In 1991, Monopoly Junior was released to the UK Market. Classic Monopoly was advertised as a board game for ages 8 and above, whereas, Monopoly Junior is designed for ages 5 to 8. Monopoly Junior can be played with 2, 3 or 4 players. Despite many changes to the box design, and small cosmetic modifications to the contents, the game was unchanged from release in 1991 until 2011.

The rules are as follows: All players choose a colour and take that colour’s car token and 10 ticket booths (12 for a two player game). Each player receives £31 (5x £1, 4x £2, 3x £3, 1x £4 and 1x £5).

Players then take turn moving around the board with one die. If you land on an amusement without a ticket booth, you must purchase the attraction by paying the fee and placing your coloured ticket booth on the space. If you land on an amusement with a different colour ticket booth, you must pay rent. Rent is the purchase price (or double if they own both in the colour set).

Instead of purchasing railways, landing on this space allows you to roll again. Landing on ‘Fireworks’, ‘Water Show’ or ‘Take a trip to the cafe’ means you have to pay a fee, which is placed in Rich Uncle Pennybag’s loose change (later Mr Monopoly) – this can be won by landing on his square.

The game ends when one player goes bankrupt, all players then add up their cash totals and whoever has the most is declared the winner.

  • 1991
  • 1996

The box has changed shape from long to square. This change can still be seen with the latest release of Monopoly Junior. The board shape changes from square to rectangular. This change survives until 2013 when the board changes for the first time.

  • 2001

Slight redesign, although the game remains identical. Rich Uncle Pennybags has been rebranded to Mr Monopoly. This was the first Monopoly in my collection.

  • 2011

The 2011 release has an error on all boxes. The game is mistakenly labelled as for 2 to 8 players and 8 years and up. This was the label seen on classic Monopoly sets. Junior is normally for ages 5 to 8. However, stating that this game can be played with up to 8 players is impossible.

The game would significantly change for the next release in 2013.