Watch it, matey, or I'll change your default profile title to something ridiculous.
I don't know whether I can even do that.
May, I realized I'm being dumb in not suggesting what I normally do when I'm not sure about a game I want to get. If you're still debating:Birmingham Monopoly BGG page (http://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/28197/monopoly-birmingham). Based on the description, it sounds like there's no real difference beyond the expected cosmetic differences. If that's enough to bring you and others more into the game, then I say go for it! If there are any gameplay differences I doubt it's anything significant and can probably be house ruled if you don't like it (and so many people house rule Monopoly without knowing it, anyway :laugh:). Also, don't pay any mind to the rating... in case you haven't noticed, many hobby board gamers have their critical opinions on the game and the rethemed versions don't get the benefit of people that actually like the game signing on to defend it.
And for anyone that's interested - a listing of party games I think are awesome. Criteria for me was that it play well with 6 players and for it to be easy to learn and teach. Recommended Party Games (in no particular order):
Cards Against Humanity (4-whatever players)
Okay, that's out of the way...
Dixit (http://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/39856/dixit) (3 to 6 players) Very simple, but elegantly designed game. Everyone has a hand of cards with art on them. Each turn a judge will play a card facedown from their hand and give a clue (a word, phrase, sound, etc.). Other players will look at their hand of image cards and each play one facedown that they think best fits that clue. The cards are shuffled and revealed and the non-judge players secretly vote on which they think is the judge's card. The judge earns points as long as at least one person can guess their card, but not everyone. Everyone else gets points for guessing the judge's card and fooling others with their card. The images on the cards are beautiful and have enough going on that you can interpret them different ways for clues. Downsides are sometimes you may struggle to come up with a creative enough clue to get points and there's also the trap of using inside jokes not everyone playing may be aware of, which some may find unfair. Both Dixit and Dixit: Journey (http://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/121288/dixit-journey) have everything you need to play. There's plenty of other expansions with just new cards, as well.
The Resistance (http://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/41114/resistance) (5-12 players) This is similar to Mafia/Werewolf, though this has the benefit that there's no player elimination or GM needed. Also good for players that wish Mafia had more data to play off of. Everyone gets secretly assigned to either either the Resistance or Spy factions. The spies will know each other, but the resistance members won't know who among them is a spy. Each turn, someone will get to play the role of leader and suggest a number of people to go on a mission. Everyone then publicly votes on whether the team goes. If they do go, the players chosen will secretly choose whether to help or sabotage the mission for the resistance. Sabotaged missions are wins for the spies. The first faction to win three missions wins the game. This version comes with an expansion that adds some other fun cards people can use to either hunt for spies or confuse the resistance. A couple expansions that will add roles and other fun gameplay tweaks are currently in the works. For a medieval themed version that already has roles, but is incompatible with The Resistance, see The Resistance: Avalon (http://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/128882/resistance-avalon).
Wits and Wagers (http://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/123239/wits-wagers-party) (4+ players) All versions of this game are worth playing. If you don't like the gambling theme, there's the family edition. This is basically numbers trivia ('what year did X happen', 'how many times did Y happen', 'how long is Z in feet and inches', etc.). Once everyone writes an answer, everyone reveals and answers are ordered from biggest to smallest. Everyone then has two tokens to place on one or two answers they think might be right. The reader then flips the card over and reads the answer. Person who gets closest gets a point and the owner of each token placed on that answer gets a point (so you can know nothing and still get points!). Only downside here is that it does lean to be U.S.-centric in both units of measure and some, but not all, of the trivia. My understanding is Gambit 7 (http://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/47046/gambit-7) is a very similar game that is closer to being international, but I don't know if it's still in print.
Clusterfight (http://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/144993/clusterfight) (3-12 players) The game that claims to settle the answer of 'who would win in a fight between X and Y.' Each player will have a hand of three Fighter cards and three Battle cards. Fighters feature pop culture figures both real and fictional (e.g. Spider-Man, Marilyn Monroe, the Little Engine that Could). Battle cards can be items (a lightsaber), a status (vomiting uncontrollably), an action that changes the rules of the fight (Battle of the Bands), or a battleground (the 7th circle of Hell). Each round players take turns playing fighters and then everyone except a judge votes on who they think the judge will pick. After voting, everyone plays Battle cards to tip the odds in someone's favor. Everyone argues about the result and once the judge hears enough, they make their final choice. Person who played the fighter gets points, as does anyone who voted for them. For more than 6 players, everyone pairs up and now it's teams of two fighters joining the fray!
Also, Dixit, Wits and Wagers, and The Resistance have all had tabletop episodes for them, so if you want to see actual gameplay of them, I recommend searching for those!