Monopoly: The Mega Edition
Encyclopedia
Monopoly: The Mega Edition is a special variant of the popular board game Monopoly
. The game was first published in 2006 by Winning Moves
in the US. A UK version was adapted in 2007.
The game board is larger than that of regular Monopoly (30% bigger). The game now includes $/£1,000 bills, and it is possible to build skyscrapers and train depots.
[*NOTE: Unlike other US editions, the Mega Edition has kept the first Color Group Purple instead of Brown, even with the recent reprints of the game.]
In the UK Version the new properties are:
There is also a third Utility, the Gas Company, situated between CHANCE and Vermont Avenue/Pentonville.
The other three spaces are completely new to the board. Just after Jail/Just Visiting is the AUCTION space. If a player lands on this space while the bank still owns ANY properties, that player chooses one of the available properties to be auctioned off between the players (in similar fashion to regular property auctions). If the bank has NO properties left to auction, the player that lands there moves forward to the property on which they would have to pay the highest rent (the closest one, in case of a tie for highest amount).
The second space, BUS TICKET (located between Michigan Avenue/Aldwych and the B. & O. Railroad/Fenchurch Street Station), allows the player landing there to draw a Bus Ticket card, if any remain. If there are no Bus Ticket cards to draw, the space acts as a second FREE PARKING space and has no further effect.
The last of the three new spaces, BIRTHDAY GIFT (located between CHANCE and Florida Avenue/Park Lane), gives the player that lands there a choice between taking $/£100 from the bank OR drawing a Bus Ticket card. (If no Bus Ticket cards remain, the player automatically gets the $/£100.)
called Bus Tickets, and players now receive $/£2,500 at the start of the game (adding one $/£1,000 bill) as opposed to the base $/£1,500 in regular Monopoly.
On their turn, players roll all three dice (two regular dice plus the new Speed Die). Players move the total number of spaces as indicated by the three dice, or two dice if Mr. Monopoly or the Bus is rolled on the Speed Die. If doubles are rolled on the regular dice then the player may roll again as usual; if triples are rolled on the three dice then the player may move to any space on the board that they choose, but they do not roll again.
If Mr. Monopoly is rolled on the Speed Die, the player first moves the number of spaces indicated on the two regular dice and deals with the space they land on. If the player has not landed in Jail, they then move forward to the next unowned property, which they may then purchase or put up for auction. If there are no unowned properties, the player needs to move forward to the next property on which they would owe rent to another player. (If all other properties are mortgaged, the player does not move after making the initial move.)
A new alternative to rolling is using a Bus Ticket. If a player uses a Bus Ticket which they own, they may advance to any space on the side of the board they are currently on. Bus Tickets are obtained primarily by rolling the Bus on the Speed Die, but may also be earned by landing on the BUS TICKET or BIRTHDAY GIFT spaces. Some of the Bus Tickets cause all other Bus Tickets drawn but not played to "expire", and thus be discarded. (This includes other Bus Tickets owned by the player who drew the "expiration" Ticket.)
Each color-group now contains an additional property, as does the group of Utilities (with the Gas Company). If a player owns the majority of properties in a color-group (2 of 3 in Purples/Browns or Dark Blues; 3 of 4 in other color groups), they may begin to build houses and hotels there, with rent doubled on any undeveloped properties. If they own all properties in a color-group, they may upgrade their hotels to Skyscrapers, which increase rent considerably (by $/£500 on First and Second Street properties, and by $/£1000 on Third and Fourth Streets) and charge TRIPLE rent on any unimproved properties. In the case of the Utilities, owning all 3 allows the owner to charge 20 times the dice roll (white dice only) of the opponent landing there. (NOTE: The CHANCE card that sends you to the nearest utility is not affected; you still only pay 10 times the new roll even if the owner owns all 3 utilities.)
