The Digital Reader

A couple days ago EA released a Kindle app version of Monopoly, the classic board game from Hasbro. I immediately got it, and now I regret spending the $2.50. I don’t think that anyone will play this game very long before they abandon it.

This version of Monopoly has all the features you’d expect. You can play with 2 to 4 players, either people or AI. you can pick your game piece. There are 3 AI difficulty levels. You can play under the classic rules or you can change the rules to suit yourself (I always play with $200 in free parking). You can even swap or sell properties between players.

I’m not happy with the game play. If you’re playing against the AI, you have to move for it. You have to click to roll its dice, click to move its piece, click so it can buy the property, and then click so it the next AI can take a turn. Multiply that by 3 AI characters and you begin to appreciate my irritation. Heck, you might as well play all positions yourself. It’s more fun with the same amount of work.

One other part that bugs me is the lack of sound. The Kindle has speakers. Why didn’t EA use sound to enhance game play? It would have been fun to hear the dice rattle when you roll them. Also, they could have added a sound similar to the click-click-click of a game piece hitting the board as it moves (I still do that with the board game).

I’m really beginning to get the impression that EA isn’t putting all that much thought into their Kindle games.  Too many of their games would work better with a touchscreen, and the ones that don’t just aren’t very good.