Big Bang Burger Bar

(http://spiritgames.co.uk/image/comgames/4120.jpg) (http://spiritgames.co.uk/gamesin.php?UniqueNo=4120)

This is a game for aficionados of Monty Python or of Monopoly - or I suppose there is a cross over group who love both.

The physical quality of the game is average overall - the box is very well made, the game board folds down to a quarter of its laid-out size and is of good thick card stock; the "hovels" (houses) and "castles" (Hotels) are well moulded. On the downside the money is printed on one side only (a small irritant of mine); the  "Quest" (Chance) and "Book of Armaments" (Community Chest) cards do not have names or any artwork printed on the back and refer to a different monetary unit than the notes or the rest of the game (cards refer to "pence" everything else is denominated in "groats"); Another minor irritant was that there are not enough of certain denomination bank notes (particularly the "100 Groat" notes.

There are some interesting house rules added in to change this from a straight forward re-branding  of Monopoly. Each player selects a character (e.g. The Black Knight, the Trojan Rabbit etc..) and as an optional rule these characters have a special ability they can use (supposedly once per game, but we used them throughout). Also instead of "Go to Jail" and then just resting there, you have to fight the Black Knight. Also the "Quest" and "Book of Armaments" cards do have some interesting twists and call for some fine ridiculous behaviour.

The game suffers from the classic Monopoly flaw in that it doesn't really have an end-game. Players can decide to go for a Quest for the Holy Grail - where they need only draw one particular card from the "Quests" deck, or can give up in a dramatic fashion, but it isn't really an end-game...

We had a game with 6 players which lasted from around 7:30 until midnight (or so) - so not a quick time filler I suppose!

Overall a fun version of Monopoly for Python fans. BUT - if you are not into Monopoly  you won't enjoy this game at all.