Cash is replaced by electronic banking – Monopoly Junior gameplay remains the same.
Germany
Author: Callum (Page 18 of 19)
During the 1991 to 2018 run of Monopoly Junior games, there have been a few other releases which are similar to the Junior gameplay.
My First Monopoly (2006)
Not to be confused with the Monopoly Junior rebrand My First Monopoly Game (2022)
All players play through one token, Mr Monopoly. He also decides what number is rolled, as there is no dice in this game.
In addition, no chance cards are needed in this game as the Mr Monopoly token can read out a chance when it detects that the player has landed on Chance.
When a property is landed on, the player must place a green block on the property. When the number of blocks, indicated by the number by the property, is reached then the player may place one of their coloured roofs on the stack. To win, you must play all your roofs.
Crazy Cash (2009)
The game ends when a player goes bankrupt or when the cash machine runs out of money.
The Cash Machine is the major difference between this version and the regular Junior editions. The Cash Machine is used when a player lands on the designated Cash Machine space. A card is inserted and then four items are produced. These could either be Chance cards or money. Money is stored as usual and Chance cards’ actions must be followed.
Monopoly Junior Party (2011)
Monopoly Junior Party was released in 2011, the same year as the last of the original Monopoly Junior sets were produced. The board and gameplay is very similar to how Monopoly Junior would become in 2013 – with the four traditional corner squares implemented. The only addition is the ‘Party Box’ which includes money raised from Chance Cards. The ‘Party Box’ would appear in other themed Monopoly Junior sets.
Not to be confused with the 2006 game My First Monopoly (2006)
In 2022 Monopoly Junior changed rules for a second time (the first occurring in 2013). With the 2022 release, Monopoly Junior also rebranded to ‘My First Monopoly Game’ in the UK and ‘Monopoly Discover’ in the USA. The game now includes a two-sided game board – Level 1 is designed for Ages 4-5, while Level 2 is a continuation of the existing Monopoly Junior. This edition now has six tokens – instead of the traditional four (Cat, Penguin, Dog, Rubber Duck, T-Rex & Car) and brings back the £5 note.
2023 Update: New sets from end of 2022 onwards have returned to the ‘Monopoly Junior’ branding. The game itself appears unchanged from small print run of ‘My First Monopoly Game / Monopoly Discover’ – with two sided board. Both variants are generally sold by retailers, presumably while supplies of the original game last.
My First Monopoly Game [Monopoly Discover] (2022)
Designed for ages 4+ and 2 to 6 players. There are two levels of gameplay. Level 1 is a simplified version of Monopoly Junior. Designed for ‘counting and matching’. All properties have a price of £1. The board can be flipped for Level 2, which appears to be a new design of the recent Monopoly Junior. Designed for ‘reading and simple math’. Level 2 brings back other denominations of money – with the return of the £5 note.
Monopoly Junior (2022)
Despite the rebrand back to ‘Monopoly Junior’ – the game and contents remain identical.
Stock Images
2013 saw a major redesign to the game of Monopoly Junior. The board looks like similar to a standard Monopoly board. The tokens have also changed from four coloured cars to four tokens which also appear in the regular game. Despite continuing with the attraction theme, Mayfair and Park Lane are the Dark Blue properties. All cash denominations have been replaced with £1 notes.
In a two player game, players take £20.
In a three player game, players take £18.
In a four player game, players take £16.
Players take 12 ‘Sold Signs’ which display the player’s token
The instructions also included ‘Advanced’ rules. This allows a player to pay off debt by selling properties.
The rules remain the same as previously, once a player goes bankrupt, whoever has the most cash wins!
The board also now has the traditional four corner squares – with the introduction of Jail and Free Parking instead of loose change.
- 2013
- 2014 – 2 More Tokens!
For this limited edition release, a Boot and Hat token have been included
- 2015 – 80th Anniversary
- 2016
- 2018
Cat, Ship and Car have been replaced by the new Rubber Ducky, Penguin and T-Rex
- 2018 – without NEW TOKENS label
- 2018 – Russian Error?
Despite being a UK box, my copy included a Russian board – presumably an error in production. Production code date is identical
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.
Another poll was taken for a new token line-up. This time, all eight tokens were at risk, with 56 ready to take their place. Ultimately, five tokens survived – Racecar, Battleship, Top Hat and Dog. The Thimble, Wheelbarrow and Boot were all retired. The victorious three new tokens were the Rubber Ducky, Penguin and T-Rex
2017 – ‘0317’
2017 – September Reprint
Reprinted in 2017
Date code: 0917
NEW TOKEN LINE-UP! label dropped from the box
Box depth decreased from 51 mm to 42 mm
2018 – Grab the Flying Cash
2020
Reprinted in 2020
GRAB THE FLYING CASH label dropped from the box
New style of Houses and Hotels (quality appears to have decreased)
Promotional for Monopoly Cash Grab (2017)
From 2008, green boxes were used instead of the previous white standard/square boxes. The token line-up was reduced to eight from ten with the retirement of the Cannon and Horse & Rider. This also saw the introduction of the Speed Die
2008 – Parker
2009 – Hasbro
The photographed edition is from 2009, one year after the new design. The only difference is branding. This edition has Hasbro branding on the bottom right of the box cover. The 2008 saw Parker branding. Parker branding remains on the board
2011 (Re-Print)
Everything remains identical apart from the side of the box. 2011 saw the copyright information slightly change. As shown by the first photo the first four digits of the production code change from 1009 to 0411 – these numbers indicate the month and year of production (MM/YY format).
