Monopoly Deal
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| Monopoly Deal

As Gordon Ramsay is fond of saying, there are certain British staples you just don't mess with. Why serve up the traditional Sunday roast on a square plate with some pretentious sauces, for instance, when a plain ol' Yorkshire pud, tatties and a slab of beef hits the right spot?

Monopoly, too, is an old favourite on the British Isles, though EA's card-crazy spin proves that you can breathe new life into an old format - as long as you stay focused on what made the original great in the first place.

Remaining firmly faithful to the original boardgame, Monopoly Deal manages to transfer the idea of reaping the rewards from a stellar property portfolio like a true city gent into a turn-based card game with some style, dealing out a bite-sized chunk of real estate royalty.

The main difference, aside from the fact that Deal trades in the actual board for a set of cards, is that, rather than trying to put all of your rivals out of business, notching up a win is merely a case of piecing together three full colour sets.

All of Monopoly's districts have made the leap - from the classy, expensive dark blues of Park Lane and Mayfair to the derelict browns of the Old Kent and Whitechapel Roads, as has the idea of building houses or hotels on completed sets to increase their rent value.

However, Monopoly Deal isn't a free for all, and with each player taking it in turns to pick up two cards to build on their initial line-up of five, exchanging and even stealing plots off your neighbours relies on you picking up the cards that enable you to do so.

As well as a batch of assorted 'deal' cards (when played, you can force one of the other players to swap plots, or even hand over an entire completed set to you) and the properties themselves, there are also cards you can bank to build up your finances.

Doing so is an incredibly important lifeline. Paying out to your rivals is a constant drain on your finances, whether it's in the form of rent or buying them an expensive birthday gift when prompted. If your bank account has run dry, your only option is to hand over any plots you've declared on the table, not only damaging your own portfolio but also helping to build up your foes' in the process.

Much of Monopoly Deal is a question of courage, balancing the need to put together three property sets with the urge to protect the cards in your pack from the other players.

Cards are only vulnerable when you declare them on the table. With up to three moves available with each go, it can be tempting to hold your cards back until the last minute to save them being stolen, but doing so also means you can't pull in any rent from your portfolio, fudging your finances and, usually, resulting in you being left behind before you've even got started.

It's a brilliant set-up that makes each and every battle winnable and, in turn, losable by all. However comfortable you might feel, it only takes a few key cards to completely turn the tables without you even noticing, the meekest player coming from behind to notch up a round win in a matter of seconds.

And that, perhaps, is the game's only drawback. Play is so good, so tight and so absorbing that the fact it only takes three full sets to win actually tends to kill off the game when the going is just getting good.

Monopoly Deal tries to extend play in its Story mode, which sees you playing mini-tournaments against up to three rivals, but it's the matches themselves that seem to end a little prematurely. Very rarely will you ever get the chance to make use of money spinners such as Park Lane before the end of a game, for instance.

Giving players the option of pushing back the winning post would do Monopoly Deal's tense and tenacious gameplay the justice it deserves, but even in its current state, there's enough meat to ensure that it's an utter treat.

Short and beautifully sweet, the very fact many will feel a little short changed only goes to prove just how rich EA's ode to the entrepreneur actually is.

Monopoly Deal

Taking a very old job and teaching it some smart new tricks, Monopoly Deal manages to incorporate the original game's firm foundations, resulting in a quick, combative card game that leaves you eager for more
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Keith Andrew
Keith Andrew
With a fine eye for detail, Keith Andrew is fuelled by strong coffee, Kylie Minogue and the shapely curve of a san serif font. He's also Pocket Gamer's resident football gaming expert and, thanks to his work on PG.biz, monitors the market share of all mobile OSes on a daily basis.