New Monopoly in Quarantine

Monopoly, is it that classical game we play during our childhood years with our friends and families members.... however, with technologies such as the iPhone, Smartphones or any electronic gaming devices we now own in our everyday usage, the gameboard had been placed in the attic or basement collecting dust particles.

With the quarantine that quickly swept America as we know it, the activities had been limited down that we can only entertain ourselves with those stimulus nearby, and when we enjoyed such stimulus for a long time. We simply get BORED. So whether is it a game of Chess, Poker, or even the Don't Break The Ice, these games can be our most entertaining and joyful time in quarantine at home during COVID-19.

While some may like short and rapid paced game, a absolutely slow but surely adrenaline fulfilling as well game is Monopoly! For those whom have never heard or know of Monopoly, just think of a Dice being rolled for a certain amount of each space being moved on a certain direction. Precisely, is it a gameboard that goes around in a complete circle in an rectangle board. In it, there are names of famous properties or location such as the Boardwalk, Pennsylvania Avenue, or New York Avenue. Examples of these properties can be brought at certain price that can be rented out to those unfortunate players whom stumbled; rolled, unto your property.

Par example, say you landed on Kentucky Avenue, if another player owned the property, you can be expected to pay the rent for landing there due to your unfortunate luck. The rent could be as low as 18 or as high as 1050 if there is an hotel placed on the property, leaving your opponent smiling from ear to ear because you really rolled an bad dice. Meanwhile, for the property owner to increase rent, they simply have to buy another House until it could become an Hotel at an certain cost, whether that be 50, 100, or 150 as the most common upgrade cost, but a rare few could be priced at 200 to simply upgrade or add another House!

So how do we play Monopoly? The simplest answer is to roll an dice and go to town with the game as you learn about the game that way with a friend or family member. You first start out with an certain amount of cash or money on hand that you then collect 200 more each time you pass the box "GO," your initial spot. You would then continue this motion for as long as you can with your cash on hand as you purchase certain properties in an strategic fight for space. This strategic purchase could mean the difference between bankruptcy or winning the game entirely.

Playing the location strategy is a great idea, but purchasing high-ends properties that cost an tremendous sum of money is a poor choice. Starting off with properties that cost in the 60s to 160s dollars is the best bet to bet on as you play the game. Is it also of huge importance that you do not place your bet on one location and upgrade it to an hotel, but instead buy as many properties as you can so that these locations can then be upgraded by buying more Houses or Hotel. A strategy most commonly used is to buy the properties in a location where whatever the values that your opponent roll; one to six, would still end up at your property. So this is why early on the game, you don't want to spend all of your cash on upgrading the property but instead buying them so that your opponent cannot go through without landing on one of your property.

So what else is inside Monopoly? Well, if your luck is terrible. You can pretty much ended up with a bankruptcy in your unfortunate draws of an Community Chest or Chances Cards because "You are Assessed for Street Repairs" or "Make General Repairs on all of your property" which include a hefty amount for each Hotels or Houses that you owns on all of your properties. However, bad luck doesn't merely end there. You could be sent to an certain location or spot simply due to an bad card that may be owned by another player, which meant paying rent. Or perhaps your luck is okay and you didn't go to another location owned by another player but instead got the card "Go to Jail." Well, you are going to be in a miserable experience if the locations near you are all owned and any numerical values of one to six still lands you on an opponent property. However, there are also positive side to the Chances or Community Chest cards, whether that be the Bank giving you money or you arriving at "GO" instantly. This therefore make it both a blessing to receive and a pain to read of your selected card.

In addition, the fact that we are living in a time of quarantine meant we have to get creative with how we play. In a interesting twist, the likelihood of your gym being closed is high. So exercising at home is your best solution, so why not combine that with a game of Monopoly?

You can play Monopoly using this simple rule setup:

-1, starting out with a certain amount of cash on hand; in which I suggest 1500 to make the game much more competitive later onward.

-2, only after a certain amount of rounds passing "GO" can you then buy properties on the board; a good number is two.

-3, cannot borrow or own debt to the Bank.

-4, any Money owned due to rent can be paid by either CASH on hand or EXERCISING to pay off debt or rent. This could be as simple as doing a Pushup, Sit-up, or Jumping Jacks that each amount equals an certain amount of cash. Say you own 200 and it was decided that each exercise set equal 10 dollar. So you would have to either do 20 of Sit-up, Jumping Jacks, or Push-up.

In truth, the game never ends unless you or your opponents call it quit in that either you ran out of cash; bankrupt, or are too tired from the exercise. This type of gameplay is meant to have fun in a way in that you would last longer in a battle of physical exercise, therefore the winner because the other players call it quit to stop the game.