Key Takeaways

• Monopoly has evolved with various themed versions, introducing new mechanics and rules to spice up gameplay.
• Examples include Monopoly Hotels, Monopoly Junior Edition, and Monopoly: Cheaters Edition.
• Different versions like Monopoly Empire and Monopoly For Sore Losers offer unique twists to the original game.

Monopoly was first launched in 1903, and more than a century later, it is one of the most popular and well-known board games of all time. Although the modern iteration has strayed from the original concept, which was originally a harsh criticism of capitalism and landlord greed gone wild, the game has nonetheless persevered with literally hundreds of versions currently available.

Pop culture versions of modern Monopoly include everything from special anniversary editions to themed games that include much more than big IPs like Star Wars or various anime titles. Each of those dozens of Monopoly versions has different rules and parameters. Typically, the themed versions stick to the classic rules of Monopoly, but there are some great alternates available that spice up gameplay and can make for a very interesting board game night.

Updated October 13, 2024, by Kristy Ambrose: The standard rules of Monopoly are incredibly easy to mold to various topics, which makes the game ideal for different themes and designs. For example, changing Illinois Avenue into The Simpsons’ Springfield Street doesn’t impact how the game is played, and it’s easy to add quirky activities like drinking games or even cheating into the mix. There are plenty of versions that introduce brand-new boards and mechanics to keep even the most reluctant Monopoly player entertained. These are some of the best versions.

15 Monopoly Hotels

A Simplified and Quick Hotel-Off

• First Published: 2013
• Players: 2
• Type Of Game: City Building

Monopoly Hotels is a compact take on classic Monopoly with a focus on building upwards. Each player has their own hotel and takes turns building floors and executing different tasks to make money and grow their business. It’s a card-based game in which each player begins with five cards, which they can play throughout the game to either help themselves or sabotage their competitor.

The winner is the first person to build five floors with rooms, but it’s not as easy as it sounds.

Players can add rooms to make money and put celebrities on their floors to improve their hotel. However, players can also place bills on their opponent’s floors to stop them from collecting rent, demolishing their floors, and sabotaging them with negative events like floods and rats. It’s a fun, more streamlined, and easy-to-learn version of Monopoly with a little more direct PvP than the classic board game.

14 Monopoly Junior Edition

A Gentle Introduction to the Monopoly World

• First Published: 1990
• Players: 2-4
• Type Of Game: Children’s Game, Economic

Monopoly Junior Edition is a variation of Monopoly with fewer rules and adjustments that make the game easier to understand and play. As the name might suggest, this version is aimed at younger players and, therefore, doesn’t have all the confusing mechanics of a classic Monopoly game.

Some things different in this version include amusements instead of properties, auctions, less money, and costs. A smaller board makes the game quicker and easier, and it is set in a theme park rather than the classic Monopoly board. As a junior version, it executes its task very well and is much easier to play, but adults looking to switch up their Monopoly nights might find it lacking.

13 Monopoly Board Crawl

Drinking To Get Through The Game Is A Thing Anyway

• First Published: 2024
• Players: 2-10
• Type Of Game: Mature, Party Game

There are a million variations on both Monopoly boards and drinking games, so the only thing strange about this is how long it took for them to come together. The Monopoly Board Crawl is one of the more recent additions to the Monopoly library It’s still an economic and real estate game, but with the fun addition of the drunk and absurd.

It’s definitely not a game for children, featuring sexual jokes and lewd poems or songs in addition to alcohol. The number of players makes the game more versatile; it makes as much sense as an intimate game for two or a party game for as many as ten.

12 Monopoly Here And Now: The World Edition

Broaden Your Horizons

• First Published: 2008
• Players: 2-6
• Type Of Game: Electronic, Negotiation

Monopoly Here and Now: The World Edition is a fun take on modern Monopoly with a wider scope and updated mechanics. Before its release, people around the world voted for what cities they wanted to appear on the board, and the top ones replaced the typical spaces.

The likes of New York, Shanghai, and Tokyo can be found on this board, updating it to match the modern world. Another change is the money system, which removes physical cash and replaces it with an electronic banking system where players use cards to track their cash. It also features updated Community Chest and Chance cards, making it a great change for those tired of classic Monopoly without changing the entire game.

