7 Games Like Monopoly (That Your Family Will Actually Finish)
Monopoly is the most famous board game in the world and, honestly, not a very good one. We rate it 5/5 Bamboo, since everyone knows how to play, and 2/5 Pandas. Once one player pulls ahead, the game keeps going for another hour or two while everyone else slowly goes broke.
But the things people love about Monopoly are real, the deal-making, the money, owning a chunk of the board and taking cash off your family. The seven games below each keep one of those and fix the rest. All seven are games we’ve reviewed, with our Bamboo (how easy to learn) and Pandas (how fun) scores, and every pick says what it keeps and what it fixes.
Some links below are Amazon affiliate links — as an Amazon Associate, King Panda Games earns from qualifying purchases at no extra cost to you. Full disclosure.
Last verified: October 2026.
1. Catan — Trading and Building, Done Right
Catan is the game most often called “Monopoly done right,” and it earns it. You collect resources from the hexes your settlements touch, trade them across the table and spend them on roads, towns and cities. The trading is every bit as loud as a Monopoly property deal, but it happens every turn instead of twice a game.
It scored 4/5 Bamboo and 4/5 Pandas in our Catan review. It seats 3–4, the box says 10+, and it runs 60–120 minutes, with a clear finish at ten points. Our Catan versions ranking covers which box to buy.
What it keeps from Monopoly — wheeling and dealing, and building up what you own. What it fixes — nobody goes bankrupt, and the game ends when someone reaches ten points.
2. Cover Your Assets — Stealing Your Family’s Money, in Twenty Minutes
Cover Your Assets keeps the best feeling in Monopoly, taking money off your family, and drops everything else. You build stacks of matching asset cards, and anyone holding a matching card can steal your top stack. The richest player at the end wins.
It’s one of our two perfect scores, 5/5 Bamboo and 5/5 Pandas in our Cover Your Assets review, and it has produced laughter every single time it’s come out, from our six-year-old to the adults. It seats 2–6, the box says 7+, and it runs 20–40 minutes.
What it keeps from Monopoly — money, greed and stealing from each other. What it fixes — a game takes twenty minutes, and nobody is knocked out.
Check Cover Your Assets price on Amazon →
3. Bohnanza — The Negotiation Game
Bohnanza is for the player who loves the deal-making in Monopoly. It’s a card game about planting beans, and since you can never rearrange your hand, you spend every turn haggling to give away beans you don’t want and grab the ones you need. Deals happen every turn, and a good one is worth coins at harvest.
We’ve played it about a dozen times, and it scored 5/5 Bamboo and 4/5 Pandas in our Bohnanza review. It’s one of the easiest trading games to teach, seats 2–7 using the variants in the box, with 3–5 the main game, and the US box says 12+.
What it keeps from Monopoly — negotiation and trading. What it fixes — every player is trading on every turn, not just the one who landed somewhere.
Check Bohnanza price on Amazon →
4. Ticket to Ride — Claiming the Board, Without the Bankruptcy
Ticket to Ride is the family game we’d hand a Monopoly household first. You collect colored train cards and spend them to claim routes between cities, so the board fills up with things you own, much like buying up a color set. The tension comes from someone grabbing the route you were saving for.
It scored 4/5 Bamboo and 4/5 Pandas in our Ticket to Ride review. Days of Wonder lists it for 2–5 players, ages 8 and up, at 30–60 minutes. It’s #1 on our family board games list.
What it keeps from Monopoly — claiming the board and blocking rivals. What it fixes — it ends in under an hour, and nobody goes broke.
Check Ticket to Ride price on Amazon →
5. Splendor — Building a Fortune, Card by Card
Splendor is a game about getting rich, which is what Monopoly promises and rarely delivers. You collect gem tokens, buy cards with them, and every card you own makes later cards cheaper, so your fortune snowballs. The first player to 15 points triggers the end.
We’ve played it 7 or 8 times with friends from the neighborhood, and it scored 4/5 Bamboo and 4/5 Pandas in our Splendor review. Space Cowboys lists it for 2–4 players, ages 10 and up, and it plays in about 30 minutes.
