Mall Madness facts for kids
Mall Madness is a super fun board game where you get to go on a shopping spree! It was first made by Milton Bradley in 1988. Later versions of the game are sometimes called Electronic Mall Madness. Over the years, the game has been updated several times. New designs came out in 1996, 2004, and even 2020.
Contents
What's in the Box?
When you open a Mall Madness game, you'll find lots of cool stuff! It comes with the game box and a detailed instruction manual. You also get a special electronic computer that talks to you.
The game includes a big game board and six plastic wall pieces. These help build the two-story mall. There are also four cardboard shopping lists and forty plastic pegs. You use these pegs to mark off items you buy.
You'll find eight plastic pawns, two for each color (red, blue, yellow, green). There's also play paper money that looks like U.S. money. Each bill has a different color for easy use. Plus, there are four cardboard credit cards for shopping.
Exploring the Mall Game Board
The game board for Mall Madness is really cool because it's three-dimensional! It looks like a two-story shopping mall. In the middle of the mall, you'll find the bank and a speaker.
Some stores are on the first floor, and others are on the second. To reach the second floor, you can use the stairs or an elevator. This makes the game feel more like a real mall!
The Electronic Computer
A big part of Mall Madness is the electronic computer. It helps run the game! The computer's color might be peach or gray, depending on when it was made. It needs four AA batteries to work.
On top of the computer, there are three buttons. One button starts or resets the game. Another button begins and ends your turn. The third button lets you hear the last announcement again.
The computer has two voices, one female and one male. In the 2004 version, it only uses a female voice. There are also two slots on top for your credit cards. One slot is for buying items, and the other is for banking.
Money and Credit Cards
In Mall Madness, you use two types of money: paper cash and credit cards. You need both to play the game and buy things.
Each player gets one of the four credit cards. These cards have fun names like Fast Cash, Quick Draw, MEGAmoney, and Easy Money. In the 2004 game, they were simply called "cash cards."
Shopping at the Stores
Mall Madness features eighteen different stores where you can shop! Here are some of them:
- I.M. Coughin Drug Store
- Suits Me Fine Men's Shop
- 2 Left Feet Shoes
- Short Circuit Electronics
- Yuppy Puppies Pets
- Scratchy's Records
- Novel Idea Books
- Frump's Fashion Boutique
- The Write Stuff Card Shop
- Fork It Over Kitchen Store
- Hokus Focus Cameras
- Sweaty's Sports
- Made in the Shade Sunglasses
- Chip's Computers
- Ruby's Jewelry
- DingaLing Phones
- M.T Wallet's Department Store
- Tinker's Toys
Besides the stores, you can also visit four other cool places in the mall:
- Conehead's Ice Cream
- Restrooms
- Vidiots Arcade
- Aunt Chovie's Pizza
You can buy many different items in the game. The cheapest item is pizza, which costs five dollars. The most expensive item is a regular-priced exotic parrot, which costs two hundred dollars!
How to Win the Game
The main goal of Mall Madness is to be the first player to buy six items from your shopping list. After you get all your items, you need to race back to the parking lot. In some versions, you just need to reach your final destination.
If you want a longer or more challenging game, you can choose to buy up to ten items. This option was available in the 1989 and 1996 versions of the game.
Playing the Game
The game is played on the two-story mall board. It's designed for two to four players. At the start, one player becomes the banker. The banker gives each player $150 ($200 in older versions). This money is given out in specific bills.
To start your turn, you press a button on the electronic computer. The computer will tell you how many spaces to move your pawn. When you land on a store, you can use your cardboard credit card to buy items. The computer keeps track of everything you buy. After buying, you pay the banker with your paper cash.
At the beginning of each turn, the electronic voice announces sales. One store will have a clearance sale, and two others will have regular sales. You can use these sales to save money! It takes a whole turn to go to the ATM if you need more cash.
Sometimes, the computer might give you a special sale or clearance. Other times, you might have to pay extra for an item. The game can also refuse a sale or not let you get more cash. Sometimes, the computer will randomly tell you to move to the ATM, the arcade, restrooms, or different stores.
Once you have six items from your list, you must be the first to reach your parking lot. The first player to do this wins the game!
Images for kids
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mall madness game
