When comparing Monopoly vs Food Chain Magnate, the Slant community recommends Food Chain Magnate for most people. In the question“What are the best board games?” Food Chain Magnate is ranked 45th while Monopoly is ranked 69th. The most important reason people chose Food Chain Magnate is:
Each round in Food Chain Magnate players have the opportunity to compete for various milestones such as first to market a burger, first to hire 3 employees in one turn, or first to cook a pizza. These milestones are only available until the first turn a player completes them, after which point they are removed from the game. However, they provide very powerful bonuses to the players that reach them, leading to very tense rounds as players try to be the only one to unlock their preferred milestones while also completing the milestones that opponents unlock that round.
Specs
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Pros
Pro Many different editions
There are many different editions of Monopoly available including Junior and Anniversary. There is also a slew of themed Monopoly games such as Disney and Star Wars.
Pro Easy enough to understand for children
Monopoly is easy enough to understand the rules of and follow the gameplay for children above the age of 8.
Pro 2 to 6 playes
Monopoly can be played with as little as two players and as many as six. This makes it a very versatile game as it can be played one on one or with small gatherings.
Pro Incredibly tense gameplay
Each round in Food Chain Magnate players have the opportunity to compete for various milestones such as first to market a burger, first to hire 3 employees in one turn, or first to cook a pizza. These milestones are only available until the first turn a player completes them, after which point they are removed from the game. However, they provide very powerful bonuses to the players that reach them, leading to very tense rounds as players try to be the only one to unlock their preferred milestones while also completing the milestones that opponents unlock that round.
Pro Food Chain Magnate provides an excellent gaming experience focused around short term tactics and long term startegy
Food Chain Magnate has no randomness from things like dice or random card draws, instead, all of the information in the game is clearly presented on the table at all times for all players to see. This means that players win or lose based on how well they are able to play the game, not based on chance. To succeed, each player will need to find the right mix of tactics and strategy to build their empire.
Cons
Con Hard to come back
An early lead almost inevitably leads to a win.
Con Potential for early player elimination
A player may become bankrupt long before the end of the game.
Con Boring and predictable, only one strategy to win
Con Variant rules
Though not a fault of the game itself, most families have their own house rules, often omitting several such as:
- Auctioning any available property not purchased by the person landing on the square.
- Only purchasing houses / hotels once the complete set of properties of matching color are owned by the player.
- Gain money on Free Parking, which makes the game take too long.
Con In Food Chain Magnate mistakes tend to compound over time
Because of the heavy strategy emphasis in FCM there aren't many opportunities for players to recover from particularly bad mistakes, leaving them far behind the other players as the game progresses.