Mudpie Fridays >> A Life Size Monopoly Game with Monopoly Lifesized

A Life Size Monopoly Game with Monopoly Lifesized

We are huge Monopoly fans, having several different versions of the game at home. It is one of the boy’s most loved board games. So when I learnt that you could now play Monopoly Lifesized on a giant board. I knew it would be something that the boys would really enjoy. And playing Monopoly live did not disappoint. We had a great time giving Life Size Monopoly a go and I would highly recommend a visit next time you are in London.

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Where is the life size monopoly board?

Life-sized Monopoly is based in central London, on Tottenham Court Road, Fitzrovia in the West End. It is within the congestion charging zone & ULEZ zone if you are coming from outside the city. And within easy walking distance of the tube. Located on Godge Street it is surrounded by plenty of shops, cafes and its very own restaurant called Top Hat.

How to you get to Monopoly Lifesized?

As we do not live in London and visited on the weekend that there was a train strike we actually drove in. Normally we would have got the train in and jumped on the tube. However, we found driving straightforward and managed to get a car park space through Just Park which was only a ten-minute walk away.

The nearest tube station is Godge Street which is on the Northern line and only a two-minute walk along the road. Which makes it very convenient. The full address of Monopoly Lifesized is 213-215 Tottenham Court Rd, London W1T 7PS.

How long does it take to play lifesized monopoly?

Each Monopoly live game takes an hour and a half we had the first game slot of the day at 10 am. Our life size Monopoly game was split up into different rounds as we got closer to the end of the game the rounds sped up. Meaning you had less time to complete the challenges and activities associated with your go. If you want to stay for longer then Top Hat bar and restaurant is located right next door. On our visit, we stayed for lunch which meant we left early afternoon making almost a whole day of it.

Are there different games available?

There are various different boards to play for monopoly live. Most of them are suitable for players aged nine and over.

Classic Game Board – Just as you remember it as a kid, this board gives you the chance to relive your best memories of the game.
Luxury Board – See the finer things in life with stealth-based games, including seeing behind the scenes in the bank, betting in casinos and buying fine art.
City Board – This board includes challenge games around london’s iconic buildings
Classic Board – Own it All – This is the game we played and is based around the classic board. A race to own it all, including games, activities and an auction at the end.

During the Summer holidays, the Own it All board is a family board or junior board. This lifesized board is suitable for children ages 7 and over. This is the Classic Board Own it All game, where the activities behind the property spaces are much more suited to younger children. Harry was able to take part in all of them apart from one (Dingbats).

How does Lifesized Monopoly work?

We were divided into teams. Teams can be a maximum of six players. We played as a family of four although during peak times we may have had two other people join our team to make it up to six. This means all the challenges and activities were done together. You play against the other teams just like a standard game of monopoly. There are property spaces, train stations, jail, free parking and utilities. There are even chance cards and hotels. The winning team is the one with the most money, in the end, the properties and hotels are taken into consideration in calculating this figure.

What to expect when playing Monopoly live

At the start of the game

You are shown into a room where you take a seat and wait for the playing pieces to make an entrance. Which gives you a chance to read the short game rules. But it is not long until Sir Top Hat and the game pieces join you. Each game piece is represented by real-life actors, dressed up as their characters. So we had the Scotty dog and our lady was wearing a vet outfit with a little hat that had a Scotty dog on top. Your character piece helps you to navigate the board, keeps an eye on your properties and fetches chance cards on the tablet. They can also help you with strategy and suggestions on how to win.

After you have decided on a team name and a team chant it is over to the gigantic monopoly board. Which looks exactly like the popular board game. With the same distinctive design and favourite board game elements.

Here everyone rolls a dice to see who will be going first. The four teams are split so that two play the board by rolling the large dice. While the other two start with a strategy round drawing a chance card or using one from a previous round. There are screens up around the board which show you your current money numbers and list your properties underneath. Of course, you will not know who has won until the end of the game.

Moving around the board at Monopoly in London

As you move around the board you land on property locations, stations or utility squares. In order to have the chance to buy the property, you need to open the property doors and take part in escape room style challenges that lie behind them. The team challenges are relatively straight forward although you only have two and a half minutes to do them. If you are successful then you can retrieve a sold real estate sign and place it on your property. If you land on a property which is already brought then you can still play the game and win some money which will help pay the rent! When it comes to building houses and hotels these are done during your strategy round. Where you assemble 3D blocks to make a house or a hotel.

How it works

Everything is controlled by the character through a tablet. This means you can forget about having to count and just enjoy the game. This is important when it comes to auctioning off any unsold properties as this is done through the tablet although you don’t get long. And you have no idea of the other teams bids! This is towards the end of the game with two short rounds left before the winners are decided by the final score. Unfortunately, we didn’t win, but it came down to the last roll of the dice!

We all really enjoyed ourselves despite not winning. It was a lot more of an immersive experience than I thought it would be. And is a great way to experience monopoly.

How much does Monopoly in London cost?

Prices vary depending on the day of the week you visit Monopoly live, starting at £49 per person. However, they are running a discount if you get a team of six together then you get a 20% discount on the standard price. You can book your tickets online by selecting a date and a time the discount will automatically be applied when you check out.

Food & Drink – The Top Hat Restaurant

Right next door there is the Top Hat Restaurant. The winning team are each given a £5 voucher to spend in the restaurant and bar. With the kids having the option of some rather green-looking cocktails that seemingly went down a storm.

The restaurant sells a selection of Monopoly-themed starters, mains and desserts. They do not have a children’s menu but can do smaller portions of some dishes. Although the menu is not extensive there is still a reasonable range to choose from. You can find the current menu online. The restaurant is quite large with a line of booths opposite the bar, and more tables towards the back. If you are booking in advance which I recommend as it got very busy towards the end, I would reserve a booth. The back of the restaurant is parallel with the exit to the game boards and so people sometimes use it at a cut-through.

Our experience of eating at the Top Hat Restaurant

During our visit, we were given a shaker with some dice. With the instructions that if we rolled two sixes we would get a free drink. Of course, the odds are quite high but Charlie did actually manage to do it! I thought that was a nice touch since it kept the game theme going. The food was nice, epically the starter we opted for which was prawns and chorizo. The boys also really enjoyed the decedent desserts they chose. Price wise it is probably what I would expect for a themed restaurant. Starter ranged from £6 to £9.50, mains from £14.50 to £25 for the steak and £6.50 of £7 for dessert.

The Top Hat Restaurant makes a great place to either celebrate a win or commiserate a defeat as the cocktails are pretty special.

Do you love the planet’s favourite board game? Have you visited Monopoly Lifesized? If not would you give Life Size Monopoly a go? Let me know your thoughts in the comments below.