Fortune Street

$50, Wii

Teaches: money, logic, economics, math

CTR Rating: 86%

CTR Review

Combine the board game Monopoly with the zany spirit of Nintendo and you get Fortune Street, a fast-paced business game that contains 15 game boards based on popular Mushroom Kingdom and Dragon Quest locales. Nintendo's twist on Monopoly is a turn-based business game four one to four players. Using virtual dice, you move around one of 15 themed boards in random intervals, buying shops to build your portfolio and collecting symbols you can cash in at the bank to earn gold. There's a lot of money going on, and because all the calculations are automated, it is possible to loose track of all your stores and money. It's a bit like Monopoloy on autoplay... if you don't pay attention, the game can get ahead of you. You can play the stock market, purchase shops and collect shopping fees. Players with multiple shops adjacent to one another see them grow in value and their shops level up, and if another player lands on those squares they have to pay an increased fee. Who says video games can't teach? A beginner setting lets you learn the basics, and there is an advanced mode with more challenges, options, and the ability to play the stock market. To play, you hold the controller handle bar style, and you have the option to use one controller and pass it from player to player, or have each player hold their own controller. The adventure-themed symphonic sound track is right out of Nintendo's play book. Developed for Nintendo by Square Enix.