Have you ever played a game of Monopoly that hasn’t ended in a huge argument and someone flipping the game board in a hysterical fit of rage?
Well, those heated game nights are about to get even more savage because Hasbro has just announced Monopoly’s longest game ever.
Board Game Geek states that, if played correctly, a typical game of Monopoly is meant to last around 60 to 90 minutes – but let’s be honest – it always takes way longer than that.
If an average game of Monopoly feels like it takes two years to finish, how long will the ‘longest game ever’ go for!?
Amazon states that the new game “doesn’t end until someone owns every single property,” which there are 66 (!!) of and only one die, which means no doubles. Monopoly’s longest game ever only ends when a player owns 16 streets, 4 railroads, 2 utilities, and all the properties.
Someone pass me a drink.
According to a 2017 study conducted by OnlineCasino.ca, Monopoly starts more fights than any other board game. Surveying 1,000 board game-playing Americans, researchers found that almost half of respondents had a fight while playing the game.
So, why is Monopoly such a squabble-inducing game? Cosmopolitan reports that the top 10 reasons a mid-game bust-up happens include people making up the rules, people being too cocky when winning, someone buying a property you want (even when they don’t need it), people taking too long to take their turn, someone stealing from the bank, someone deliberately miscounting their move, the property auction process, choice over tokens, the rules of Free Parking and who gets to be the banker.
These fights have become so rife that Hasbro introduced a ‘helpline’ to stop families feuding in 2016. “We’ll have experts on hand with the official rulebooks to instantly settle any disputes, and advice on how to resolve common complaints, with each person also having the opportunity to make a donation to Childline when they call,” Craig Wilkins, Marketing Director of Hasbro UK and Ireland said at the time.
Is Hasbro trolling us with the longest game ever of Monopoly? Or is this the company’s evil plan to keep as at each other’s necks over the Christmas break? Either way, I’ll be sitting this game out on the bench.