This Monopoly game takes a delicious spin on classic Monopoly, allowing players to collect types of pizza instead of properties. Each color set collected corresponds to different flavors of pizza, including spinach, mushroom, classic pepperoni, barbecue chicken, veggie lovers’ or even mac and cheese. Once a full set of flavors is obtained, the player can even make an awesome new pizza and score higher points for their cards at the end of the game! Instead of winning by having the most money, the player who has the most pizza slices wins.
Monopoly Pizza is meant for kids ages 8 and up and promises to make it a fun evening for all involved, whether it’s family game night or a rainy day. Well, how does this game match up? Let’s take a look and see.
Overview
From the pizza take-out design of the game box to the luscious pictures of pizza toppings, pizza lovers may just fall in love with this game right away. Monopoly Pizza turns a classic Monopoly into something scrumptious, allowing players to buy pizza instead of properties.
The goal of the game is to collect as much pizza as possible. Players will spend their dough on Pizza spaces and pick up slice tokens, aiming to collect a full set of colors.
Adding to the pizza theme is a set of unique tokens for players to use as pieces: a cheese grater, pizza chef, cheese shaker, delivery bike, slicer and pizza on a paddle.
When players move their pieces on to an empty Pizza space, they can claim it and then collect money from opponents who land on their Pizza spaces. What’s different from classic Monopoly is that players can then share a slice together and earn more slices.
The Chance and Community Chest cards are also included in this set, allowing some freedom for players to decide whether they want to become pizza connoisseurs or shoot for something random and enter a pizza-making contest.
Unlike classic Monopoly, players don’t become bankrupt here. Once all the Pizza spaces on the board have been purchased, the game ends, and the player with the best and tastiest pizza wins!
What’s Included
A standard set of the Monopoly Pizza Board Game includes the following:
- Game board
- 6 tokens
- 16 Pizza cards
- 16 Chance cards
- 16 Community Chest cards
- 64 cardboard pizza slice tokens
- Money pack
- 2 dice
- Game guide
Pros
It’s not every day you come across a Monopoly game that will have pizza foodies salivating in no time. The design of this game will probably make it an instant winner with the little ones. Right from the cover, it would be difficult not to mistake the game box for a real pizza box!
The game also has a special mechanic of allowing players to share their pizza slices if someone has landed on a Pizza spot that has already been claimed by another person. Instead of trying to undermine the opponents, this could be a golden opportunity to teach the kids how to give and take.
In fact, although pizza may not be the healthiest food around, the flavors included in this game have the greens in mind. Introduce the little ones to healthy pizza topping alternatives that give them their daily dose of veggies!
With eight player tokens to choose from, and all of the different pizza-related objects, kids will definitely have a lot of fun picking out their favorite.
Cons
As with most junior Monopoly games, this game is only suited for 2-4 players. While it makes a good family game to keep the kids occupied, one downside is that it cannot be shared with larger groups.
The age range of Monopoly Pizza may also be a deterring factor. It is recommended for ages 8 and up, which is slightly higher compared to other junior Monopoly games, which can accommodate players as young as 4-6. The age restriction is understandable due to the choking hazards with small parts in this game – each cardboard pizza slice is minuscule when held in a person’s hand. However, this may be a deal breaker if you have a mix of ages in the household.
Additionally, players used to classic Monopoly themes of buying the most properties and earning the most money may find this game slightly lacking in that it does not have such a feature. Instead, players simply buy pizzas and share them, which is an interesting twist on the original Monopoly but could take the fun out of the game for some people.
Overall Review
Overall, we think that Monopoly Pizza is delightful – and delicious! – a game to have in any Monopoly player’s collection, especially if you like pizza. The wild surprises included in the Chance and Community Chest cards promise to keep each gameplay varied and interesting.
Given the $19.99 price tag, the contents included in this box justify it, as there are many specially sculpted pieces sure to remind pizza lovers of their favorite cravings. The bargain also makes it a great game to add to one’s collection.
Monopoly Pizza seems to have a lot of replay value as players don’t just collect different colors of pizza but also get to craft their own making. This could take some of the tedium out of simply collecting properties and toss some icing on the cake – or pizza!
In the end, what beats opening a pizza box and finding a warm, delicious surprise inside? The only real downside we can think of is that you may be craving a real pizza after playing Monopoly Pizza!
Maria Garcia