Highlights
- There are many other economic board games besides Monopoly that offer fresh and exciting experiences for fans of the genre.
- Games like Gaia Project, Container: 10th Anniversary Jumbo Edition, and Great Western Trail keep the strategic vibes of Monopoly alive while offering new stories and challenges.
- These games are suitable for both board game enthusiasts and beginners, providing entertainment and challenges for gamers of all levels and ages.
Over the many decades since its inception back at the dawn of the 20th century, Monopoly has captivated the world and instigated countless feuds among friends and family. Originally intended as an educational tool to help others understand taxes and warn against the harmful effects of private monopolies, the game has now become a staple in most homes.
However, Monopoly isn’t the only economic and tantrum-fueling board game out there. The rise in popularity of tabletop games over the years has created other unique and excellent games that will give fans of Monopoly a whole new experience to sink their teeth into.
Updated August 22, 2023 by Via Erhard: Fans can explore a fine variety of board games like Monopoly that have the familiar feel yet provide a twist that'll make the experience fresh and exciting. Players can go on all kinds of adventures and travel back in time and into the future as they learn how to herd cattle in the Wild West, construct futuristic dams, or colonize planets in deep space.
These games keep the strategic vibes and rivalries alive while dishing out fresh stories and challenges for economy board game fans. It doesn't matter if a player is a board game aficionado or a beginner because these picks will surely entertain and challenge gamers of all levels and ages.
18 Gaia Project
While Gaia Project might be one of the most difficult board games that's challenging even for adults, it's worth the effort since it offers hours of entertaining gameplay. Thanks to this space board game, players don't merely get to buy properties but instead, they'll have to engage in activities like expanding their territories and strategically building on planets.
During their adventures players will be able to choose from 14 distinct alien species, each with its own special traits, all on a quest to master the cosmos. Players will be able to explore a brilliantly detailed universe while improving their skills in economy and terraforming to emerge as space tycoons. However, Gaia Project isn't just about buying and selling but also about the strategy, as well as the twists, and the thrill of becoming a cosmic conqueror.
17 Container: 10th Anniversary Jumbo Edition
Container: 10th Anniversary Jumbo Edition is like Monopoly's business-savvy cousin. In this game, players will have to do much more than just buy properties since they'll be building, trading, and shipping goods as well.
Gamers will also have to construct factories, warehouses, and even their ships and make plans and time everything perfectly to transport their goods and expand their empire one container at a time. During the gameplay, players will have to learn how to bid, bargain, and wheel and deal with their fellow players. This edition makes the experience even more immersive with huge ships and lifelike containers.
16 Great Western Trail
Great Western Trail is one of the most adventure-filled board games that would make great video games. This stunning Monopoly-like board game is set in the Wild West and lets players manage and transport their very own herd from Texas to Kansas City while navigating danger, and strategically staking their claim.
Great Western Trail transports its players back in time to the 19th-century Old West, where they can become ranchers who have to transport their cattle, as well as employ cowboys to improve their herd, hire craftsmen to build structures, and even get engineers on board for the railroad line.
15 Barrage
Thanks to Barrage, fans can step into one of the most thrilling dystopian board game worlds where they'll have to construct monumental dams and unleash hydroelectric energy in a world where water became the most valuable resource.
During their adventures players will not only have to rely on their strategic skills but also on the Construction Wheel, which adds a twist and extra thrill to the gameplay. Players will have to intercept water, erect dams, and steer the flow to their powerhouses while also balancing power requirements, tackling personal contracts, and enhancing their machinery using limited engineers.
14 Ark Nova
Ark Nova is one of the most educational yet entertaining new board games about saving the environment. It will help players understand why it's important to protect Earth's animals, and most importantly its endangered species. Players will also be able to learn about how modern zoos work since they'll have to plan and build a scientifically managed zoo.
Players will have to make smart, strategic decisions if they want to create a successful zoo that can support conservation projects for many years to come. Thanks to Ark Nova, players will be able to improve their critical thinking skills as they try to find the right enclosures to accommodate the animals, as well as find the right specialists who can help them turn their plans into reality.
13 Glen More II: Chronicles
Glen More II: Chronicles is a historical board game that transports its players to the early medieval ages. Players will get to step into the shoes of powerful Scottish clan leaders who have to make the best decisions, so they can successfully lead their people.
As gamers embark on their adventures, they will have to expand their wealth as well as their territories. They must gain control of special landmarks while also making decisions regarding pasture for their livestock and deciding how to grow important productions. Players will start their journey in the medieval ages and will lead their clans until the 19th century.
12 Maracaibo
Maracaibo is one of the best board games for history lovers who also love Monopoly. This fun strategy board game transports its players back to the 17th century and lets them explore and learn more about the Caribbean and its pirates.
Players will sail around the Caribbean while delivering their goods and increasing their wealth and influence in three nations. There is also a short quest mode that makes the experience even more fun, so players can have an enjoyable time while also learning about economics, as well as fun facts about the 17th century.
11 Underwater Cities
Underwater Cities is one of the most complex strategy board games like Monopoly. This game transports its players into a sci-fi-inspired underwater world where they'll have to develop cities on the seafloor.
Gamers get to step into the shoes of some of the most intelligent people in the world who found a solution to Earth's overpopulation. However, their goal is not easy to achieve. They'll have to establish livable underwater areas by making smart strategic decisions as well as dealing with production, politics, and of course, science.
