Monopoly GO has further developed the Facebook games and runs better than almost any game before. It uses mechanics that are controversial in other games.
Monopoly GO is a popular mobile game for Android and IOS and is somehow the successor to the Facebook games of yesteryear. Just 10 months after launch and just 3 months after breaking the $1 billion mark, the game reached the $2 billion sales milestone.
The game is fun, even if you don’t want to. Rewarding effects and sounds ensure that I am drawn into the game, even if I actually just want to make my throws quickly.
Who is writing here? Cedric writes at MeinMMO about a colorful mix of MMORPGs, shooters and gaming culture topics. After the success of Monopoly GO, he asked himself: “Why is the game so popular?”
My first steps in Monopoly GO went quickly
But right from the start: When I downloaded the game from the PlayStore earlier this week, I knew nothing about the game. The GO just reminded me of Pokémon Go and I really liked that back then.
I’m greeted at Monopoly GO with lots of great effects, nice music and the Monopoly man who tells me what to do:
After about an hour of playing the game, I really got the hang of it, or rather the cube. The game doesn’t need to say much anymore, because the red dots and glowing buttons let me subconsciously understand what to do.
I go through the first few playing fields without any problems and collect more and more rewards until I eventually run out of dice. “And now?” I asked myself and found out that you can get new dice through so-called dice links. We now have our own article about it: Monopoly GO: Get free dice in March 2024 – The current links
This is about bills – in the game and in real life
During my research, I was repeatedly greeted by various advertisements offering me sweet offers for dice and money. If you can’t continue rolling dice, you should hit here, currently 300% more because you’re new or because an event is currently running.
The buy button is really big – while the close button is difficult to hit, even for my young fingers. If you no longer have any dice and have used all the links, you can only do two things without spending money: wait or invite friends on Facebook. There are dice for each successful invitation.
Yes, Facebook is the main platform for Monopoly GO. In the old Farmville style, you can ask your friends to help you via the platform. Be it the community chest, for which you need 10 friends, or if you are still missing the last sticker in the album.
Sticker albums aren’t as bad as Ultimate Team
In Monopoly GO there are sticker albums that you have to complete with 9 stickers each. There are sticker packs as rewards for various events and other activities. Like in Ultimate Team (EA FC) or Counter-Strike, you then draw random rewards from this when you open boxes. Here in the form of stickers.
However, in Monopoly GO you cannot buy the stickers and packs directly, which is welcome. In Ultimate Team (EA FC) or Counter-Strike you can open packs for hours, in Monopoly GO you can only get them through active play. However, you can only exchange one sticker per day. There are special sticker groups for this on Facebook and other platforms.
Anyone who completes a sticker album receives dice and money to progress in the game. The stickers keep the game quite active on the internet because there is always someone who wants to trade and is looking for a partner to do it. Alternatively, you can ask your Facebook friends for help, just like before.
The prices in the shop are steep
The shop isn’t as special as in other games, which is probably because we don’t want to overwhelm our parents’ target group with an incomprehensible shop. You can buy dice and money, the more you buy, the more you get.
80 dice are offered in the in-game shop for €5.99. So if you want to run 80 times after the free dice have been used up, you can pay €5.99.
The maximum you can spend there is €99.99 for 3,200 cubes. There is also no shortage of packs and special offers. These appear on the left at the edge of the screen or are shown to you when you are out of dice.
Why exactly does Monopoly GO work so well?
The developers of Monopoly GO have looked broadly across the gaming landscape and picked up the best for their game.
The positive aspects as well as the financial success show: Monopoly GO has taken the principle of Facebook games to a new level.
Overall, Monopoly GO is actually fun, even if I can’t describe exactly which aspect makes the game fun. All in all, I can play the game with a critical and a laughing eye, because I never thought that this is what the future of Facebook games would look like.
If you want to read more about the success of Monopoly GO, take a look here: Your mom’s new favorite game, Monopoly GO, is more expensive and more successful than you think