Monopoly GO has further developed the Facebook games and is performing as well as hardly any game before. It uses mechanics that are controversial in other games.
Monopoly GO is a popular mobile game for Android and iOS and is somewhat the successor to the Facebook games of the past. Just 10 months after launch and only 3 months after hitting the 1 billion USD mark, the game reached the milestone of 2 billion USD in revenue.
The game is fun, even when you don’t want it to be. Rewarding effects and sounds pull me into the game, even when I just want to quickly roll my dice.
My first steps in Monopoly GO went smoothly
But from the beginning: When I downloaded the game from the PlayStore at the beginning of the week, I knew nothing about the game. The GO only reminded me of Pokémon Go, which I really liked back then.
I am greeted at Monopoly GO with many big effects, nice music, and the Monopoly man telling me what to do:
- Press the big button to roll the dice, consuming one die
- Collect the reward there
- Look, there’s an event where you can earn even more rewards.
After about an hour in the game, I really get the hang of it, or rather the dice. The game doesn’t need to say much more, as I subconsciously understand what to do through red dots and glowing buttons.
I navigate through the first game fields without any problems and collect more and more rewards until I eventually run out of dice. “And now?” I wondered and found out that you can receive new dice through so-called dice links. We now have our own article on this: Monopoly GO: Get free dice in March 2024 – The current links
It’s all about cash – in the game and in real life
During my research, I was repeatedly greeted by various ads offering me sweet deals for dice and money. If you can’t roll anymore, this is the place to strike, currently also 300% more because you’re new, or because an event is happening.
The buy button is indeed quite large – while the close button is difficult for my young fingers to hit. If you don’t have any dice left and have used all links, you can only do two things without spending money: wait or invite friends on Facebook. For each successful invitation, you get dice.
Yes, Facebook is the most important platform for Monopoly GO. Just like in the old Farmville way, you can ask your friends on the platform to help you. Whether it’s for the community chest, for which you need 10 friends, or when you’re still missing the last sticker in the album.
Sticker albums are not as bad as Ultimate Team
In Monopoly GO, there are sticker albums that you must complete with 9 stickers each. For various events and other activities, there are sticker packs as rewards. You then draw random rewards like in Ultimate Team (EA FC) or Counter-Strike when opening crates. Here in the form of stickers.
However, in Monopoly GO, you cannot directly buy the stickers and the packs, which is a good thing. In Ultimate Team (EA FC) or Counter-Strike, you can spend hours opening packs; in Monopoly GO, you can only obtain them by actively playing. However, you are only allowed to exchange one sticker per day. There are special sticker groups on Facebook and other platforms for that.
Anyone who completes a sticker album receives dice and money again to progress in the game. The stickers keep the game quite active on the internet because there is always someone who wants to trade and is looking for a partner. Alternatively, you can also ask your Facebook friends for help, just like in the old days.
The prices in the shop are outrageous
The shop is not as special as in other games, probably because you don’t want to overwhelm the target audience of our parents with an incomprehensible shop. You can buy dice and money, and the more you buy, the more you get as a bonus.
In the in-game shop, 80 dice are offered for €5.99. So if you want to run 80 times after the free dice are used up, you have to pay €5.99.
At most, you can spend up to €99.99 for 3,200 dice there. There is also no shortage of packs and special offers. These pop up on the left side of the screen or are shown to you when you currently have no dice left.
Why exactly does Monopoly GO work so well?
The developers of Monopoly GO have taken a broad look at the gaming landscape and picked the best elements for their game.
- The music, the sounds during actions, the graphics, and effects feel rewarding
- You can play for a long time before taking a break. Depending on your preference, you can play the game daily for about 1 to 2 hours.
- On Facebook, you beg your friends to join the game, creating a sort of pyramid scheme that invites more and more people to play the game.
- There are many levels and you always feel like you are progressing.
- Monopoly GO can be played to some extent AFK – which allows it to run during television watching or when friends are visiting.
The positive aspects as well as its financial success show: Monopoly GO has elevated the principle of Facebook games to a new level.
Overall, Monopoly GO is actually fun, even though I can’t specifically describe which aspect exactly contributes to the enjoyment. All in all, I can play the game with both a critical and a laughing eye, as I would not have expected that this is how the future of Facebook games would look.
If you want to read more about the success of Monopoly GO, check this out: Your mom’s new favorite game, Monopoly GO, is more expensive and successful than you think
