Monopoly (game)

Monopoly is a board game currently published by Hasbro. In the game, players roll two six-sided dice to move around the game board, buying and trading properties, and developing them with houses and hotels. Players collect rent from their opponents, with the goal being to drive them into bankruptcy. Money can also be gained or lost through Chance and Community Chest cards, and tax squares; players can end up in jail, which they cannot move from until they have met one of several conditions. The game has numerous house rules, and hundreds of different editions exist, as well as many spin-offs and related media. Monopoly has become a part of international popular culture, having been licensed locally in more than 103 countries and printed in more than 37 languages.

Monopoly is derived from The Landlord’s Game created by Lizzie Magie in the United States in 1903 as a way to demonstrate that an economy which rewards wealth creation is better than one where monopolists work under few constraints, and to promote the economic theories of Henry George—in particular his ideas about taxation. It was first published by Parker Brothers in 1935. The game is named after the economic concept of monopoly—the domination of a market by a single entity.

Official rules

Players take turns in order, with the initial player determined by chance before the game. A typical turn begins with the rolling of the dice and advancing a piece clockwise around the board the corresponding number of squares. If a player rolls doubles, they roll again after completing that portion of their turn. A player who rolls three consecutive sets of doubles on one turn has been “caught speeding” and is immediately sent to jail instead of moving the amount shown on the dice for the third roll.

A player who lands on or passes the Go space collects $200 from the bank. Players who land on either Income Tax or Luxury Tax pay the indicated amount to the bank. In older editions of the game, two options were given for Income Tax: either pay a flat fee of $200 or 10% of total net worth (including the current values of all the properties and buildings owned). No calculation could be made before the choice, and no latitude was given for reversing an unwise calculation. In 2008, the calculation option was removed from the official rules, and simultaneously the Luxury Tax was increased to $100 from its original $75. No reward or penalty is given for landing on Free Parking.

Properties can only be developed once a player owns all the properties in that color group. They then must be developed equally. A house must be built on each property of that color before a second can be built. Each property within a group must be within one house level of all the others within that group.

Chance/Community Chest

If a player lands on a Chance or Community Chest space, they draw the top card from the respective deck and follow its instructions. This may include collecting or paying money to the bank or another player or moving to a different space on the board. Two types of cards that involve jail, “Go to Jail” and “Get Out of Jail Free”, are explained below.

Jail

A player is sent to jail for doing any of the following:

• Landing directly on “Go to Jail”
• Throwing three consecutive doubles in one turn
• Drawing a “Go to Jail” card from Chance or Community Chest

When a player is sent to jail, they move directly to the Jail space and their turn ends (“Do not pass Go. Do not collect $200.”). If an ordinary dice roll (not one of the above events) ends with the player’s token on the Jail corner, they are “Just Visiting” and can move ahead on their next turn without incurring any penalty.

If a player is in jail, they do not take a normal turn and must either pay a fine of $50 to be released, use a Chance or Community Chest Get Out of Jail Free card, or attempt to roll doubles on the dice. If a player fails to roll doubles, they lose their turn. Failing to roll doubles for three consecutive turns requires the player to either pay the $50 fine or use a Get Out of Jail Free card, after which they move ahead according to the total rolled. Players in jail may not buy properties directly from the bank since they are unable to move. They can engage all other transactions, such as mortgaging properties, selling/trading properties to other players, buying/selling houses and hotels, collecting rent, and bidding on property auctions. A player who rolls doubles to leave jail does not roll again; however, if the player pays the fine or uses a card to get out and then rolls doubles, they do take another turn.

Properties

If the player lands on an unowned property, whether street, railroad, or utility, they can buy the property for its listed purchase price. If they decline this purchase, the property is auctioned off by the bank to the highest bidder, including the player who declined to buy. If the property landed on is already owned and unmortgaged, they must pay the owner a given rent; the amount depends on whether the property is part of a set or its level of development.

When a player owns all the properties in a color group and none of them are mortgaged, they may develop them during their turn or in between other player’s turns. Development involves buying miniature houses or hotels from the bank and placing them on the property spaces; this must be done uniformly across the group. That is, a second house cannot be built on any property within a group until all of them have one house. Once the player owns an entire group, they can collect double rent for any undeveloped properties within it. Although houses and hotels cannot be built on railroads or utilities, the given rent increases if a player owns more than one of either type. If there is a housing shortage (more demand for houses to be built than what remains in the bank), then a housing auction is conducted to determine who will get to purchase each house.

Mortgaging

Properties can also be mortgaged, although all developments on a monopoly must be sold before any property of that color can be mortgaged or traded. The player receives half the purchase price from the bank for each mortgaged property. This must be repaid with 10% interest to clear the mortgage. Houses and hotels can be sold back to the bank for half their purchase price. Players cannot collect rent on mortgaged properties and may not give improved property away to others; however, trading mortgaged properties is allowed. The player receiving the mortgaged property must immediately pay the bank the mortgage price plus 10% or pay just the 10% amount and keep the property mortgaged; if the player chooses the latter, they must pay the 10% again when they pay off the mortgage.

Bankruptcy

A player who cannot pay what they owe is bankrupt and eliminated from the game. If the bankrupt player owes the bank, they must turn all their assets over to the bank, who then auctions off their properties (if they have any), except buildings. If the debt is owed to another player instead, all assets are given to that opponent, except buildings which must be returned to the bank. The new owner must either pay off any mortgages held by the bank on such properties received or pay a fee of 10% of the mortgaged value to the bank if they choose to leave the properties mortgaged. The winner is the remaining player left after all of the others have gone bankrupt.

If a player runs out of money but still has assets that can be converted to cash, they can do so by selling buildings, mortgaging properties, or trading with other players. To avoid bankruptcy the player must be able to raise enough cash to pay the full amount owed.

A player cannot choose to go bankrupt; if there is any way to pay what they owe, even by returning all their buildings at a loss, mortgaging all their real estate and giving up all their cash, even knowing they are likely going bankrupt the next time, they must do so.