Playing Monopoly this Christmas

[Dis86]

unfortunately table top gaming has moved on and there are far better experiences then monopoly, those who like the traditional monopoly will not be the sort of people to use an app. those that will use an app for a game are more likely to be aware of games such as Ticket to Ride and many other far better table top experiences including some that have official apps.

on a side note, I always wanted to be the banker growing up when I played monopoly as it adds much more to the game then just roll, buy and build.

I use apps. I like monopoly.

I play it with people who use and write apps.

 

[C.R.A.Z.Y]

Monopoly is as dull as dishwater, ditch it and get the family playing this!
Sooooooooo funny

 

[platypus]

We play lots of board games all the time, not just at Christmas.

The wife won't play Monopoly though ever since I creatively worked around the rules and screwed her royally (ooermissus).

 

[Cosimo]

Don't get to play much Monopoly these days as I have a reputation for obtaining free bank loans.

 

[ToejaM]

On a different note here, we have the world edition with the electronic banker thing. We've had the game for a couple of years but not actually played it, the fianceé decided she wanted a game a couple of months ago, mid way through the game.. the electronic bank decided to just crash and not work anymore which then makes the entire board game obsolete, this actually provides a FREE fix in cases like this, which is great.

I also wasn't too keen on being the banker for everyone using the card system, by giving everyone a little responsibility it should make the game more fluid.

I think not having it on both apple and android is going to limit its downloads vastly. I guess one person can already manage several players to get around this though?

One suggestion I would make, is to put a "share" option within the game to share the game in places like whatsapp and text messages.

Another would be to have the app check whos still connected in the case of peoples battery dying, and allow someone else to take control of that 'account' as it were until that person is back 'online'.

 

[kayomani]

Monopoly is as dull as dishwater, ditch it and get the family playing this!
Sooooooooo funny

COH is pretty boring once you've played it a few times.

Bucket of doom is similar but vastly better replayability.

 

[Mr. Brightside]

The wife won't play Monopoly though ever since I creatively worked around the rules and screwed her royally (ooermissus).

What's the workaround?

I think not having it on both apple and android is going to limit its downloads vastly. I guess one person can already manage several players to get around this though?

You're right, of course. It's just that developing an Apple version is not something I could do. But yes, one person can manage several players, so it should still work well so long as at least say half of the players in a game have Android phones.

One suggestion I would make, is to put a "share" option within the game to share the game in places like whatsapp and text messages.

Suggestion noted, thank you

Another would be to have the app check whos still connected in the case of peoples battery dying, and allow someone else to take control of that 'account' as it were until that person is back 'online'.

I make the app disconnect as soon as players leave the app and even when they are in the app but with their screen off. This is mainly to minimise battery usage. If I made it so accounts can be taken over when the owner has disconnected, how would I prevent the mechanism being used for hostile takeovers? Provided players notice if/when their battery is about to fail, they can use the "Transfer identity" option to voluntarily transfer ownership to another player's phone.

 

[ToejaM]

My idea for a solution?

Have an option within the app for each person to set an identity password, this is auto used on joining of a game session. If no password is set, user is prompted to create a password or set a temporary password.

If the identity then falls during the game, players are given the option to enter the password to take control of the identity.

Failing this, it could be either put to a vote to all players or up to the game creator to assign the fallen identity to another player. If its the game creator.. the second person to join the game and so on or again, down to a vote.

For further security it could require the password for all transactions, making the password simple like a pin code would keep things quick.

I only suggest this as there are loads of reasons for batteries dying even if you know its low, if you get an important phone call, you go out for a smoke break (I dont smoke, thus people go out of my house to smoke) or if people are drunk and just dont notice. Additionally.. if you're like my fianceé you have a tendency to drop your phone into cereal and brick it.

Could also add an option for any player to alert the game session that another player is no longer there or has been disconnected due to fault and requires a takeover, therefore avoiding the need to keep the app open at all times and allow for identities to save battery by being disconnected but remaining idle.

Another game function that allows an identity to be re-taken over to another device using the same pin.

 

[Mr. Brightside]

My idea for a solution?

Have an option within the app for each person to set an identity password, this is auto used on joining of a game session. If no password is set, user is prompted to create a password or set a temporary password.

If the identity then falls during the game, players are given the option to enter the password to take control of the identity.

Failing this, it could be either put to a vote to all players or up to the game creator to assign the fallen identity to another player. If its the game creator.. the second person to join the game and so on or again, down to a vote.

For further security it could require the password for all transactions, making the password simple like a pin code would keep things quick.

Thanks. Unfortunately this would require rewriting too much of the protocol. I do intend to implement small tweaks here and there and generally keep it up to date, but not to make changes of that scale. Perhaps if it had proved more popular and I had a financial incentive, but as it is, the main purpose was for the learning I got from developing the backend (and also as a bit of a portfolio item).

I only suggest this as there are loads of reasons for batteries dying even if you know its low, if you get an important phone call, you go out for a smoke break (I dont smoke, thus people go out of my house to smoke) or if people are drunk and just dont notice. Additionally.. if you're like my fianceé you have a tendency to drop your phone into cereal and brick it.

Even if a battery does die, the current system allows recovery without having to fully recharge provided there is a charger available *somewhere* -- even if not near the game. Just plug the dead phone in and switch it on for long enough to transfer the identity to another player's phone. I think if someone actually breaks their phone their inability to continue playing would be the least of their worries

Although... thinking about it more, even if someone's phone does get completely trashed, even that can be recovered from in the current system. It isn't necessary for players to complete games with the same identity that they started with. Another one can just be created for them on another phone and the bank can send them an amount equal to the balance of the identity on the failed phone. Then players just resume play but being careful to send to the new identity. Even if they make a mistake the bank can reimburse them for the "lost" funds sent to the dead identity.

Another game function that allows an identity to be re-taken over to another device using the same pin.

Not sure I understand what you're saying here. Can you rephrase?