While older versions of Star Wars Monopoly were basically reskins of the original Monopoly game, some newer editions are making significant gameplay changes. For The Mandalorian edition, the game’s creators added character powers, enemies and added bonuses for protecting the Child, Grogu, who was still unnamed at the time of the game’s creation. While these changes were done to better emulate the television show, they also shorten the game, addressing some players’ complaints about how long Monopoly games can last.
The game board itself still looks like a reskin of classic Monopoly. While players are purchasing “hideouts” instead of properties, hideouts are still grouped into “neighborhoods” by color. The Jail, Free Parking, Go directly to Jail and Go spaces are also still there. The game board is a little smaller than the traditional board. Now, each neighborhood only has two properties, while in regular Monopoly, the neighborhoods can have either two or three properties. Chance and Community Chest spaces have been combined into Signet card spaces, and there are fewer of them on the board. Also, the utility spaces have been replaced with “hyperspace jump” spaces, and the train spaces have been replaced with Imperial Advance and Imperial Outposts. While the rest of the board is standard, slightly shrinking the board serves as part of this edition’s goal to shorten gameplay. Fewer spaces mean players can advance quicker, but enemies are harder to avoid.
Click the button below to start this article in quick view.
The biggest change in The Mandalorian Monopoly is the addition of enemies. There are three enemy tokens: Incinerator Stormtrooper, Death Trooper and Moff Gideon. If a player lands on the same space as an enemy, they must battle the enemy by rolling dice and beating a certain number. If a player is protecting the Child, the stakes of combat are higher. For example, if a player loses combat to Moff Gideon while protecting the Child, the Empire wins, and the players all lose. If a player defeats Moff Gideon, the game still ends because the Child is no longer in danger. Thus, the enemies make the game much shorter than traditional Monopoly games and showcase the importance of protecting Grogu from Imperial capture, as seen in the series.
Unlike older editions of the game, character choice matters in The Mandalorian Monopoly. Players can choose between playing The Mandalorian, Cara Dune, Kuiil and IG-11. Each character has special abilities that affect gameplay. For example, a player who chooses Kuiil pays 10 credits less for properties, and if Kuiil is protecting the Child, the player pays 30 credits less for properties. In contrast, if a player chooses IG-11, they add one to their roll in combat, and if IG-11 is protecting the Child, the player adds three to the roll.
The Child is not a playable character but an additional token that players can protect. The player who has the Child gets the aforementioned boosted character ability powers and an additional die to roll when traversing the board and combat. Therefore, character choice is an essential part of player strategy, and the focus of the game is divided between protecting the Child, hideout acquisition and enemy combat.
The Mandalorian Monopoly is another instance of game developers becoming more innovative with media tie-in games for classic board game properties than they were in the past. It is important to note that the Monopoly: Star Wars The Child edition of the game is much simpler and is closer to the original version’s rules. Still, The Mandalorian editions of Star Wars Monopoly create a faster, more exciting experience clearly inspired by the show.
About The Author
