Hasbro has reskinned the classic Monopoly board game with just about every major entertainment brand that you can imagine since it launched in 1903, including Star Wars, Pokémon, and Marvel Comics, but between the classic video game heroes, boss battles, and power-up dice, Monopoly Gamer looks like a fresh twist on the old formula.
The ultimate goal of Monopoly Gamer is to have the most gold coins when the iconic Super Mario Bros. villain Bowser is defeated as the final boss battle of the game. The board game comes with four playable characters, each with their own unique abilities: Mario, the high-jumping plumber who effortlessly collects bonus coins; Yoshi, Mario’s dinosaur friend who can lap up all coins dropped on the board at once; Princess Peach, the royal heroine who can target any player she wants to instantly drop four coins; and prime primate Donkey Kong, who takes three coins from all players.
There are still properties to buy in Monopoly Gamer, but they represent the exotic locales seen in the Super Mario series, such as Bowser’s Castle, Meringue Clouds, and Acorn Plains. Boss battles are initiated when a player passes “Go,” and the baddie is defeated, and their accompanying treasures claimed or when a challenger rolls a number equal or higher than the number on the boss card. Donkey Kong and crew will have to take on all seven of the Koopalings before taking on Bowser, so there’s plenty of time to gather up coins before the ultimate boss battle.
The biggest gameplay innovation comes with the addition of power-up dice, which gives your video game icon the ability to grab more coins, make others drop theirs on the board, and other helpful bonuses. Think of power-up dice as adding a layer of the chaotic fun that comes with using items in Mario Kart on top of the core Monopoly rules, and you’ll quickly understand that coins will be flying all over the place, making it just as easy to rise to the top as it is to lose major coinage in a single turn. Sounds like fun!
Monopoly Gamer launches in August for $24.99, and if DK, Mario, Yoshi, and Peach weren’t enough, you can buy Booster Packs containing additional characters (Your choice of Rosalina, Luigi, Fire Mario, Boo, Wario, Toad, Tanooki Mario, and the best of them all, Diddy Kong.) for $2.99 each.
You can see it in action below:
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