Family game

Monopoly Junior

Monopoly for little ones: one die, simple rules, half an hour

2–4players · best with 2-4
20–30 minplaying time
5+recommended age
Learning curve
Very easy1 / 5
EasyDemanding
Luck & skill
Mostly luck
LuckSkill
Interaction
Medium
Set-up
About 5 min
Reading
Little

The quick verdict

Full verdict ↓

Great for Children of about 5 to 8 meeting Monopoly for the first time

Think twice if Your children are 9 or older and ready for full Monopoly or Business

How we rate it

Learning curve. One die, no building, no trading and compulsory buying: a five-year-old can follow it after a round, so it sits with UNO and Connect 4 at 1 on our scale.

Luck & skill. You must buy whatever free property you land on and you can't trade, so the die decides almost everything. That's the point: nobody loses because of a bad decision.

Interaction. You pay rent to each other and cheer when someone lands on your property, but there's no bargaining or trading.

Set-up. Give out the tokens, character cards and Sold signs, deal the notes for the number of players, and shuffle the Chance cards. Wikipedia puts set-up at under five minutes.

Reading. Mostly pictures and numbers. The Chance cards carry a line of English each, which a grown-up can read out.

Learning curve: 1 = UNO or Connect 4; 3 = Catan; 5 = a heavy strategy game. These describe the experience, not an overall score.

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Is Monopoly Junior right for you?

Great if

  • Children of about 5 to 8 meeting Monopoly for the first time
  • Practising counting, adding and paying with small notes
  • A game that ends in under half an hour, before little ones lose interest
  • Grandparents, cousins and older siblings playing with the youngest during school holidays

Skip it if

  • Your children are 9 or older and ready for full Monopoly or Business
  • You want real choices: buying is compulsory, so the die decides most of the game
  • There's a toddler at home who puts small pieces in their mouth

How Monopoly Junior plays

Set-up: each player picks a token, takes the matching 'Who's Your Token?' card and that token's Sold signs, and puts the token on GO. The banker hands out the notes: 20 each with two players, 18 each with three and 16 each with four. Shuffle the Chance cards and put them face down on the board.

  • Time to teach: about 5 minutes.
  • Reading and language: The board is mostly pictures and numbers. The Chance cards and the game guide have short English text that a grown-up can read aloud, so children who can't read yet can still play. We found no Hindi or other Indian-language edition of Monopoly Junior.
An older Monopoly Junior in play (German edition) · Photo: Achim Raschka, CC BY-SA 4.0

How to play Monopoly Junior · Triple S Games

Choose a video · Watch right here

If this creator doesn’t allow embedded playback, watch on YouTube ↗.

A turn, step by step

  1. 1
    Roll

    Roll the one die and move your token. Passing or landing on GO pays you 2.

  2. 2
    Buy

    Land on a free property and you must buy it, then mark it with one of your Sold signs.

  3. 3
    Pay

    Land on someone else's property and pay them rent, double if they own both of that colour.

  4. 4
    Win

    When a player can't pay, the game stops and the richest player wins.

Read the official rulesMonopoly Junior Game Instructions (Hasbro item A6984) · English
The full explanation: how a game of Monopoly Junior goes

On your turn, roll the single die and move. Land on a property nobody owns and you must buy it: pay the bank the amount printed on the space and put one of your Sold signs on it. Land on one someone else owns and you pay them rent, double if they own both properties of that colour. There are no houses, hotels, mortgages or auctions, and you collect 2 from the bank whenever you land on or pass GO.

The rest of the board is simple too. Chance cards bring surprises, and there is no Community Chest. Land on Go to Jail and you move straight to Jail without collecting anything at GO; at the start of your next turn you pay 1 or use a Get Out of Jail Free card. Free Parking and Just Visiting do nothing.

The game ends the moment a player can't pay rent, buy a property or pay a fee. Everyone else counts their money and the richest player wins; if two players tie, the one with more properties wins.

Tip: with a five-year-old, let a grown-up be the banker and read the Chance cards aloud. When the children start asking to build houses and make deals, they're ready to move on to full Monopoly or Business.

What's in the box

The board, notes and Sold signs (an earlier box design) · Photo: FirstCry
  • 1Gameboard
    Monopoly Town, with spots like the Ice Cream Parlour, Skate Park and Zoo
  • 4Junior tokens
    Hasbro's current list: Little Scottie, Little T-Rex, Little Penguin and Toy Ducky
  • 4'Who's Your Token?' character cards
  • 20Chance cards
  • 48Sold signs
    to mark the properties you own
  • 90Monopoly notes
  • 1Die
  • 1Game guide

Contents from Hasbro's consumer care page for the classic Monopoly Junior (item A6984). Hasbro says adult assembly is needed and it contains small parts, so it is not for children under 3. Older boxes had different tokens (a car, boat, cat and dog), and we couldn't confirm the contents of the box sold in India. The two-sided '2 Games in 1' version has more: 6 tokens, 16 title deed cards, two sets of 20 Chance cards, 72 Sold signs and 180 notes.

