Uncle Pennybags

  I stumbled upon an old Parker Brothers game called Finance. It was originally released in 1932 and was a predecessor to Monopoly. It's based on the landlord's game and features similar mechanics. The version I will be writing about is from 1958. The major differences from Monopoly are there are no property cards, the information is found directly on the board, the railroads can not be purchased, there are no community chest cards, there are no hotels, and house come in a variety of colors.  This is a game for up to six players, each player has a different colored piece and matching color property circle. The banker will give each player two $500 and five $100, 50, 20, 10 and 5. Players roll the dice to determine who goes first, play continues in a clockwise direction. Players add the sum of the two dice, move to space indicated and performs the action. If they roll double they roll again.  If they land on an unowned property they can either purchase for the amount indic...

  I found this limited edition Monopoly Etch A Sketch at Big Lots for $18. It would make a great Christmas gift for a Monopoly fan. Imagine taking pictures of your sketch creations with a Monopoly border. The added bonus are the left and right knobs are the "Go to Jail" and " Pass Go" spaces.

  This past weekend I found these 3 games while thrifting at Unique in South Plainfield. I think one of the reasons I like thrifting board games is because I stumble upon games I've never heard of. My general reminder for thrifting is to open the box, look for the instructions and piece/contents list. Make sure all the pieces are there before you decide to purchase. If there are no instructions check to see if they are available online for free. Then vet the pieces from your online list. I've definitely regretted a couple purchases made at the beginning of the year. Luckily for me after opening these games the Tetris Link and Monopoly Hotels were both new with the pieces enclosed in plastic. Twister Hoopla also had all the pieces, instructions and a large instruction card with 5 different games that could be played. Monopoly Hotels was released by Hasbro in 2012 and is a combination of a building and card game. I had previously passed on this variant assuming it was a kids vers...

  I found another UNO variation at the dollar tree. After bringing the deck home I realize this is actually a standard 52 card deck with 8 wild cards. The deck advertises the wild cards add a twist to classic card games like Go Fish, Rummy, Poker, etc. However the deck does not actually include those instructions. I assume they would be used like a joker card. The deck does come with a QR Code to scan which brings you to a video on how to play wild race. Wild race is classic UNO, but when a wild card is played players must rush to place there hands over the cards. The last player to place their hands must take all the cards from the pile that match the wild card. The cards are 4 suits but only two colors; red, black and wild being either or a combination of both.    I'm looking forward to playing with this deck and seeing how the variations of classic games pan out. It's a shame I don't have more people to play cards with. My detailed reviewed will be sometime in the futu...

 I found this Mr. Monopoly game night trophy while thrifting for $2.99. My research shows that this is a vintage 2009 piece which was released as a Toys R Us exclusive. Aside from the fact that I think a game night trophy is a great idea, this is one of my best finds. With Toys R Us now defunct it could only be worth more. Starting price for this trophy is $30+ on ebay. I'm not sure I'm ready to part with him just yet. I like the idea of competing with my friends to get to take the trophy home and display for a couple weeks until the next rematch, where I will have to let him go or prove my status as deserving champion.

  This sounds like it shouldn't go together but the powers that be at Hasbro and Winning Moves have come up with another creative Monopoly mashup. Monopoly Scrabble was announced in June 2023 and released on July 1, 2023. Instead of rolling dice, players must add up points from game play to determine how many spaces to move. Players must complete a word over a property title to purchase that property. Although it sounds more complicated, the game is advertised to be played in less then one hour. I recommend researching this version by watching some YouTube reviews/how to play videos. At the moment no instructions are available online, so I will hold off any personal opinions until reading those in detail.

  I was lucky enough to find these 4 board games as part of a curbside dump listed on Facebook marketplace. Easy Money from 1996 appears to be a re-release of the old 1935 board game. This one is still on my list to write about. It will be interesting to compare the differences after over 60 years.  I also acquired uno spin, which I somehow missed while writing my article on uno variations. This was a 2005 release, it features a wheel that gets spun and dictates the next players move. Drawing one of these cards will start the wheel action. I definitely think this is one for the uno fans that might be looking for a challenge. It would take a couple rounds to figure out the best strategy. Tri-ominos I've never heard of before. Each tile is a triangle and has 3 numbers, one in each corner. After reviewing the instructions, my first thought is happiness, it states 56 tiles included and all 56 are there. This is a game for 2-6 players.  Like regular dominoes game play starts w...