10 Acquire
Created back in 1964, Acquire has players invest, divest, and carry out hostile takeovers to own various companies. Vaguely similar to Monopoly and, oddly, Scrabble, players have an array of tiles that they can place on the board. Whenever two tiles join up, a company can be formed with players who created the company earning stock. Players can also gain new tiles just like in Scrabble and purchase additional stocks within that company.
As the game continues, players will strategically invest in the various businesses on the board, trying to own a majority of stock for the largest and most profitable ones. Companies whose tiles connect will then merge and the largest company will absorb the lesser one, increasing in size and profitability. The aim of the game is to acquire the greatest wealth. Fans of Monopoly will recognize familiar tones but will require a more cunning and strategic approach to outmaneuver opponents.
9 Dice City
The kingdom of Rolldovia is in shambles! The capital has been sacked, and the Queen has decreed that a new capital must rise to take its place. Players will represent influential families of Rolldovia competing against each other to make their city the next capital.
Dice City is a dice crafting game that has players improve their city by opening up trade routes, recruiting armies, and constructing wonders. Players must use their tactics and wits to manage their rolled dice effectively and place them on the tableau of options in front of them making this game a solid option for those who enjoy Monopoly and building medieval cities.
8 Catan (The Settlers of Catan)
A game that is as well renowned as Monopoly itself, Catan is one of the most celebrated and recognizable gateway games that has gotten many people interested in the board gaming hobby. In Catan, players must become the dominant faction by building and connecting towns, roads, and cities. Each turn, players will roll dice and acquire the resources associated with that dice roll.
Several strategies can be employed from here on out, with players acquiring development cards or utilizing the robber pawn to steal resources. The first player who gets 10 points is declared the winner. Easy to learn and appropriate for all ages, Catan is an extremely accessible board game that has many expansions that add further depth to the fun and strategic choices available.
7 Chinatown
Set in New York, during the 1960s, Chinatown is an economic board game that places a heavy emphasis on negotiation. Players will be negotiating and talking throughout the entire game. Here, players represent business owners trying to build up their respective businesses by placing tiles onto the board. The more tiles connected, the larger the profit. Players win when they have the most money.
Players will need to trade shops, deeds, and money to win. The game appeals to those who enjoy heavy social interaction and making deals as real-time trading and negotiating during game time can become quite hectic and noisy. Played in just six turns, the game has great replayability, and downtime between turns is limited, making Chinatown a very engaging game.
6 Century Spice Road
A game centered around trading spices, Century Spice Road has players acting as caravan leaders delivering spices along the silk road to acquire wealth and glory. During turns, players will be acquiring cards to get different combinations of the four spices featured in the game. These spices can then be used to fulfill certain demands which will award points to players which can then help them to win the game.
Although being a deck-building game that relies on strategy and utilizing card combos to fulfill demands, this game is very easy to learn and has a broad appeal. With this in mind, it's a perfect choice for both casual gamers and veterans of the board gaming community alike.
5 Concordia
Concordia takes elements of Century Spice Road and adds a deeper and meatier experience. Set in a peaceful Roman Empire that focuses on the development of the Roman Empire, the game centers around players using action cards to carry out various tasks. As the game continues, players who start with the same action cards can acquire more powerful cards that will award them more points. The game ends when all cards have run out or a player has built their 15th house.
A game that relies on advanced planning and reading one’s opponent, Concordia emphasizes strategy. This game can be perfect for those wanting a greater and richer challenge than Monopoly.
4 Machi Koro
In Machi Koro, players will be developing their city to become the biggest in the region by building public works, collecting revenue from developments, and stealing from opponents.
The game is essentially a city builder that utilizes dice, with players receiving a building's ability if the result of the dice matches it. But players should be wary, as opponents can benefit from each other’s dice rolls. Players win if they construct all their landmarks first. Fast, quick, and cute to look at, Machi Koro is an ideal game for those who like Monopoly.
3 Lords Of Vegas
In Lords Of Vegas, players are big developers who are attempting to build and profit by building the largest casinos. In line with the theme, players will be using their dice to build, reorganize, and gamble their way to victory. Players can invest in the best development companies and by positioning the best workers in control of the most affluent casinos.
Players can build or expand their existing casinos, attempt to take over rival-controlled casinos, increase their wealth by gambling, or trade lots with other players. In the end, the player with the most points takes it all.
2 Brass Birmingham
Similar to Monopoly, Brass Birmingham has players walk in the shoes of powerful tycoons during Britain’s Industrial Revolution. Here, players will use money, coal, iron, and beer to build industries across the midlands and north of England. Fun fact! Beer was used to clean machinery as it was considered cleaner and easier to produce.
Players will also connect their industries back to markets and build canals or railways to score more points and make more money. A more strategically demanding game than Monopoly, Brass Birmingham is a delight for any Monopoly lover seeking a more cutthroat economic gaming experience, especially when one steals someone else’s beer resource!
1 Food Chain Magnate
A game about outdoing one’s rivals and becoming the best fast-food chain ever, Food Chain Magnate is a heavy strategy game that emphasizes players building up their company (from cooks to human resources) by using a card-driven system. Players will market, purchase, and hunt down staff members to help their business grow.
Players will market various products and satisfy the people’s desires whilst simultaneously watching their rivals, responding accordingly. A game that can last 2-4 hours or even longer, it should be reiterated that this game (whilst awesome) is a heavy strategy game that will not only make players dream of nuggets and hamburgers but also leave one’s brain pretty fried as well.