Players can also build a train depot on any railroads which they own (the player does not need to own all 4 railroads) at a cost of $/£100. This doubles the rent on that railroad, or quadruples it if an opponent is sent there by one of the "Go To Nearest Railroad" CHANCE cards (Twice the DOUBLED Depot rent).
Monopoly (game)
Marvin Gardens, the leading yellow property on the board shown, is actually a misspelling of the original location name, Marven Gardens. The misspelling was said to be introduced by Charles Todd and passed on when his home-made Monopoly board was copied by Charles Darrow and thence to Parker...
. The game was first published in 2006 by Winning Moves
Winning Moves
Winning Moves Games is a maker of classic card games and board games, puzzles, action games and adult party games.-History:Winning Moves Games was founded in 1995 by four game industry professionals: Tom Kremer , Philip Orbanes , Mike...
in the US. A UK version was adapted in 2007.
The game board is larger than that of regular Monopoly (30% bigger). The game now includes $/£1,000 bills, and it is possible to build skyscrapers and train depots.
New board spaces
The Mega gameboard includes 12 new spaces. Eight of those new spaces are new properties (one for each color group) as follows (US version):- Purples*: Arctic Avenue
- Light Blues: Massachusetts Avenue
- Maroons: Maryland Avenue
- Oranges: New Jersey Avenue
- Reds: Michigan Avenue
- Yellows: California Avenue
- Greens: South Carolina Avenue
- Dark Blues: Florida Avenue
[*NOTE: Unlike other US editions, the Mega Edition has kept the first Color Group Purple instead of Brown, even with the recent reprints of the game.]
In the UK Version the new properties are:
- Brown: Elephant and CastleElephant and CastleThe Elephant and Castle is a major road intersection in south London, England, located in the London Borough of Southwark. It is also used as a name for the surrounding area....
- Light Blue: Edgware Road
- Pink: Downing StreetDowning StreetDowning Street in London, England has for over two hundred years housed the official residences of two of the most senior British cabinet ministers: the First Lord of the Treasury, an office now synonymous with that of Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, and the Second Lord of the Treasury, an...
- Orange: High HolbornHigh HolbornHigh Holborn is a road in Holborn in central London, England. It starts in the west near St Giles Circus, then goes east, past the Kingsway and Southampton Row, and continues east. The road becomes Holborn at the junction with Gray's Inn Road....
- Red: AldwychAldwychAldwych is a place and road in the City of Westminster in London, England.-Description:Aldwych, the road, is a crescent, connected to the Strand at both ends. At its centre, it meets the Kingsway...
- Yellow: Shaftesbury AvenueShaftesbury AvenueShaftesbury Avenue is a major street in central London, England, named after Anthony Ashley Cooper, 7th Earl of Shaftesbury, that runs in a north-easterly direction from Piccadilly Circus to New Oxford Street, crossing Charing Cross Road at Cambridge Circus....
- Green: Saville Row
- Dark Blue: KnightsbridgeKnightsbridgeKnightsbridge is a road which gives its name to an exclusive district lying to the west of central London. The road runs along the south side of Hyde Park, west from Hyde Park Corner, spanning the City of Westminster and the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea...
There is also a third Utility, the Gas Company, situated between CHANCE and Vermont Avenue/Pentonville.
The other three spaces are completely new to the board. Just after Jail/Just Visiting is the AUCTION space. If a player lands on this space while the bank still owns ANY properties, that player chooses one of the available properties to be auctioned off between the players (in similar fashion to regular property auctions). If the bank has NO properties left to auction, the player that lands there moves forward to the property on which they would have to pay the highest rent (the closest one, in case of a tie for highest amount).
The second space, BUS TICKET (located between Michigan Avenue/Aldwych and the B. & O. Railroad/Fenchurch Street Station), allows the player landing there to draw a Bus Ticket card, if any remain. If there are no Bus Ticket cards to draw, the space acts as a second FREE PARKING space and has no further effect.
