REVIEW: Monopoly is a faithful recreation of the classic board game

The Switch has allowed fans around the world to get not only their favorite video games on the go, but also their beloved board games. Monopoly is a digital version of the popular board game with the flexibility of taking it on the go and having a fun game night with friends.

If you have played the physical version of Monopoly, then you get the same experience on the Switch – only in digital form. Players take turns throwing dice, going around a board, and buying property with the goal of leading other players into bankruptcy.

Many people, including me, have their own rules, which make the game more interesting to them. Thankfully, this game also includes the possibility to use “House Rules” and this option became my highlight for this version. Some of them include being able to buy houses and hotels without owning all property of the same color, or not forcing an auction when someone can’t buy a property. Those two were the ones I used, since I’ve used them since I was a child, so I’m sure people will find very enjoyable that you can customize your experience to your liking.

Another fun factor is the “Living City,” which is a regular board but with a 3D city in the center, which you can explore to find hidden tokens that can be used in the game. In addition to getting those various tokens, you can customize them to different colors or patterns, and you’re able do the same to your dice.

If you log in to Ubisoft Connect, you’re also given the option to download other tokens or try to complete multiple challenges to level up. There are in-game objectives to achieve as well, so you can try to finish them as you play with friends.

In fact, playing with friends is the best way to play because the AI is not the best. They make weird decisions, such as buying expensive properties at full price even when no other player has a lot of cash and they could auction it instead. There is the option to play online, but I was never able to get into a game even with crossplay across other platforms. If you have friends online, you could create a game and share a code, but I was not able to provide judgement on how smooth the online experience is.

The game is quite simple, and most of the fun comes from playing with a group of friends. Completing objectives and exploring the living city add some extra goals, but nothing that cannot be completed after a handful of games. I never experienced any technical issues and the gameplay, both docked and handheld, was fine.

Monopoly is just a means to an end: it will be a device to help you have fun by sharing a game with friends. It is serviceable and more handy than carrying a physical version of the board game with you, but other than that, it is a very similar experience than that you may have underwent before.