2013 – Cat Replaces the Iron
A poll was held in 2013 – ‘Save Your Token’. The eight tokens were voted upon and the least popular, Iron, was retired from the game. Another poll was held at the same time to choose between introducing either: robot, ring, cat, guitar or helicopter. Ultimately, the Cat topped the poll. The Cat would also appear on the box cover for some releases.
2015 – Cat on the Box
Contents remain identical. The Cat now joins the Dog on the Box Cover
2015 – 80th Anniversary
An addition token was included to celebrate the 80th Anniversary of Monopoly – the Mr Monopoly token
Waddington’s was acquired by Hasbro in 1994. The next release in 1996 introduced the standard sized box. 2006 saw the first square box, the box type currently used to this day. The significant change was the tokens. In this era, Monopoly was advertised for up to eight players. The new line-up include: Thimble, Hat, Iron, Racecar, Boot, Battleship, Wheelbarrow, Dog, Cannon and Horse & Rider. The last two would be dropped just 12 years later in 2008.
1996
2002
2003
Identical production code to ‘2003 – Quick Rules’. The only difference is the side of the box.
2003 – Quick Rules
2006 – Square Box
From 1957, the Box & Board editions were phased out with a long box which contained the board as well as the pieces. Each edition sees slight variance – mainly with regards to the Chance & Community Chest cards. The photographs best show the evolution. Once again all dates are estimates. The following six tokens would also become a mainstay of the Long Red Box – with the introduction of the Dog
1957
Last standard Monopoly edition to feature the 6 flat metal tokens, as well as wooden houses and hotels.
1961
The six tokens return to the line-up. Although, I have also seen red long box editions with the previous six flat metal tokens used a few years prior.
1962
1972 – John Waddington Ltd
The board is unusually folded between Marylebone and Liverpool St Station across the Monopoly logo, as opposed to the usual Kings Cross to Fenchurch St Station.
1972 – Waddingtons House of Games Rebrand
There are very few differences between this edition and the previous 1972 edition. Both contains the same pieces and design. Before 1984, John Waddington Ltd was rebranded to Waddingtons House of Games. The box reflects this change even if the design remains identical. Now ‘Manufactured in England’ rather than ‘Manufactured in Great Britain’. Also interesting is that the board has changed back to being folded through Marylebone and Liverpool St Station, and is now folded through Kings Cross and Fenchurch St Station.
1984
1987
1993
After the four releases seen in 1936, only one type survived for the next decade – the Box & Board. All dates here are estimates.
1943
By 1943, different coloured Chance & Community Chest cards were used. The Wartime Notice paper has been downgraded to an overprint on the instructions. These instructions are marked with the code ‘1946 J’. Also unusually, this is the only time other tokens were included. A mix of thin and wide wood tokens were used instead – taken from Waddington’s 64 Milestones board game.
Incomplete Edition of the 64 Milestones Game – wooden pawn tokens
Another example of a 1943:
1944
World War II had broken out within Europe in 1939 – and supplies of all materials were low. This meant the Waddington’s had to change the materials used for Monopoly. The tradition tokens were replaced with cardboard tokens with a wood base. The quality of the wood used for Houses & Hotels were also downgraded. The paper used for money was downgraded, and only printed on one side. Dice were replaced by a paper spinner. This photographed edition can be identified as being from 1942 due to:
- L.N.E.R Stations
- Perforated Title Deeds
- Wooden tokens with black base
- Money printed on white paper
- Different colour Chance/Community Chest cards
- ‘War Time Pack’ note
- Spinner
- Box height reduced from 33mm to 26mm
1945 – ‘4290 H’
Cardboard tokens return. Chance & Community Chest cards are both green. Instructions marked with ‘4290 H’
1945 – Rainbow Chance Cards
This date of this set is estimated to be 1945 – potentially produced to celebrate the conclusion of World War II. The main point of interest are the Chance and Community Chest cards. The Chance Cards have a rainbow pattern – a design which is unique to this set. Both the Chance and Community Chest are numbered from 1 to 16. The second Chance Card – ‘Speeding Fine £15’ has an error with the text – Instead of CHANCE, it is printed CHANGE.
1948 – British Railway
World War II finished three years prior to this edition being released, however there were still many shortages. The tokens have been upgraded to coloured cardboard with coloured bases. The quality of Houses & Hotels has also significantly improved. Double-sided money starts to return – although I have also seen editions with the old single-sided war money. Chance and Community Chest card become orange and pink. Dice also return!
Railways are no longer labelled L.N.E.R. and are now ‘British Railways’ – due to nationalisation in 1948. This causes the first minor change to boards in this era.
1954/55 – Trademark Granted
Cardboard tokens are replaced by flat metal transport-themed tokens – train, bike, tank, tractor, car and ship. Patent 453689 expired in November 1952 – Trademark 711981 was granted in June 1954. This new number appears on the box and board. The instructions remain marked with 2 1/2 d stamp
Instruction are marked with 3d stamp. The side of the mini box has changed from black to red.
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