Monopoly Empire Review (2024)
What is Monopoly Empire?
Monopoly Empire is one of the special editions of Monopoly that Hasbro Games created back in 2013 and updates to it were released also in 2014 and 2015. The game features multiple famous worldwide brands such as Ford and Xbox.
This Monopoly Empire review will help you decide whether you should play Classic Monopoly still or try and find a copy of Monopoly Empire to play instead!
Further Monopoly Empire editions were unfortunately discontinued after the 2015 edition but the current ones are still available to purchase online if you look around.
How many players can play Monopoly Empire?
2-4 players. There are six tokens included. But there are only four game towers and one is needed for each player.
How long does it take to play Monopoly Empire?
Because of the twist in the rules and the lack of houses/hotels, a game can be finished in as little as 30 minutes. You can make it last longer if you wish.
Where can I buy Monopoly Empire?
Monopoly Empire is available (new and used) on Amazon and eBay.
Why was Monopoly Empire discontinued?
There are no specific details listed – but the brands changed three times in three years and it was possible that Hasbro didn’t see enough sales to warrant keep changing them. We don’t know the licensing details of the game (if Hasbro paid the brands or got brands to pay them) – but either way, it wasn’t working for them. Which is a shame!
When did Monopoly Empire come out?
The first version was in 2013. The second 2014 and the third and final version was in 2015.
How is Monopoly Empire different than Monopoly?
Monopoly Empire differs in multiple ways – from tokens and money to properties and some of the gameplay rules.
The gameplay in essence is the same, move around the board with your token and take action on the space you land on – either by purchasing a brand (property) or taking direction from another player or card you pick up.
I’ve broken down the differences between Monopoly Classic and Monopoly Empire pieces below.
| Monopoly Classic | Monopoly Empire |
|---|---|
| 1 x Monopoly Classic Board | 1 x Monopoly Empire Board |
| 1 x Monopoly Classic Instructions | 1 x Monopoly Empire Instructions |
| 8 x Classic Tokens (Metal) | 6 x Brand Tokens (Metal) |
| 16 x Chance Cards | 14 x Chance Cards |
| 16 x Community Chest Cards | 14 x Empire Cards |
| 7 x Monopoly Money types | 3 x Monopoly Empire Money types |
| 2 x Monopoly Classic Dice | 2 x Monopoly Empire Dice |
| 4 x Monopoly Railroads | 4 x Monopoly Empire Towers |
| 22 x Monopoly Property Spaces | 22 x Monopoly Empire brands |
| 2 x Water Works | 4 x Water Works |
| 2 x Electrical Works | 4 x Electrical Works |
Monopoly Empire Token vs Classic Monopoly Tokens
Monopoly Empire comes with six attractive gold-colored metal tokens. The quality of them is good and they are in fairly high detail. They make for an enjoyable change to the existing Classic Monopoly tokens – I mean, who doesn’t want to move around a board game with a Caterpillar digger or a micro Xbox controller?!
The tokens have a nice heavy ‘chunky’ feel to them – which makes them seem high quality.
| Monopoly Empire Token | Classic Monopoly Token |
|---|---|
| Wilson Tennis Racket | Hat |
| Puma Sneaker | Dinosaur |
| Transformer head | Dog |
| Ford car | Cat |
| Caterpillar diggar | Duck |
| Xbox controller | Penguin |
| Car | |
| Ship |
My personal favorite is the Caterpillar digger!
Monopoly Empire Money vs Classic Monopoly Money
The Monopoly Empire money is actually nearly identical to the Classic Monopoly money. This is a shame really as they could have gone to greater lengths.
Even stranger, the money in Monopoly Empire is meant to be in 1000’s (or ‘K’ as they reference) – so the M100 note is actually M100K (or M100,000) – but there is no K visible on any of the money, unfortunately.
There are only three denominations instead of seven that come with the classic Monopoly. Missing are the M1, M5, M10 and M20 notes. But even those notes look absolutely identical in color and in writing.
| Classic Monopoly money | Monopoly Empire money |
|---|---|
| M1 | |
| M5 | |
| M10 | |
| M20 | |
| M50 | M50K |
| M100 | M100K |
| M500 | M500K |
Monopoly Empire Billboards vs Classic Monopoly Properties
Where Classic Monopoly has properties for you to buy, Monopoly Empire has brands instead. Each of the brands is split into groups (like the groups in Classic Monopoly). The idea is to buy as many brands as possible – each brand you buy you pick up a ‘billboard’ and slot it into your tower.
The more expensive the brand, the bigger the billboard piece and the quicker your Monopoly Empire tower fills up!
Additionally, you can also buy one-off ‘Office Billboards’ to stack into your tower. These are available during each turn and you must pay the Bank for them. They are a good way at filling up your tower and helping you finish first if you have the spare cash!
Monopoly Empire Cards vs Classic Monopoly Cards
Monopoly Empire comes with ‘Empire Cards’ and ‘Chance Cards’. There are sixteen Empire Cards, two of which are ‘Super Empire’ cards.
Each player is given two Empire cards at the start of the game and they keep them secret. They can play them at any point during the game, before, or after their turn.
How do you win Monopoly Empire?
The aim of the game is to fill your tower up with brand billboards first. As you move around the board you can purchase the different brands as you land on them. Just like Classic Monopoly, if you don’t want to purchase that brand (property) it goes to auction and the highest bidder gets to pick it up.
How do you lose Monopoly Empire?
One of the key changes to Monopoly Empire over Classic Monopoly is there is no way of going bankrupt! If you end up owing another player (or the Bank) some money on your turn, then you either pay cash or, if you don’t have enough you give a billboard out of your tower to the player or the Bank. If you don’t have either of those, then you do nothing and just wait out your next turn. Eventually, you will cross Go again and pick up M50k!
Is Monopoly Empire better than Monopoly?
Monopoly Empire is a fun version of Classic Monopoly and it is much quicker to play – this is partly because the maximum number of players is four. You can’t actually play with more players because of the unique Monopoly Empire Towers that come with the game (just four, which are attached to the board) – this can be frustrating for some families – but for larger groups, you could run a mini-championship and have teams of 1-2 playoff against each other.
If you have favorite brands, you will also like this game – you can pretend to own big names such as Caterpillar, Xbox or Polaroid! Each time you pass GO you pick up the value of your entire tower – the more brands in it, the more you will pick up!
The Empire (Community Chest) and Chance (Classic Chance) cards are a nice change too – with various mini-tasks and some special cards that ‘block’ other players from performing an action upon you – this makes a nice twist!
Whilst the game might seem like a bit of a novelty, I have enjoyed playing it with friends and family more than once – as each game can be pretty quick it makes a nice alternative to the Classic Monopoly if it is late at night or you are short on time!
Where can you buy Monopoly Empire?
As Monopoly Empire has been discontinued it is becoming more and more difficult to try and find a new copy of it.
I recommend looking in the following places for new or used copies:
What are the Monopoly Empire Rules?
The majority of the Monopoly Empire rules are very much like the Classic Monopoly rules. However, there are a few changes when it comes to the Free Parking, Passing GO and also the two dice that come with the game.
These differences make the rules slightly different and also are a reason why it makes these the game shorter than your usual Classic Monopoly games (as well as having a maximum of just four players during any one game too).
Take a read of our full in-depth guide to the Monopoly Empire Rules, Strategies and everything else.
