Monopoly

There's a story in my family that, while probably embellished, still pops up every time board games are mentioned. According to myth, my father and grandmother played a game of Monopoly. Midway through, after a particularly nasty move, my grandmother flipped the board and loudly declared she never should have had kids.

That's the power of this monstrous game. I've never liked it. No matter what skins they put on it.

With that said, Monopoly, the digital version out now on consoles and PC, released by Ubisoft, is probably the best way to play the game. It is the most palatable I've found so far, even if I'm not going to seek it out for recreation any time soon.

The basics are the same as ever. Monopoly has barely changed in its hundred-year lifespan. Players choose totems, roll dice, and compete to see who can own the most and bankrupt others fastest. What began as an indictment of the capitalist system has become one of its most iconic marketing tools.

You can choose either a 3D or traditional 2D board. The latter is probably a more accurate depiction, but I found the 3D setting, complete with atmospheric surroundings and a day-and-night-cycle(!), more inspired.

Little things stand out. You throw dice either by a traditional button push or through motion controls, which gives the digital version a more tactile feel. The dice interact with objects on the table, including the totems – which you can knock over out of sheer petty joy.

If things go royally south, you can even flip the entire board over. Everything resets instantly afterward, so it's not as final a move as it would be in real life. But it's a fun addition; one that shows the developers understand their material to a T.

The settings are uniformly robust as well. You're no longer tied to long marathon sessions if you so choose. Instead, you can pick out specific targets for winning scenarios. Like who owns the most hotels in a set amount of time. It allows for brisk showdowns with friends that don't take over the entire evening. I appreciate quality-of-life updates like this. Something that doesn't take away from the core gameplay, but instead emphasizes areas that already work.

There's also a level of accessibility I found joyful: You only need a single controller to play, no matter how many players are involved. It feels like passing the dice across a real table. It's not an innovation, but it is something that I feel is overlooked too easily these days.

There's very little to say about Monopoly that hasn't been said before. It's a tradition at this point. A game that everyone knows, even if they haven't played it. It's not as sophisticated as Chess or as perfectly designed as Tetris, but there is a reason it endures – even beyond the obvious financial one.

Monopoly is easy to pick up and play. It engages us on a primal level. This digital version captures those aspects and brings the experience to living rooms and handhelds in a way that feels simple but is harder to accomplish than you'd think. As an adaptation, it's superb. It's just the game itself I find heinous.

If you like Monopoly, you'll love a version you can carry without a huge game board. For families with limited space – or just a desire to engage with the material digitally – it's as good of a party game as any.

On the other hand, if you're like me and don't enjoy Monopoly, there's very little here to change your mind. You can admire the efforts and the lovingly crafted details all day and still recognize that beneath all that is still the same game.

In that sense, Ubisoft has accomplished what it set out to do: Monopoly is Monopoly in every sense. How much that means to you is entirely subjective.