If you were to survey 100 children, or even adults about what there favorite board games are one game that is sure to be mentioned quite often is Monopoly. Handmark has taken the traditional board game, widely recognized as the world's most popular game, and created an authentic representation on the Palm. How successful was Handmark in bringing the fun of Monopoly to the Palm? Read on and you'll see.
The Palm version of Monopoly allows you to play against 1-3 opponents. These opponents can be any combination of human and/or computer characters. There are eight different computer opponents and each of these characters has his/her own unique strategy and style of play. I found playing against the computer opponents to both fun and challenging. I have won only a handful of the games that I have played.
The Handmark version of Monopoly plays very similarly to the traditional version of the game. One distinct advantage is that the Palm is now your banker. The tedious task of counting and distributing money, and the problem about having correct change are solved through the use of a computer. Another distinct advantage of playing on the Palm is that net worth is computed and tracked automatically. Gone are the days of taking out your calculator and adding up the value of your property plus houses and hotel and counting the cash all to see what to pay when landing on the income tax block.
One nice feature of the Palm Monopoly is that it has taken into account many of the popular variations that people may impose upon the game. Among the rules that can be implemented is the popular option of putting the debts and/or fines into a pot that is collected by a player landing on free parking. Other options include unlimited houses/hotels, once around the board before buying, an the option for earning a double bonus for landing on Go.
