I found the game "Property" in Sid Sackson's Gamut of Games, played it and I thought he was nearly there. I took a few other mechanics and created a nifty game that unfortunately grinds to a halt toward the end.
The board is an 8 by 8 grid, each square has two numbers that detail the coordinates (an address, if you will). You roll four dice and divide them into two pairs and that tells you where you can build. If that square is open and has no neighbors, you're scot free. If an opponent is next to you, you have to pay the neighbor a fee. If one of your pairs is doubles you can build on any number (a red die is included so that things are tightened down a bit). If you roll two pairs, you can build anywhere on the board you like, if you have the money. Seven is not on the board, if you make a combination including a 7 you can take money from the bank in exchange for building.
The score is based on the number of untethered groups you have on the board plus the number of buildings left in hand when the game ends, plus the number of times you took out a loan. Low score wins.
Here's the problem. If you roll up something where all of your combinations are either built by you or your opponent, you're out of luck. You can take a cash buyout, but you don't get to build that turn, and that can be catastrophic if the game is close. I'd prefer to not have tearing down buildings as an element because that gets closer to "Uptown" than I like, but I'm not sure what else to do in that instance. Just telling the player "aw, you rolled poorly, go kick some rocks" isn't going to cut it, but being able to demolish a building of an opponent can absolutely ruin his game.
What's a designer to do?
Ooh. I like those both a whole bunch.