I would like to offer my opinion that it is a misnomer to say this game is Monopoly meets Pokémon. Is it true that there are little monsters on the board? Yes. Are there battles that call to mind gigamax battles from Pokémon Sword? Yes, but the battles are fairly infrequent, certainly not common enough to say there is much of Pokémon to this game. Is the goal to earn money? Yes, but it is significantly less infuriating than Monopoly, and the aim of your fellow players isn't to bankrupt you so you have to drop out, it's merely to out-earn you. This leads, in my recent experience, to way less personal resentment among friends and lovers playing together.
It struck me as being closer to Super Mario Party meets Monopoly - yes, you encounter monsters on the board, but they have more effect on board play than anything else - Bluebeary, for example, earns you extra money when you land on a space that grants you additional funds; Rolly lets you reroll your dice if you find your initial result to be disappointing. You can, as mentioned above, unleash them in battle, but this only happened twice in my 5- year game. And, yes, it's a luck based game - but what would you expect from a game that relies on the roll of a die? There are bonuses at the end, not unlike Mario Party's bonus stars. Speaking of stars, Billion Road has you racing towards Goals rather than stars, and the Goals could have incredible rewards, especially if you arrive with monsters who fall into the same color category as the current Goal. Also like Mario Party, you can choose how long the game lasts, up to 99 "years" (each year being 12 turns, 1 per month, for a maximum of 1188 turns - players can, of course, save so the game can be played over several sessions. A 5-year game took about 3 hours, so I dare say even the most extreme of insomniac board game enthusiasts would need time to stop and recharge for a 99- year game). The events, which seem to be triggered randomly, sort of reminded me of Tamodachi Life (a delightful 3DS game I played obsessively for probably at least a year).
In conclusion, I think a 5/10 is far too weak a rating for such an enjoyable game. After a three hour game, I wanted to play again almost immediately. I'm excited to see how a longer game, which offers opportunities to re-invest in your properties, will be different. I'd probably give it at minimum an 8/10. The style is lovely and charming, and scratching a Monopoly itch without my friends and I cursing each other for the entire game was very satisfying.
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Re: Review: Billion Road - Like Pokémon Meets Monopoly, But Not As Cool As It Sounds
I would like to offer my opinion that it is a misnomer to say this game is Monopoly meets Pokémon. Is it true that there are little monsters on the board? Yes. Are there battles that call to mind gigamax battles from Pokémon Sword? Yes, but the battles are fairly infrequent, certainly not common enough to say there is much of Pokémon to this game. Is the goal to earn money? Yes, but it is significantly less infuriating than Monopoly, and the aim of your fellow players isn't to bankrupt you so you have to drop out, it's merely to out-earn you. This leads, in my recent experience, to way less personal resentment among friends and lovers playing together.
It struck me as being closer to Super Mario Party meets Monopoly - yes, you encounter monsters on the board, but they have more effect on board play than anything else - Bluebeary, for example, earns you extra money when you land on a space that grants you additional funds; Rolly lets you reroll your dice if you find your initial result to be disappointing. You can, as mentioned above, unleash them in battle, but this only happened twice in my 5- year game. And, yes, it's a luck based game - but what would you expect from a game that relies on the roll of a die? There are bonuses at the end, not unlike Mario Party's bonus stars. Speaking of stars, Billion Road has you racing towards Goals rather than stars, and the Goals could have incredible rewards, especially if you arrive with monsters who fall into the same color category as the current Goal. Also like Mario Party, you can choose how long the game lasts, up to 99 "years" (each year being 12 turns, 1 per month, for a maximum of 1188 turns - players can, of course, save so the game can be played over several sessions. A 5-year game took about 3 hours, so I dare say even the most extreme of insomniac board game enthusiasts would need time to stop and recharge for a 99- year game). The events, which seem to be triggered randomly, sort of reminded me of Tamodachi Life (a delightful 3DS game I played obsessively for probably at least a year).
In conclusion, I think a 5/10 is far too weak a rating for such an enjoyable game. After a three hour game, I wanted to play again almost immediately. I'm excited to see how a longer game, which offers opportunities to re-invest in your properties, will be different. I'd probably give it at minimum an 8/10. The style is lovely and charming, and scratching a Monopoly itch without my friends and I cursing each other for the entire game was very satisfying.