Utopoly
April 25, 2010Every so often, Phil pulls Monopoly out of our living-room chest of board games. I admire his ambition, but how do you play Monopoly with a three-year-old?
I finally decided how. (1) You roll one die (rather than two dice) to make counting easy. (2) When you land on a property, you simply receive money that is the same color as the property. (Landing on a red property entitles you to a red hotel, since there are no red bills.) (3) The game ends after one lap around the board. The winner is the person who circled the board the fastest, or the person with the most money, depending on how the three-year-old did and whether he needs to be cheered up.
This may seem like a utopian version of the game, and indeed it is. I even call it “Utopoly.” Lest you think that my rules are a misguided attempt to shield my child from all possible unpleasantness, though, I should note that Phil gets sent to jail when he lands on the policeman square, just like any adult.
Going to jail, it turns out, is his favorite part of the game.
My Track Record 
That sounds perfect.