Despicable Me 2 Monopoly - Review

I recently placed a pre-order for 2 monopoly sets, not just any monopoly but Despicable Me 2 monopoly with... the popular and well-loved minions included! The recent June holidays was great - I basically watched as many shows as any kid on a holiday break - from Monsters University to Turbo and of course to Despicable Me 2. I had a great time with Dumpling and my mummy friends with the movie play dates.

I have to own up that I love those minions (but not enough to queue over at Mackers for those toys though) but I prefer the plush, bags (yup, ordered one too and waiting for arrival) and... the monopoly set!

I first saw the set while surfing and I later received an email blast from an online spree organizer too. I totally missed out on the deadline and was kinda mad with myself till I saw it at Joli Petite

Dumpling and I had a go at the game over the weekend. Here's our take.

:: Overview 

This set is even simpler (when it comes to the rules) than the Junior set. It states that it's for kids from 5+ and needs adult assembly. However, I think that it should be fine for 4+ too as the rules are pretty straightforward and the 'track' fairly small.

It has a total of 24 'steps' in total on the track with the usual 'jail', 'free parking', etc.

Money wise - it only has denominations of M$1 which is a 'banana buck'.

What it consists of:

• 4 minion tokens
• spinner pod with Nom Nom Tom minion
• game track
• game tray (plus 2 clips)
• 16 Cupcake tokens
• 8 Ice-Cream Sundae tokens
• 16 Property cards
• 16 Chance cards
• Banana Bucks and game guide

:: Design

The design is very true to the story where it features various elements from the story - from The Girls Room, to The Pyramid to Lucy's Car and to... The Moon (from the first movie).

Now, instead of just a traditional board, for this set, the board has somewhat a 'tiered' design where it features an arena with other minions on the side 'cheering on' as the base.

Now, what's the arena used for? Instead of a die, it uses a 'top' where the player spins and the number of steps to move will depend on the number the top points to. What's different about it? Check out the spinner - aka Nom Nom Tom minion

:: Game rules

For 2-4 players, the aim of the game is similar to the traditional fast-dealing property version - to get as many banana bucks as possible. This is done through the 'collection' of money from the other players who land on your property.

Now, with the purchase of 1 property, a cupcake is placed on the board. If you managed to buy property of the same color, your cupcake gets 'upgraded' to a sundae which yields you more banana bucks collected from the other players if they were to land on them (see picture above).

:: What I like about it

Clearly this game rides on the popularity of the movie and the minion fever. The characters and design are wonderfully 'true' - check out the details on the minions below :)

I love the chance cards and how they relate back to the movie and how some are a tad 'villianous'...

:: What I feel could have been done better

Like all monopoly sets, I like that this board game allows the kiddo to learn counting on but unlike the other sets, the denomination of the Minion currency is just set to M$1. 

I feel that this is a pity as it would have been wonderful for the children to have the chance to work on simple subtraction and addition of money.

Another thing which annoys me is that the minion keeps falling off from the top! Every 2 spins definitely guarantees him falling off.

Overall, an entertaining board game with lovely illustrations and cute references to the movie and characters. Dumpling and I played it twice over the weekend so she does enjoy it a lot. Definitely a keeper for fans :)