11 Monopoly Empire

Switching Up the Tactics

• First Published: 2013
• Players: 2-4
• Type Of Game: Economic

Monopoly Empire is a version of Monopoly that not only changes the goal of the game but substantially changes the rules of play. In Monopoly Empire, players try to collect billboards to fill their tower, rather than collecting properties or houses/hotels.

The first player to fill their tower wins the game, and the rules state that nobody can go bankrupt. Since the ability to trade is nonexistent, swapping billboards can be forced by pulling certain cards, and there’s a little less PvP strategy to be applied as a result. Monopoly Empire is still a fun take on the classic board game, but players might find it lacks some of the challenge and excitement that others can offer.

10 Anti-Monopoly

The Opposite of Everything

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• First Published: 1973
• Players: 2-6
• Type Of Game: Economic

Players should forget everything they know before cracking open their copy of Anti-Monopoly. This reverse version of Monopoly was created by Professor Ralph Anspach, and the Parker Brothers attempted to sue him for the use of “Monopoly” in the title.

The main reason it was uncovered is that the entire concept of Monopoly was based on Elizabeth Magie’s The Landlord’s Game – originally intended to be a scathing criticism of monopoly tactics. In Anti-Monopoly, the game opens with all spaces on the board already monopolized – each section owned by “company cartels,” as the game calls them.

Players go around trying to bust these various cartels and end their monopolizing ways once and for all, and collecting social credit. This version of Monopoly is rare and hard to find, particularly as a second version, also named Anti-Monopoly, was released in 1987 with a completely different set of rules just to make it extra confusing.

8 Monopoly Millionaire

Race to a Million

• First Published: 2012
• Players: 2-4
• Type Of Game: Economic

As its name might suggest, Monopoly Millionaire has one goal: be the first to make a million bucks. This is reflected on the board, with two fewer spaces than a standard Monopoly board and brand-new Millionaire Lifestyle spaces instead of Community Chest cards.

Another big change is that every property now comes with a Fortune card, which can randomly impact individual players and the game on a wider scale. Monopoly Millionaire can move faster than classic Monopoly since it emphasizes collecting the most money as soon as possible. Instead of waiting for all players to be eliminated, one player can win the whole game by becoming a millionaire.

7 Monopoly: The Mega Edition

More Money, More Spaces, More Chances to Win

• First Published: 2006
• Players: 2-8
• Type Of Game: Negotiation

If players are looking for something totally the opposite of Monopoly Junior Edition, then Monopoly: The Mega Edition can answer the call. This iteration of Monopoly features more dice, more money, and a bigger board with thirteen spaces on each side instead of ten. It’s called The Mega Edition for a reason, and players will find themselves able to do everything – like moving, buying, and winning – just a little bit faster.

The main differences in this edition are the Bus Ticket cards, which exist in addition to Chance and Community Chest cards. Players can also build a Skyscraper on a property, or build a Train Depot on any owned railways – making them a much more lucrative purchase than before. The Mega Edition is like Monopoly with all the sliders turned up, and is a great challenge for seasoned players.

6 Monopoly: Longest Game Ever

It Just Keeps Going, And Going, And Going…

• First Published: 2019
• Players: 2-4
• Type Of Game: Economic, Negotiation

Monopoly: Longest Game Ever is a self-explanatory iteration of the classic Monopoly board game. This version has a board more than double the size of the original, and only one die, which means players move slower and have twice the amount of ground to cover, although there are fewer unique properties in this version.

It’s safe to say, this version is not for the faint of heart – or those with short attention spans. Some other changes in this version include the lack of auctions, which means that any properties a player doesn’t wish to buy remain unowned until somebody else purchases them. The biggest, and likely most controversial change, is that players can steal properties.

If a player pays the full rent for a property, they can opt to pay only $10 more to forcefully take ownership of the property. The only way to win is to have one player own all the properties on the board. The new rules and variations make it fun and competitive, though, and it’s a great choice for a multi-session playthrough.

5 Monopoly Knockout

Monopoly and Shuffleboard Combined

• First Published: 2023
• Players: 2-8
• Type Of Game: Action, Dexterity

Monopoly Knockout is a more physical take on classic Monopoly, combining shuffleboard with the iconic property game. Players can either join forces in a team or go it alone, taking turns to slide their color-coded board pieces along the various spots on the board.

