It doesn’t take a very deep dive into the world of board gaming to encounter unabashed hatred of Monopoly. Go post a picture of yourself playing Monopoly on many board game groups around the web and count the seconds on one hand before you’re inundated with snarky comments.
The “Monopoly Sucks” meme is prevalent. Most board gamers fall somewhere in between indifference or a general dislike for the game, but some people let the hatred consume them to the point that they just can’t keep quiet if The-Game-That-Shall-Not-Be-Named is merely mentioned.
For a community that should always be striving to be inclusive and welcoming to everyone, there’s a clear bias against Monopoly and the people who enjoy it.
Getting the obvious out of the way…
Sure, Monopoly isn’t the greatest game ever and it’s probably borderline unplayable once you’re tried some of the other incredible modern board games out there, but who hired the Fun Police, anyways?
It’s easy karma, or likes, or just a way to feel smug, superior, or like you fit in… but put yourself in the shoes of the person who is excited to share their board game experience with a community, even if it’s not a game you like.
When you’re entering into a new hobby, you’ll either encounter gatekeeping, or people who are warm and welcoming and eager to help you explore. Let’s be the latter.
There’s a right way and a wrong way
If you really need to “rescue” someone from Monopoly, there’s a kinder way to do it. Ask them what they like about the game, and if you’re such a superior intellect when it comes to board games, you should have no problem tossing them some great recommendations, right?
Now, of course, joking around and posting funny memes that bash Monopoly in a general sense is one thing, because once again, it’s probably not the greatest game ever released, but when you start personally attacking people who play Monopoly, and even have the audacity to enjoy themselves while doing so, it’s time for a reality check.
This is okay:
- Oh, you love Monopoly? Cool! That was one of the first games I played, it opens up so many doors to other experiences.
- Have you heard of “x, y, or z?” You should play them sometime, we’ve got a seat at the table for you!
This is not:
- HAH, MONOPOLY?! You aren’t a true board game fan until you DISAVOW Monopoly and deny yourself an experience that you enjoy.
- Why don’t you play a REAL game?
If you disagree or have any strong opinions about Monopoly’s place in the world of board gaming, we’d love to hear what you think. Whether the game itself deserves to be bashed on a regular basis is completely separate from how we treat people that enjoy playing it.
We don’t want to scare away people who are dipping their feet into this hobby. It’s bad for the community, and it’s bad for all of the people making games that won’t be played by anyone who is shooed away.
Everybody has played Monopoly or at least heard of it. The more of those people who dig a bit deeper, the more of an economy and community there is for the designers and publishers who take bigger risks with their games and push the hobby forward. More listeners for podcasts, more readers for websites, more followers on social media, more attendees for conventions, and more people to play games with.
