The classic board game Monopoly is easy to play once you have a basic understanding of Monopoly rules. To start the game, one player is designated as the banker, and is responsible for distributing and collecting money and holding the Title Deeds of unsold properties and the unsold houses and hotels. Monopoly rules allow the banker to opt out of playing when there are more than five players. He rolls the dice first, and each player rolls the dice in succession to determine the order of play. The player with the highest combined total goes first, and the player to the left goes next.
Each player receives starting cash of $1500, and places their selected token on the square marked “Go.” The first player rolls the dice and moves his token the number of spaces equal to the total of the dice. When he makes it back around to “Go” the banker gives him $200. If a player rolls doubles, after he moves his token and follows the instructions for that space, he rolls the dice a second time and continues his turn. Should a player roll doubles three times in a row, Monopoly rules dictate he must go directly to the “In Jail” space.
When the token lands on property, the player has the option to purchase the property unless another player owns it, in which case he must pay rent to the owner. If the token lands on “Chance” or “Community Chest,” he draws the top card from the pile, follows the instructions on the card, and returns the card to the bottom. If he draws the “Get Out of Jail Free” card, Monopoly rules permit him to keep the card or sell it to another player at whatever price they agree on. After it is used, it is returned to the bottom of the stack of cards. If the token lands on the “Income Tax” space, the player can choose between paying $200 or 10% of his net worth. According to official Monopoly rules, net worth consists of all cash, printed price of all property, mortgaged or not, and the price of each house or hotel.
If a player owns all the property in one color group, Monopoly rules allow him to improve his property by buying houses, which increases the rent. The price of a house is listed on the Title Deed. Monopoly rules state that the owner must put one house on each property in a color group before adding a second house, building up to four houses on one property. Then he can turn in the houses and buy one hotel. Should a player run out of cash, Monopoly rules permit him to sell houses and hotels back to the bank or mortgage an unimproved property. If a player’s debts exceed his assets, he enters bankruptcy, ending the game for him. If the debt is owed to the bank, the property is auctioned to the other players. If the debt is owed to another player, that player takes possession of all assets. Monopoly rules require the new owner to pay 10% of the value of any mortgaged property immediately. He can pay off the mortgage now or later, but if he waits Monopoly rules specify he must pay interest again.
If you’re still stuck with the rules of Monopoly you can always contact HASBRO (the creators) using their site here.
