Triopoly Monopoly Style Game Board Game

Editorial Review:
Reveal has taken a well-known concept--Monopoly--and made it three-dimensional. The object of the game is to become the wealthiest player through city development and property purchases. Two to eight players can choose a one- or three-level game, depending on time and the desired level of challenge. The three-level version requires stacking and matching three boards. Players roll dice to land on properties or instruction squares, and get further directives from stock market or travel cards. Strategizing requires attention and fairly good math skills. Triopoly is an informal and clever way to introduce teenagers (and adults!) to the world of finance. There's a little of everything: wheeling and dealing, gambling, and some serious investment calculation. The game is attractive and well designed, with easy-to-follow rules. A nice fact for the conscientious buyer: Reveal funds research that seeks a cure for multiple sclerosis. --Sandy Hirsch

It's Better Than Monopoly:
I was dating a girl back in 1999 when she suggested we each spend $20 to get this "new game" called Triopoly. Being a huge fan of Monopoly, and even more excited that a female would suggest such a grand idea out of thin air, I went with her to a game shoppe she already knew about in a local mall and bought it with her. With just the two of us, we decided to keep a running score. (I usually won - and talked trash to boot.) We played all three levels every time. There would be stalemates (as sometimes happens even in Monopoly), and some games lasted up to 6 or 8 hours - I forget; I wasn't really paying attention - but we never had a game last less than 2 hours. We broke up a year later. I kept the game, but not without her verbally objecting to it: "So I guess you are going to keep Tripoloy then, huh?" So I gave her $20 and she was gone. (True story.) Anyway, enough about me and my history with Triopoly. I love this game. It is not any more "three-dimensional" than Monopoly is, but there are certainly way more features and variations than Monopoly. Basically, in order to have three levels to play with, the cities were expanded to the three layers by adding famous streets. So now you can form a monopoly with 2 to 4 properties/streets, but that requires you to visit all three levels and act accordingly. (You can play with fewer levels, but I bought the game only to play all three.) As you work your way up, the prices climb and the rewards and penalties start to skew. Transportation was altered to be trucking, shipping, and airline - no more trains, Mr. 1930s. I really like the three-level interface and trying to acquire monopolies by visiting the different levels. Usually what happens is, the bottom level can get bought up first unless someone strategizes (and takes a risk) to go up the levels to try to block monopolies or buy level-specific streets (like the two from Phoenix, AZ that only exist on the 3rd Level). I also like the added game of chance when you land on the gambling tiles (Atlantic City and Las Vegas). There are other elements to really rake in the dough, but of course, it thus is easier to lose a lot of it, too. I recommend this game for people who enjoy countless hours of sitting, looking at a board, and strategizing (using mathematical and/or accounting abilities). I am a pretty disciplined person when it comes to neatness, order, organization, numbers, and finance. Hence, I love this game and don't mind the time requirements. Trying to find someone who will play with me is my biggest challenge, and I ask EVERYBODY I make friends with, "Do you like Monopoly?" If they say Yes, I then try to size them up for Triopoly. If you are an active sort that doesn't like to pay attention to details, have a hard time sitting in the same place for long periods of time, and hates reading and enforcing rules, why are you playing board games anyway?! Triopoly has a ton of rules (compared to quicker games out there) and requires you to be sharp - kind of like the game of Life with all the various meanings of the jobs, tiles, and monetary exchanges. If you don't have all your "i" dotted and "t" crossed on a turn-by-turn basis, you'll likely just want to put the game away and go watch TV. If you'd rather do the thinking for yourself, Triopoly offers you another opportunity to do so. But if you are like me and remember that Monopoly requires a certain personality to play, expect Triopoly to be the same. To read reviews on this Amazon message board where people were surprised to learn that Triopoly took so long, I can't understand their frustration. Those are probably the people who didn't even play Monopoly right and cut corners to make it easier for them. My dad only played Monopoly with us kids because we were gullible enough to fall for his cheating. He didn't even like the game, just beating his kids. Sadist, perhaps, but that is an example of people who should not expect Triopoly to be any different than Monopoly in terms of personality requirements.

Good idea, poor execution:
Tripoloy is a good idea. Monopoly is fun, therefore expanding on the concept should result in additional fun for all, right? In truth, the game does include some interesting mechanics and fun ideas, but these are grossly overshadowed by a lack of attention and what surely was a rushed, if not non-existent playtesting session. Multiple cards are incorrectly printed. The levels, though amusing, are annoyingly difficult to navigate and attaining any sort of monopoly associated with end-game mechanics is an exercise in frustration. Cash flow is severely one-sided; all but the most conservative of players will quickly find themselves strapped for cash. Combined with a few smaller issues, this is less a game and more a job. With some heavy application of house rules, the game holds promise. Out of the box, though, it is a mess. I could recommend this game to someone interested in fixing it, but to anyone looking for a good family game, just stick with the original Monopoly, or one of its many themed clones.

Fun - Monopoly upgrade:
I have Monopoly game, enjoy playing it, and for a while now I wanted to have "a twist" to it, so I bought this game. I have this game only two weeks, but me and my boyfriend already spent many hours playing Triopoly - it's very fun. We are playing only with all three levels; with all of them, game lasts much longer than "normal Monopoly" (approximatelly three times longer). Main differences from Monopoly: This game has three levels, it has three types of buildings (gas stations, malls, skycrepers). One feature that we really like is that: you can buy gas stations if you don't have all the properties for that city, and that increases the rent for that field significantly. So you don't need to own all the city properties in order to build and start earning money. It would be nice if money is looking "more real". Graphic on the properties could be improved. Tokens are quite small, and they are of the same color, so we end up looking on the board "where am I?", and then "is that my token?". Overall, very interesting and captivating game. I recommend it to all Monopoly fans.

Nothing but a headache:
As another reviewer state there are several cards with incorrect descriptions, the cards don't even match up with the properties. There were so many inaccuracies between the cards and the board game it did nothing but give me a and my fellower board gamers a headache. After realizing that we weren't going to get anywhere with the cards not matching the board game we eventually gave up. I sit and wondered how a game could be put out not even being properly made, did they not double check and look at the product they were producing ? I guess not. Although it is a good concept, it is pretty much monopoly with 3 boards and the non-official rules some or most play by. I;m sure we would have had fun had the game been produced by those of higher intelligence. However it wasn't. I wouldn't buy or recommend to anyone. Save your money and buy regular monopoly and play by the non-official rules.

Lots of Fun for the Whole Family!:
My family just loves playing Triopoly on our Family Game Nights. It's a game that's fair for both the adults and my son. Loads of fun! A lot like Monopoly, but more challenging and interesting. A fantastic game!