Everyone Plays Monopoly Wrong and It Ruins the Game

Few board games have the ability to cause arguments like Monopoly, an unsurprising fact given the object of the game it was based on (see: Who Invented Monopoly?) was to send your opponent to the poor house while you bask in the pleasures of immense wealth and prosperity. In the eight decades or so the game has existed, the rules of Monopoly haven’t really changed all that much, but because everyone "knows" how to play, how people actually play the game has slowly diverged from what the actual rule book, which nobody ever bothers to read, says. In anticipation of various family get-togethers coming up this holiday season, in which you'll no doubt be subjected to a game of Monopoly at some point, in this article, we're going to correct the various ways you've probably been playing Monopoly wrong your whole life. To begin with, according to the copy of the rules slipped into every copy of Monopoly ever sold, Free Parking does nothing. It is quite simply a free space for your tiny car or hotel owning feline avatar to rest while they count their rent money. Despite this rule being clearly displayed in every box of Monopoly, Hasbro (the game’s publisher) has stated they receive hundreds of calls from customers asking about it every year. (As for us, in the seven years this site has existed, we've only been asked this question three times to date.) This, amongst other things, encouraged Hasbro to commission a study of customers during which they found that an astonishing 68% of respondents admitted that they’d never actually read the game’s rules. In addition, Hasbro also found that around 30% of players simply made up their own rules while playing. This actually prompted Hasbro to include these so-called “house rules” in later games as an option, one of the most popular of which is that every tax dollar and fine goes into the centre of the board which is then given to whatever player lands on Free Parking. This misconception concerning what happens when you land on Free Parking isn't the only way you're probably not playing Monopoly by the book. And some of the actual rules speed up the game considerably, and ensures you often have something to do even when it's not your turn. Author: Karl Smallwood Editor: Daven Hiskey Host: Simon Whistler