The Born Loser by Art and Chip Sansom for August 11, 2020

I wish I had someone to play Monopoly with. I love that game.

When I was a kid we would take a break during the game and continue later. Sometimes the next day or even a few days. I’m still on a break from the game I started in 1966.

You want shorter? Try Fluxx or Exploding Kittens or Carcassonne. If you feel a game needs a board, you can play the NYC version of Ticket to Ride in under an hour.

I am wondering what the tokens would be in “The Born Loser” edition. I would guess one would be a car with a flat tire, The hat would have a hole in it, MIL would have to be a token, and Kewpie too, obviously, and of course, a straight jacket. Throw in Brutus as Mr. Moneybags, and you have a game.

It doesn’t take that long for Brutus to lose the game.

When you get to be Dad’s age, Monopoly becomes “real life”.

Monopoly can drag on for a long time if you do not set a time limit before hand.

Look! Uncle PennyBags is Brutus! He’s not a looser!

“RISK” is more bloodthirsty. Play with a Q.P. on the table and many bags of munchies!

That’s exactly how I feel about Monopoly. When I was a teenager, (50 years ago) we (my boy buddies) used to have all night Monopoly games in the garage. Lots of pop and snacks. It was fun then – but now, you couldn’t pay me to play the game – pun intended.

I just noticed it’s the Born Loser edition, so it won’t take long at all.

It’s all those added “house rules” that drag the game out.

I liked regular Monopoly when I was a kid but can’t stand it now. Last Christmas I bought Monopoly Junior for grandchild and it is much simpler, you get the feel of regular Monopoly but each game ends in about half an hour, before it runs out of fun.I also tried Yahtzee Junior, and it’s really awesome, simple enough for a 4-year-old but just as fun for adults as regular Yahtzee.

I did develop a way to track game progress so that games could be completed if stopped in the middle.

Board games were tough; Dad would always figure out how to win. He told us losing built character, more than cheating, anyway. It was better than the babysitting couple who would win our allowances off us at poker. :)