Mall Madness game
by Amanda Nettgen
(USA)
Game:
Mall Madness game (Hannah Montana edition)
Board game manufacturer:
Milton Bradley/Hasbro
Number of players:
2-4
Ages:
9+
Quick verdict
Hannah Montana Mall Madness plays almost exactly like regular Mall Madness, except that it is geared towards Hannah Montana fans and has a corresponding theme. It should get girls who are into Hannah Montana into the board game of Mall Madness as well.
The game and gameplay
The back of the long, horizontal box is the first place to start. It reads: “Hit the stores to see what bling bling you can cha ching with the stars of the Hannah Montana show!” – which I thought was pretty funny.
The brief description makes you think that heading to the movies or grabbing some ice cream in the game are major deals, when in fact they are not.
It’ll be another ten hours of set up like with the original game to assemble the “mall”. The building’s blueprint is the same basic layout as in the first game, except that some the store names are different and everything is painted in pastel hues.
The first order of business is to decide who will be who. Parents be warned: I imagine many fights might ensue over who gets to play as Miley. As in the original game, there are two male and two female profiles available (like any guys would play this version especially, though).
Pick up your designated shopping list, then head to the appropriate colored star parking lot. A Hannah Montana-esque voice talent from the electronic hub will guide you along the way.From there, the fundamental mission of H.M. Mall Madness game is identical to its predecessor, except for one fresh, significant edition: the Hannah Montana Buying Card. Essentially, Hannah is such a generous gal that she offers up her credit card during the game to purchasing players.
It’s a race to get to it, though, as Ms. Montana has left it sitting at the ATM (she’s obviously not worried about identity theft). Only the first moocher to get there will score it.
A partaker may use Hannah Montana’s buying card in lieu of their own game cash for one turn. Whether they completed the sale or not, the contender must return the star’s credit card to the safe haven that is the public ATM following their attempt to make a purchase.
Other players feeling the need for greed can “steal” the buying card if they pass over the space of the player who has it.
The first splurger to carry six items in their imaginary shopping bag, escape the paparazzi (or simply the mischief of fellow players) and get back to their limo in the parking lot wins.
Pros and cons
If you strip away the Hannah Montana bit, Mall Madness is a great game. It’s innovative and fun, with both luck and strategy.
The biggest con is the theme itself. Slap a brand like Hannah Montana on a game and the company’s just limited themselves to buyers who like her enough to purchase her edition of a regular game (namely, girls ages 6-15). It will annoy people who aren’t infatuated with her.
I also think having this game be sponsored by the star ups the potential materialism risk even more.
The verdict
For Hannah Montana fans only. If you’re more likely to joke about the Disney pop star than sing along to one of her songs, stick to the normal Mall Madness game.
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