As one of the best known board games in the world, I am sure you know the extent of the destructive power that Monopoly has on the partnerships of friendship. Whatever the strength and duration of your union, playing Monopoly (like Risiko and others) brings out the worst in people: you become vindictive, competitive, couple alliances are formed, past issues are reproached to irritate the opponents and he cheats at the worst just to win that extra property. All to get exhausted at the end of a game and be able to shout to the world that, at least, you have kept Victory Park until the end.
Among the dozens and dozens of variations of Monopoly, which touch themed editions Movie, TV Series e Videogames, one in particular stands out: the edition of Monopoly Gamer dedicated to Mario Kart.
In fact, if there is a video game series that fits perfectly with the destructive concept inherent in Monopoly, that series is Mario Kart; that since '92 is the undisputed queen as insults among the players, low blows and various curses.
The idea of merging these two terrible concentrates of wickedness and repressed hatred must have come to a very mean and mean person, and that's why I feel like thanking her from the bottom of my heart, because Monopoly Gamer: Mario Kart it's damn fun!
Like Monopoly, but with more bananas!
The rules that closely underlie Monopoly Mario Kart are the same as a classic Monopoly, but unlike other versions and collaborations in which settings, quotes and rules were simply changed, here the rules are partially distorted and reworked, making the player perceive a decidedly greater dynamism and giving the possibility of much interaction more concrete and fun than a classic Monopoly.
Property
The game is still based on grabbing as many properties as possible, which are called here with the names of the iconic tracks in the game, from Laguna Delfino to Bowser Castle, passing by Mount Wario and inevitably arriving at the Rainbow Trail. Unlike the classic game, it will not be necessary to build houses or villages, but the property alone will yield tot coins, by purchasing the two properties marked by the same color you can already request the maximum rental value. Obviously paying in hard coins.
Dice
The real revolution (and damn) of this Monopoly starts from the dice. If one nut is absolutely canonical, the other has very particular faces: two faces with three coins, a green shell, a lightning bolt, a banana and a blue shell. How easy to guess, this die represents the power ups that made the series famous. If the coins will allow us to grab some more money, the other faces of the dice will allow us to attack the opponents directly, making them fall coins by hitting them with a shell (just like it happens in the game!) Or by sliding them with a banana and, as it happens , have them stopped on a property in our possession. The coins dropped on the board will remain there until a player passes that space, so you have to think properly about who to hit and when. To add spice to the power ups are the characters in the game.
Pawns
Instead of using candles, toy cars and dinosaurs of sorts, in Monopoly Mario Kart karts are obviously used. The basic box features four characters: Mario, Peach, Luigi e Toad. Additional characters were also offered for sale to buy for collectibles, to allow more people to play or to simply use their favorite character. Each character also has a special ability on a specific Power Up and a unique effect for when it happens on the star space.
Races
Instead of the "unexpected" cards and boxes, here we find eight "Race" cards. The player who finishes an entire round of the board will have to turn over one of these cards (arranged in order from one to eight) and prepare, together with the other players, for the challenge. Once the entry price has been paid, the higher value of the dice will determine the winner, who will activate the bonuses that the victory confers and will hold the card to increase one's score.
Victory!
Unlike the canonical Monopoly, it could be said that this really has an end, without waiting for the classic victory "by exhaustion", one of the most common victories (indeed, defeats) in Monopoly. Once the last Race card is taken and played, the game is over. His score will decide the winner. Each property card and each race card has a point value. The sum of these, combined with the count of coins still in possession, decrees the winner.
Okay-Dokey!
In short, the merger between Monopoly and Mario Kart works great, offers an exaggerated amount of fun and faithfully recreates the frenetic and fierce atmosphere that has distinguished the series for years.
The strategic and bargaining component that instead made Monopoly famous, not only does not break the rhythm of the game, but also further enriches it thanks to the ad hoc rules created for this version.
I've tried the game with anyone, really anyone. From friends with whom I usually play board games, to those who are more reticent and far from the world of video games, I even played them with my parents and every time the fun was not long in coming.
Purchase recommended also in view of the price, which varies between twenty-five and thirty euros on almost all sales platforms.
It goes without saying how much the value of the game increases for collectors and lovers of the Nintendo world in general. And if your passions oscillate between video games and board games, the purchase is almost mandatory.
Review of videogamingallday.com Did you like the article? Share it!
