I recently acquired a copy of the gameBoom Street, for Nintendo Wii. Some players may know this game asFortune Street, orItadaki Street. It's a lot like Monopoly, but with a few twists added in.

WithBoom Street comes an easy mode and a tutorial which is actually in English, which is nice. In the easy mode, there's no stock market, and districts are replaced by bonuses when you get multiple shops next to each other. In the standard mode, there is a stock market, and the shops are grouped into districts like in Monopoly.

I've already played a few games of this, and met some familiar characters on the boards. So far, I've encountered Toad, Slime, Platypunk (newb), Princess Princessa, Kyril, Stella and a Japanese wi-fi player with a pet mimic. I've also returned to the Observatory fromDragon Quest IX for one of the games, which is nice.

At least three of those characters (including Princessa) have actually introduced themselves to me. :)

Currently, I'm engaged in a financial battle between me and the well-known Super Mario and his friend Yoshi, against Bowser junior. This particular battle is a good example of how the tide can change in a few turns, so you shouldn't give up just because people have a few more coins than you do!

Oh, and before I forget, I've done a bit of exploring in the free play area, and it turns out you can use other Miis as computer players too. Which means the Marcus Mates are going to be coming here too!