Uncle Pennybags

 I found these gems on wish.com . I've been wanting some Monopoly plushies. I was disappointed to see the hotel but no house.

 I have come accros 8 Mr. Monopoly Funko Pop Vinyl figures. I was somewhat confused by the numbering conventions. I see #1,2, 31 and 32. If this is a Monopoly line, I'm curious to know what numbers 3 through 30 are. I will let you know if I figure it out. Mr. Monopoly Mr. Monopoly was also released in silver. Mr. Monopoly with money bag Mr. Monopoly Beauty Pagent Mr. Monopoly Jail Bird There is also a Mr. Monopoly figure as part of their soda can collection. With a rare glow in the dark figure. Funko Hallmark Crossover from Christmas 2022.

 In 2003 General Mills produced and sold a Monopoly themed cereal. It featured Mr. Monopoly on the packing and Monopoly factoids. This was a sweetened wheat and rice creal with marshmellow deeds, houses and hotels. It is reminiscent of Lucky Charms, also prodcued by General Mills. It was a limited edition release and unopened boxes are considered a collectors item. In 2006 Hasbro released a General Mills edition. Which featured famous General Mills icons. This game included Hamburger Helper Hand, Betty Crocker Spoon, Trix Rabbit, Lucky Leprechaun, Cheerios Racer, Totino's Pizza Box, Sprout and Pillsbury Doughboy tokens.

  While  researching board games on Ebay, I found a Simpsons board game called "Mystery of Life." It was complete except for the instructions. I may infact purchase it since I'm a huge fan of the show. However, this left me thinking would I ever be able to play the game? I know I've mentioned several times that Monopoly instructions are available for download, free online. But what if I purchased one of these version with non-traditional game play used and didn't have or couln't find instructions. Would I be able to play, can you reverse engineer a game and game play? My main realization here is would you be able to play Monopoly, if it was your first exposure and no instructions available. I'm currently looking for a population of newbies for a blog focus group. Please comment below if you've never played Monopoly and would be intrested in participating in my focus group.

 I've stumbled accross two small versions of Monopoly.  World's Smallest Monopoly measaures 3 x 1.75 x 0.5 of an inch and will fit in the palm of your hand. It is part of the "World's Smallest" series published by Super Impulse USA. Five Below is currently selling a Monopoly keychain. This version will also fit in the palm of your hand. It is published by Hasbro and the newest version of the Monopoly keychain game.  While both version have all the pieces needed to play a full game of Monopoly they are not practical. They are too small to be played. You would need both a magnifying glass and tweezers to read and move pieces.  I recommend them as props for a doll house or toys for your action figures.

I aked Ch atGPT to find Monopoly blogs and websites for me. Here are the results. It is impressive, but I have a few other blogs I have been using for resources. While this program does cut down on some research time, the results are not all encompassing. Here are a few blogs that focus on the Monopoly board game: Monopoly Strategy - This blog provides tips and tricks for winning at Monopoly, as well as news and updates about the game. Monopoly Millionaires - This blog is dedicated to the Monopoly Millionaires game, a mobile app that allows players to compete against each other in virtual Monopoly tournaments. The Monopoly Project - This blog explores the history and cultural significance of the Monopoly board game, with articles on topics such as the game's origins, its impact on popular culture, and its role in economics education. Board Game Resource - This blog covers a wide range of board games, including Monopoly, with reviews, strategy guides, and news and updates about the

 I have been hearing a lot of buzz about ChatGPT, the open AI that will engage in writing for you. I have been putting off writing about the history of Monopoly since there are some conflicting information and it can be somewhat hard to follow. I  asked ChatGPT to explain the history of Monopoly. Below are the results. I will be writing my own article at a later point in time and comparing the results.  Monopoly is a classic board game that has been played by millions of people worldwide since its creation. The game was invented in the United States during the early 1900s, and it has since become one of the most popular board games in history. The history of Monopoly begins with a game called The Landlord's Game, which was invented by Elizabeth Magie in 1904. The Landlord's Game was a way for Magie to express her beliefs about the negative effects of land monopolies and to promote the ideas of Georgism, an economic philosophy that advocates for the taxation of land as a way to

  This is another fast play Monopoly game that can be played in mere minutes depending on the agreed upon winning score. This is a dice game which includes 10 dice. Players roll all the dice on their turn trying to make property matches.  Matches will earn you points, most properties require 3 dice to match. However railroads are 4 dice and dark purple, dark blue, or utilites are 2 dice to match. The player will decide which die to place on the board and which to keep rolling. Here is where the strategy comes in, when a player rolls 3 dice that spell "Go To Jail" his turn is over AND he looses all the points he has earned that turn. It is smartest to quit while your ahead. If a player decides to end their turn before forming any matches, they will earn the sum total of the dice placed on any property. To win you need to be the first player to reach the pre- determined score. Keep in mind the round continues until all players have taken their turn. So there is a chance to come

