bid For The Property That Is On Show?

If no one wants to bid for the property that has been drawn, then the host will place it back into the deck at the bottom.

Once all have been complete then the next player will take over as host and the steps will continue.

How IS The Winner Decided

In order to win the game the first player that successfully completes 3 sets of properties will win the game.

Overview

Monopoly Bid is a game of chance, luck and strategy as players bid in blind auctions, steal properties with Action cards and change their luck with Wild cards. The game is played in rounds, with everyone getting a chance to host an auction.

Final Thoughts

This is a great adaption of Monopoly, with bidding mechanism being a fun part in the game play. Monopoly Bid allows a lot of interaction between players. The game is one of those that is easy to learn and I would say anyone from the age of 6 could comfortable play.

For me the downside to the game is the art work is very plain and basic, and there could even be more little touchers for example the street names could be printed on just to add some character to the game and keep homage to the classic board game.