Where to buy

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How to make sure you get a genuine copyEditions and the details worth checking.

About the editions

Our Amazon.in button goes to the classic Monopoly Junior, Hasbro's Monopoly Town game for ages 5 and up. We couldn't confirm whether the box sold in India is made here or imported, so check that the box and listing name Hasbro. The Peppa Pig, Super Mario and two-sided '2 Games in 1' versions are separate listings, so make sure you're buying the one you want.

Before you choose

  • The box should carry the Hasbro Gaming logo and the Monopoly Junior name, and the listing should name Hasbro or Monopoly as the brand.
  • Check the contents against Hasbro's list for the classic game: a gameboard, 4 tokens, 20 Chance cards, 48 Sold signs, 90 notes, 1 die, 4 'Who's Your Token?' cards and a game guide.
  • The classic Monopoly Junior has one die and no houses or hotels. A 'junior' money game with two dice and buildings is a different game.
  • Children's business and property games from other brands are separate products under their own names, not Hasbro's Monopoly Junior.
  • Themed boxes (Peppa Pig, Super Mario, Bluey) are real Hasbro editions with their own listings; they are not copies, just different boards.

What reviewers and players say

We found no independent reviews or forum threads we could read about Monopoly Junior, so this rests on Hasbro's own description and Wikipedia's account of the rules. On paper it does one job well: it gives children of about 5 to 8 the fun of buying places and collecting rent in a game that finishes within half an hour, with small sums they can count themselves. The same simplicity is its limit: buying is compulsory and there is no trading or building, so the die decides the winner and older children soon want the real thing. Treat it as a first step towards full Monopoly or Business, not a replacement.

What people love

  • Short games, usually under half an hour
  • Counting and paying with small notes is good number practice for young children
  • Very few rules: one die, no houses, hotels or mortgages
  • Children feel grown-up owning places and collecting rent

Common complaints

  • Few real decisions, because you must buy whatever you land on
  • The game can end suddenly when one player runs out of money
  • Older children outgrow it quickly
Based on 4 reviews and discussions

Summarised in our own words from the sources above. We don't use Amazon reviews or ratings.

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Why consider itThis game

Monopoly for little ones: one die, simple rules, half an hour

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Players2–42–62–42–4
Best with2-43-43-43-4
Play time20–30 min1–6 hrs1–2.5 hrs45–60 min
Age5+8+8+8+
RulesEasyEasyMediumEasy
Indian editionImportedImportedAvailableAvailable
On this pageExplore Monopoly Explore Business Explore The Game of Life

Questions people ask about Monopoly Junior

What is the difference between Monopoly and Monopoly Junior?

Monopoly Junior uses one die, a smaller 24-space board and small notes, and you must buy every free property you land on. There are no houses, hotels, mortgages, auctions or Community Chest cards, and the game ends as soon as one player can't pay. Full Monopoly is for 8 and up and can take a couple of hours; Monopoly Junior takes under half an hour.

What age is Monopoly Junior for?

Hasbro says 5 and up, for 2 to 4 players. Children need to count spaces and add small amounts, so a grown-up helping as banker works well at first. Hasbro's two-sided '2 Games in 1' version starts even younger, at 4.

How much money do you start with in Monopoly Junior?

It depends on how many are playing: 20 each with two players, 18 each with three and 16 each with four. You collect 2 every time you land on or pass GO.

How do you win Monopoly Junior?

The game stops the moment one player can't pay rent, buy a property or pay a fee. Everyone else counts their money and the richest player wins. If there's a tie, the player with more properties wins.

Should I buy Monopoly Junior or the '2 Games in 1' version?

The classic Monopoly Junior, which our button links to, has one board for 2 to 4 players aged 5 and up. Hasbro's '2 Games in 1' box has a two-sided board with an easier Level 1 for ages 4 to 5 and a Level 2 for 6 and up, for up to 6 players. If your youngest is under 5 or you have a big family, the two-sided box stretches further.

Game facts

Publisher
Hasbro (originally Parker Brothers)
First published
1990
Players
2–4
Language
Little reading – The board is mostly pictures and numbers. The Chance cards and the game guide have short English text that a grown-up can read aloud, so children who can't read yet can still play. We found no Hindi or other Indian-language edition of Monopoly Junior.
Sources & photo creditsThe references behind this guide.