Monopoly: The Updated Version–Play on the Computer

As if there aren’t enough ways to pass the time. I am up early (can’t sleep) so I thought I might write–not Gadling, other stuff like a prize winning novel. Instead, I have become sidetracked in the Here and Now version of Monopoly. I saw a link in today’s Marketplace section on YAHOO and clicked on it. There I was downloading the game and, in minutes, losing royally to the computer. I never download games–seriously, I never download games–you can see what a dodge this is.

By the end of the playing time, I did own three airports– including the Los Angeles International Airport– Pioneer Square in Seattle, Disney World and a few other properties. I can’t quite remember what all. I do remember that I foolishly let the computer buy Times Square in an auction, but I swear the thing was cheating. That prompted a whole mess of buying houses and hotels. LIke I said, cheating.

The Here and Now Monopoly game version has updated properties to reflect the current times. As the computer and I took turns zipping around the board, I noticed that Jacobs Field, the home of the Cleveland Indians is the cheapest property. That figures. It is a beautiful stadium, though, and if the Indians keep playing as well as they have done this season, perhaps that property ought to look sweeter.

I had grand plans to write down what properties I owned at the end of the game to see which places I have been in person, but the game stopped before I got the chance. My screen literally went black in a split second. I was playing the free version so perhaps the computer was bored with my efforts. Or, perhaps, the computer was worried I was making a comeback and just quit on me.

If you do have some time to play, this version is fun for the computer graphics alone. For example, the police siren goes off when you are carted off the jail after the police car nabs you. When my property was mortgaged and the computer’s hybrid car landed on my space, I heard snickering. That’s cold.

Here’s another person’s review as well. And, here’s the link to the downloadable version.