The last of the three new spaces, BIRTHDAY GIFT (located between CHANCE and Florida Avenue/Park Lane), gives the player that lands there a choice between taking $/£100 from the bank OR drawing a Bus Ticket card. (If no Bus Ticket cards remain, the player automatically gets the $/£100.)
Differences in gameplay
Setup is the same as that of regular Monopoly, except that there is a new card deck to go along with the Chance and Community Chest cardsChance and Community Chest cards
Chance cards and Community Chest cards are special cards used in the board game Monopoly. The player draws one of these cards when the player's token lands on one of the respectively named spaces on the Monopoly board and must follow its instructions...
called Bus Tickets, and players now receive $/£2,500 at the start of the game (adding one $/£1,000 bill) as opposed to the base $/£1,500 in regular Monopoly.
On their turn, players roll all three dice (two regular dice plus the new Speed Die). Players move the total number of spaces as indicated by the three dice, or two dice if Mr. Monopoly or the Bus is rolled on the Speed Die. If doubles are rolled on the regular dice then the player may roll again as usual; if triples are rolled on the three dice then the player may move to any space on the board that they choose, but they do not roll again.
If Mr. Monopoly is rolled on the Speed Die, the player first moves the number of spaces indicated on the two regular dice and deals with the space they land on. If the player has not landed in Jail, they then move forward to the next unowned property, which they may then purchase or put up for auction. If there are no unowned properties, the player needs to move forward to the next property on which they would owe rent to another player. (If all other properties are mortgaged, the player does not move after making the initial move.)
A new alternative to rolling is using a Bus Ticket. If a player uses a Bus Ticket which they own, they may advance to any space on the side of the board they are currently on. Bus Tickets are obtained primarily by rolling the Bus on the Speed Die, but may also be earned by landing on the BUS TICKET or BIRTHDAY GIFT spaces. Some of the Bus Tickets cause all other Bus Tickets drawn but not played to "expire", and thus be discarded. (This includes other Bus Tickets owned by the player who drew the "expiration" Ticket.)
Each color-group now contains an additional property, as does the group of Utilities (with the Gas Company). If a player owns the majority of properties in a color-group (2 of 3 in Purples/Browns or Dark Blues; 3 of 4 in other color groups), they may begin to build houses and hotels there, with rent doubled on any undeveloped properties. If they own all properties in a color-group, they may upgrade their hotels to Skyscrapers, which increase rent considerably (by $/£500 on First and Second Street properties, and by $/£1000 on Third and Fourth Streets) and charge TRIPLE rent on any unimproved properties. In the case of the Utilities, owning all 3 allows the owner to charge 20 times the dice roll (white dice only) of the opponent landing there. (NOTE: The CHANCE card that sends you to the nearest utility is not affected; you still only pay 10 times the new roll even if the owner owns all 3 utilities.)
Players can also build a train depot on any railroads which they own (the player does not need to own all 4 railroads) at a cost of $/£100. This doubles the rent on that railroad, or quadruples it if an opponent is sent there by one of the "Go To Nearest Railroad" CHANCE cards (Twice the DOUBLED Depot rent).
US Edition Board
UK Edition Board
See also
- Monopoly
- Winning MovesWinning MovesWinning Moves Games is a maker of classic card games and board games, puzzles, action games and adult party games.-History:Winning Moves Games was founded in 1995 by four game industry professionals: Tom Kremer , Philip Orbanes , Mike...
- Parker BrothersParker BrothersParker Brothers is a toy and game manufacturer and brand. Since 1883, the company has published more than 1,800 games; among their best known products are Monopoly, Cluedo , Sorry, Risk, Trivial Pursuit, Ouija, Aggravation, and Probe...
- Rich Uncle PennybagsRich Uncle PennybagsRich "Uncle" Pennybags aka Frank Moneybags, is the round old man in a top hat who serves as the mascot of the game Monopoly. Rich "Uncle" Pennybags was rechristened Mr. Monopoly in a Hasbro marketing effort in 1999. He also is known as Whiff from all the casino slot machines...