Sarah Beeny's Property Ladder

A spin-off from British TV series "Property Ladder", this game sees players navigate around the board trying to acquire, renovate, and sell prime residential property. A bit like a far simpler and more modern 'Monopoly'. Players must first land on a 'buy' square to purchase up their first property: then increase its value with by spending money on 'developments' and 'advice cards'. Once the kitchen, bathroom and garden are renovated, the player can sell - if they land on the right square. A renovated property means a profitable sale: the extra cash can then be spent buying, and improving, a more expensive property. The winner is the first player to buy, renovate and then sell three properties in succession. Landing on 'repairs' or 'council tax' squares can cost the player money; if you run out of money in hand, you have to 're-mortgage' your property, meaning you can't develop until you get more cash by passing Go. And if you're out of cash and have no un-mortgaged property, you're out of the game. There's a balance to be struck between cash now and cash later: buying an expensive property early on, or investing a lot in the optional (but profitable) 'advice cards', pays higher dividends - but it can leave you stuck for ready cash and hold up your progress by re-mortgaging. This amusing game was exclusively available at Marks & Spencer in Q4 2007.