What it keeps from Monopoly — building wealth that grows over the game. What it fixes — no dice deciding your fate, and a short game.
Check Splendor price on Amazon →
6. Hot Streak — Fake Money, Real Shouting
Hot Streak is a betting game. You bet on four off-brand mascots racing down a pull-out track, sneak one card into the race deck, and then the cards flip and the mascots fall over, turn around and wander off the course while everyone yells at them. It’s played with fake money, and the whole thing is a joke about gambling.
It scored 4/5 Bamboo and 4/5 Pandas in our Hot Streak review, and it’s the pick here for younger kids, since a six-year-old plays on equal terms with an adult. CMYK lists it for 3–8 players at about 20 minutes.
What it keeps from Monopoly — luck, money and a lot of noise. What it fixes — it’s over in twenty minutes and everyone’s in it to the end.
Check Hot Streak price on Amazon →
7. King of Tokyo — Roll the Dice, Buy the Upgrades
King of Tokyo keeps the part of Monopoly where you roll dice and spend what you earn. You’re giant monsters rolling six dice Yahtzee-style to attack, heal or collect energy, and you spend that energy on power cards that change how you play. Whoever sits in Tokyo hits everyone else and gets hit by everyone else.
It’s the rare game we can teach to an eight-year-old in five minutes and still watch two forty-year-olds trash-talk each other over, 5/5 Bamboo and 4/5 Pandas in our King of Tokyo review. It seats 2–6, the box says 8+, and it takes about 30 minutes.
What it keeps from Monopoly — rolling dice and buying things with what you earn. What it fixes — every roll is a choice about which dice to keep.
Check King of Tokyo price on Amazon →
Which One to Buy
If your family loves the trading, buy Catan, or Bohnanza if the haggling is the best part. If they love taking each other’s money, buy Cover Your Assets. If you want something for the whole family that still feels like owning the board, buy Ticket to Ride.
If you’re keeping Monopoly, play it by the official rules. Most families skip the auction, where an unbought property is sold to the highest bidder, and leaving it out is a big reason games run so long. For more ideas across every kind of game, see our best board games list.
The Quick Picks Table
All seven, with what each keeps from Monopoly.
| Game | Bamboo / Pandas | Players | Time | What it keeps from Monopoly |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Catan | 4 / 4 | 3–4 | 60–120 min | Trading and building |
| Cover Your Assets | 5 / 5 | 2–6 | 20–40 min | Money and stealing |
| Bohnanza | 5 / 4 | 3–5 (2–7 with variants) | About 45 min | Negotiation |
| Ticket to Ride | 4 / 4 | 2–5 | 30–60 min | Claiming the board |
| Splendor | 4 / 4 | 2–4 | 30 min | Building wealth |
| Hot Streak | 4 / 4 | 3–8 | 20 min | Luck and fake money |
| King of Tokyo | 5 / 4 | 2–6 | 30 min | Dice and buying upgrades |
Every one of the seven finishes in under two hours, and most in under one, which is the biggest single fix over Monopoly.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a good game like Monopoly?
Catan. It keeps the trading and building that people love about Monopoly, but nobody goes bankrupt and the game ends when someone reaches ten points.
What is a game like Monopoly but shorter?
Cover Your Assets plays in 20 to 40 minutes and is all about collecting money and stealing it from each other. Splendor and Hot Streak are also under 30 minutes.
What is a game like Monopoly for kids?
Hot Streak or Cover Your Assets. A six-year-old can play Hot Streak on equal terms with an adult, and Cover Your Assets works from about six or seven.
Why does Monopoly take so long?
Mostly because families skip the auction rule, where an unbought property is auctioned to the highest bidder. Without it, properties sell slowly and the game drags on after the winner is clear.
Is Monopoly a good board game?
We rate it 5 out of 5 for ease of learning and 2 out of 5 for fun. Everyone knows the rules, but once one player pulls ahead the game keeps going long after it is decided.