Uploaded August 2026 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
Developed by Sculptured Software and published in North America by Majesco for the Game Boy Color in 1999, Monopoly is a color-enhanced version of the earlier handheld adaptation of Parker Brothers’ classic board game. It is hardly an exciting showcase for the hardware, but its faithful rules, useful game options, and competent computer opponents make it a surprisingly effective portable version. Rating: 7/10.
The basic objective is unchanged: travel around the board buying properties, collect complete color groups, construct houses and hotels, charge increasingly painful rents, and eventually bankrupt every opponent. Chance and Community Chest cards, railroads, utilities, taxes, Jail, auctions, mortgages, and property trading are all included.
Two to four players can participate, with each position controlled either by a human or one of several computer opponents. Multiplayer simply works by sharing the handheld between turns, which is perfectly adequate for a game where players never need to act simultaneously. For solo play, the different CPU opponents have their own tendencies, giving matches slightly more personality than simply playing against identical bots.
One particularly useful option is the timer. You can play a traditional unlimited match or impose a time limit, after which the game determines a winner. This makes much more sense on a handheld, where a full Monopoly match can otherwise continue for hours. Several preset scenarios also alter starting conditions and provide quicker alternatives to beginning every match from scratch.
The tiny Game Boy Color screen obviously cannot reproduce a full physical Monopoly board in detail, so the interface relies heavily on menus and simplified displays. Fortunately, it works reasonably well. You can inspect properties, ownership, rents, mortgages, houses and hotels, review every player’s assets, and check positions around the board whenever needed.
Trading is fully implemented and lets you exchange both money and properties. Computer opponents can reject offers, so obtaining the final property required for a monopoly still involves negotiation rather than simply selecting an automatic purchase. Managing trades with only a D-pad and two buttons is somewhat cumbersome, but the system is functional once you learn the menus.
Presentation is basic but clear. The Game Boy Color palette makes the different property groups much easier to distinguish than in the monochrome Game Boy version, while tokens, cards, houses, and other familiar elements remain recognizable. Animations are minimal, and the music and sound effects are simple enough that they eventually fade into the background during longer games.
The biggest flaw is the lack of a proper save feature. Monopoly matches can easily become lengthy, so being unable to switch the system off and resume later is a particularly unfortunate omission for a portable version. The optional timer helps, but it does not completely solve the problem if you want to play a traditional game to completion.
There is also no escaping the nature of Monopoly itself. Much of the game involves waiting for dice rolls, watching opponents move, and hoping somebody eventually lands on your expensive properties. The computer handles banking and calculations automatically, which speeds things up compared with the physical board game, but matches can still drag once the initial property-buying phase is over.
Even so, this is a competent adaptation. It reproduces the important rules, includes trading and auctions, supports four players, offers multiple CPU opponents, and provides timed games for shorter sessions. It does exactly what a portable Monopoly game needs to do without adding unnecessary distractions.
Monopoly on Game Boy Color will not convert anyone who dislikes the board game, and the absence of mid-game saving is difficult to overlook. For existing fans, however, it is a straightforward, surprisingly complete handheld version that remains enjoyable against the computer or with a few friends sharing the system.
Developed by Sculptured Software and published in North America by Majesco for the Game Boy Color in 1999, Monopoly is a color-enhanced version of the earlier handheld adaptation of Parker Brothers’ classic board game. It is hardly an exciting showcase for the hardware, but its faithful rules, useful game options, and competent computer opponents make it a surprisingly effective portable version. Rating: 7/10.
The basic objective is unchanged: travel around the board buying properties, collect complete color groups, construct houses and hotels, charge increasingly painful rents, and eventually bankrupt every opponent. Chance and Community Chest cards, railroads, utilities, taxes, Jail, auctions, mortgages, and property trading are all included.
Two to four players can participate, with each position controlled either by a human or one of several computer opponents. Multiplayer simply works by sharing the handheld between turns, which is perfectly adequate for a game where players never need to act simultaneously. For solo play, the different CPU opponents have their own tendencies, giving matches slightly more personality than simply playing against identical bots.
One particularly useful option is the timer. You can play a traditional unlimited match or impose a time limit, after which the game determines a winner. This makes much more sense on a handheld, where a full Monopoly match can otherwise continue for hours. Several preset scenarios also alter starting conditions and provide quicker alternatives to beginning every match from scratch.
The tiny Game Boy Color screen obviously cannot reproduce a full physical Monopoly board in detail, so the interface relies heavily on menus and simplified displays. Fortunately, it works reasonably well. You can inspect properties, ownership, rents, mortgages, houses and hotels, review every player’s assets, and check positions around the board whenever needed.
Trading is fully implemented and lets you exchange both money and properties. Computer opponents can reject offers, so obtaining the final property required for a monopoly still involves negotiation rather than simply selecting an automatic purchase. Managing trades with only a D-pad and two buttons is somewhat cumbersome, but the system is functional once you learn the menus.
Presentation is basic but clear. The Game Boy Color palette makes the different property groups much easier to distinguish than in the monochrome Game Boy version, while tokens, cards, houses, and other familiar elements remain recognizable. Animations are minimal, and the music and sound effects are simple enough that they eventually fade into the background during longer games.
The biggest flaw is the lack of a proper save feature. Monopoly matches can easily become lengthy, so being unable to switch the system off and resume later is a particularly unfortunate omission for a portable version. The optional timer helps, but it does not completely solve the problem if you want to play a traditional game to completion.
There is also no escaping the nature of Monopoly itself. Much of the game involves waiting for dice rolls, watching opponents move, and hoping somebody eventually lands on your expensive properties. The computer handles banking and calculations automatically, which speeds things up compared with the physical board game, but matches can still drag once the initial property-buying phase is over.
Even so, this is a competent adaptation. It reproduces the important rules, includes trading and auctions, supports four players, offers multiple CPU opponents, and provides timed games for shorter sessions. It does exactly what a portable Monopoly game needs to do without adding unnecessary distractions.
Monopoly on Game Boy Color will not convert anyone who dislikes the board game, and the absence of mid-game saving is difficult to overlook. For existing fans, however, it is a straightforward, surprisingly complete handheld version that remains enjoyable against the computer or with a few friends sharing the system.
