The Newest Version Of Monopoly Is Just A Blaster That Shoots Money

The Newest Version Of Monopoly Is Just A Blaster That Shoots Money

No game on Earth better represents the American dream than Monopoly. But at its heart, the classic board game isn’t about buying properties, going to jail, or running the local utilities; it’s about amassing wealth. So with Monopoly Cash Grab, Hasbro has distilled the game down to its purest form, replacing the board, tokens, and properties with a blaster that just shoots money at players.

Editor’s Note: Holy crap – the fact that it’s called ‘Cash Grab’ is amazing. Also, you can’t get it in Australia yet – Tegan.

Of the hundreds of iterations of Monopoly currently available, Monopoly Cash Grab introduces the purest and simplest gameplay mechanics—yes there is actually a game involved. The classic version of the board game can often feel more dependent on chance than skill as players take turn rolling the die, but with Monopoly Cash Grab a player’s speed, determination, and greed, all contribute to their potential success.

Players start each round of the game by loading a stack of 100 Monopoly money bills and 25 Chance Card bills into a toy blaster; ensuring they’re secured under a spring-loaded clip and neatly stacked. And that’s about it; there’s no fighting over who gets to use which token, no yelling at the banker for not giving you enough cash, and no wrestling a tiny plastic hotel out of the dog’s mouth.

Once the blaster’s cash ammo is locked and loaded, it’s placed on a spinning arrow which is then spun by the youngest player. Whoever the arrow ends up pointing at then picks up the blaster, points it into the air, and pulls the trigger. The blaster does the rest, sending a spray of bills into the air, which each player then scrambles to collect as they fall to the ground. But the game just isn’t about pushing eight-year-olds out of the way while you grab fistfuls of cash.

Interspersed among all those pretend $US100 bills are the Chance Cards which can be played at any time during the game, except while the blaster is spinning, and not after it runs out of ammo. Instead of potentially going to jail, or winning a beauty pageant, the Chance Cards in Monopoly Cash Grab most often require players to swap stacks of cash with each other, or give another player an unwelcome payout. It introduces a little more strategy and cunning to an otherwise simple game, and helps level the playing field for players who might not be as quick at grabbing cash.

The game ends when the blaster’s out of cash, and whoever has managed to amass and hold onto the most money is declared the winner.

Available from December in the U.S. for $US20, Monopoly Cash Grab carries on the board game’s long tradition of pitting friends against friends, kids against parents, and creating rifts that can take weeks to mend—and that’s why it’s fun. You’ll probably want to set some custom ground rules before you play. Depending on where the blaster is pointed when the trigger is pulled, it could potentially create some unfair advantages for certain players, so you’ll want to sort that out ahead of time.

You’ll also want to handle the blaster with care as it has a hair trigger, but no safety latch or on/off switch. Misfires happen often, and picking up all that cash by yourself isn’t exactly fun when it’s fake money.


The Cheapest NBN 50 Plans

It’s the most popular NBN speed in Australia for a reason. Here are the cheapest plans available.

At Gizmodo, we independently select and write about stuff we love and think you'll like too. We have affiliate and advertising partnerships, which means we may collect a share of sales or other compensation from the links on this page. BTW – prices are accurate and items in stock at the time of posting.