Players can land on lots of different spaces which range from going to prison to collecting rent, to winning all the cash in free parking. The catch is that the round isn’t over until everyone’s had their turn. Even if one player lands on Park Place, they have to pray no other player knocks their piece onto a different spot before the round ends. This adds a layer of healthy competitiveness and lets players have a more direct impact on their opponents.

4 Monopoly: Tropical Tycoon

Building Vacation Empires in Unstable Times

• First Published: 2007
• Players: 3-5
• Type Of Game: Electronic, Negotiation

Monopoly: Tropical Tycoon is a fresh and creative take on the Monopoly game, which keeps the core values of the game, but switches up play quite a bit. The setting of Tropical Tycoon is a beautiful vacation island where players can build beach houses, resorts, parks, restaurants, casinos, and piers on various properties to make money. At the end of the game, all money is converted to fortune tokens, which dictate who wins the game.

One of the biggest changes in this version of Monopoly is the DVD companion, which begins by explaining the game and then acts as a key game element. One of the dice in Tropical Tycoon has a DVD symbol on it, and when rolled, players must play the DVD, which acts as a News Broadcast. Like Chance and Community Chest cards, these News Broadcasts trigger a random event.

Additionally, players each choose a Job at the beginning of the game, which grants them a specific perk that can be useful throughout the game. While all these new mechanics might sound like a lot, they help the game feel more exciting and eventful, and those who find OG Monopoly a little stale will appreciate the additions.

3 Monopoly For Sore Losers

Cash in Bad Luck for a Chance to Win it All

• First Published: 2020
• Players: 2-6
• Type Of Game: Economic

Monopoly for Sore Losers is a fresh take on the classic Monopoly board game that works to help those who haven’t had the best luck. The whole idea of Monopoly for Sore Losers is to help out players who repeatedly land on bad spots or receive a lot of penalties through the use of Sore Loser Tokens and Mr. Monopoly himself.

Players receive Sore Loser Tokens every time something bad happens to them, such as paying rent or going to jail. When a player accumulates four Sore Loser Tokens, they can trade them in to take control of Mr Monopoly, a large player token that can be swapped out for the player’s own token.

This version of Monopoly applies all the basic rules while simultaneously flipping the game on its head, which creates an easy-to-follow but unique iteration. It’s the perfect switch-up for those who are tired of classic Monopoly and adds a new layer of healthy competition.

2 The Lord of the Rings

Sauron Is The Landlord

• First Published: 2022
• Players: 2-4
• Type Of Game: Economic

There have been LotR-themed Monopoly games since the movies were released more than 20 years ago, and this is the most recent and all-encompassing edition. A group of creative players who consider themselves hardcore fans can add a role-playing element to the experience, since the game already has most of the related accessories, but it’s not officially an RPG.

The locations on the board have been changed to places in Middle Earth, like the Pellenor Fields and the Black Gate of Mordor, while random spaces offer extra gear and quests. A single player is tasked with carrying the One Ring to Mordor. They can lose it or give it away, but doing this starts the journey of the Ring all over again. One feature that this version of the game retains is the possibility of a very long session.

1 Monopoly: Cheaters Edition

Cheat, Lie, and Scam Out a Win

• First Published: 2018
• Players: 2-6
• Type Of Game: Economic, Negotiation

Monopoly: Cheaters Edition is easily one of the most fun and inventive takes on the classic board game. As most might have guessed, Cheaters Edition actively encourages cheating. The basic rules are similar to a normal Monopoly game with a few changes, like railroads not being available for purchase and purchasing hotels straight away, and there are no houses.

The cheating mechanics include drawing five cheat cards and placing them in the middle of the board. These cards will disclose a method by which players can cheat and their subsequent reward if they are not caught. To combat cheating, players can call another player out for cheating.

This version of Monopoly makes for a raucously funny and cheeky game night. Tensions may rise and arguments may ensue, but all is fair in board games and cheating. All players are capable of winning even if they’re down on their luck. A well-timed steal or a quick jailbreak can be all a player needs to come out on top.