  Monopoly Rivals Edition is made specifically for 2 players. This game is actually a speed edition since it's said to only take 15 to 30 minutes to play. The board is smaller then a typically Monopoly board and features 2 properties of matching colors. There is only one die and players must choose either red or blue houses, there are no hotels. Cash is also easier to handle since there are only $50 and $100 bills. The game ends when one player owns all the properties, or a player becomes bankrupt. Game play is a little different.  If you land on a property with no house – place one house on it. You are now the owner and you don't need to pay anything. If you land on a property that you own, and you own the full set – draw a Chance or Community Chest card. If you land on a property that you own, and the adjacent property has no house – the unoccupied property must be auctioned. If you land on a property that your opponent owns – pay the value shown on the board to your opponent

 I stumbled accross Monopoly Cheaters Edition (2018) at my local thrift store. It seemed different from the standard game and featured a large handcuff for cheaters to wear. I brought this game home and started researching the Cheaters Edition. I found two other editions I would categorize as deception editions. Both Sore Losers and Crooked Cash seem to fit the bill. These are games where cheating is allowed, you can accuse other players or game play is not standard. Monopoly Cheaters Edition encourages players to use one of the cheat cards on the board. If they get away with cheating they are rewarded, but if they get caught they will be punished. When their turn is up they must either be accused before the next player rolls the dice or announce they have cheated at this point. There are 15 cheat cards but only 5 will be placed on the center of the board at a time. Players can only choose to cheat from the cards placed on the board. If you are wrongly accused the other player must pay

  Monopoly Junior, much like the standard Monopoly comes in a variety of different version. The main difference being the art work, tokens and space names. Game play mimics the standard version but is geared towards younger players. The game is recommened for players ages 5-8. The board is somewhat smaller, it's rectangular with 2 spaces per color and missing are the community chest cards.  In Monopoly Junior if a player lands on a space that is unowned they must buy it, they don't have the option to pass and send it to auction. When a player purchases a property they place their icon on the space. If a player owns both spaces of the same color rent is doubled. The original Monopoly Junior was release in 1990 and features an amusement park theme. The jail space has been replaced with restrooms. If you land on the restrooms tram you must pay $3 to loose change and proceed to the restrooms. Loose change is found where free parking would be, if a player lands on loose change they

 Alec Monopoly is a street artist from New York City. His work is heavily influenced by the Monopoly game, Richie Rich, Uncle Scrooge Mc Duck and pop culture. Here are some examples of his art work. He paints in grafitti style with lots of color.

 While researching the Monopoly car token I stumbled upon the Mr. Monoply Controversy. Apparently most researchers belive that Mr. Monopoly was based upon Otto Hermann Kahn. Hasbro and Parker Brothers employees have claimed that Mr. Monopoly was based on buisnessman J. P. Morgan. However there are more similaries to Mr. Kahn. First, he resembles Mr. Monopoly in both features and dress. They both share the famous mustache. Secondly, the Monopoly car token closely resembles one of his real life cars. Thirdly, Otto was a partner at Kuhn, Loeb & Co, which was know for reorganizing and consolidating railroads. Monopoly was very similar to other early real estate boardgames except for the inclusion of the railroads. While I love a good consperacy theory, I ask what does Hasbro/Parker Brothers have to gain by denying Mr. Kahn as the inspiration? Perharps they are trying to avoid paying royalties to the Kahn family.

  When you think of Monopoly cars there are two cars that come to mind. First the iconic car token which is still somewhat of a mystery. Researchers believe it is either a 1934 Mercedes Grand Prix W25, a 1928 Harley JDH Midget Car or a 1940s Kurtis Kraft Midget Car. Habro describes it as a 1930's roadster, however it looks nothing like it.  We do have a car on the game board located on the Free Parking space, but the model is also a mystery.  I was pleasantly surprised to learn that Johnny Lightening has a whole line of model cars with a Monopoly Theme. The best listing I could find of these cars comes from PlanetSwift.com  and features 34 little die cast cars. Luckily Johnny Lightening is still producing Monopoly cars today, with the most recent additions beings a 2022 and 2023 model. These cars also come with a little diecast token to use when playing Monopoly. In addition to these small 1/64 scale models, Johhny Lightning also released several larger 1/18 scale models and 1/25

 In contrast to the Monopoly fast game play in 2019 Hasbro released Monopoly Longest Game Ever Edition. This game features a larger game board and only one die. The board has a total of 96 board spaces instead of the traditional 40 spaces. There is also no auctions for property. If you land on an unowned property and decide not to purchase, it is now the next player's turn. The game ends once one player owns all the properties.  This is definitely one for the Monopoly enthusiast. It seems like I would have trouble finding friends to play with. Luckily this edition is for only 2-4 players. 

 Many people feel that a standard game of Monopoly takes a long time. They may be interested in playing but simply don't have a couple hours to dedicate to a game.  Game makers have come up with two solutions to this delema.  In 2006 Winning Moves released Monopoly Mega Edition which introduced a speed dice. Players roll the two standard dice plus the speed dice each turn. The speed die, is a six sided red die. It features two Mr. Monopoly, one bus, and the numbers one, two, three. If numeric pips appear on all three dice, the player will move the combined total of all three dice. If a Mr. Monopoly is rolled the player gets a bonus move. First the player moves according to the white dice, taking the action they normal would on that space, then move again to the next unowned property, which they may buy. If all properties are owned they would move to the next property on which they need to pay rent. If a player rolls the Bus, first the player moves according to the white dice then d