Commonly Missed Monopoly Rules
Everyone who has ever bought a Monopoly® game should have the rules, but because everyone seems to know about or have a game, very few actually sit down to read the rules. The rules are actually pretty clear, but a few get overlooked. Here are the ones that most folks don’t know about.
Buildings
There are 32 houses and 12 hotels in a Monopoly® set and that’s it. Once these are used up you cannot buy any more. This can be used to an advantage. If someone buys up the last of the houses than no more building can occur. This includes hotels.
When you sell houses or hotels back to the bank you only get half of what you paid for them.
You can buy and sell buildings, or conduct any other business, at any point in the game. You don’t have to wait for your turn. However, this business should be conducted between roles of the dice, with a brief “time out” being called.
Auctions
If you decide you do not want to buy a property you land on, it is immediately auctioned by the bank. One way or another the bank gets rid of it. Regardless of price, the property is sold to the highest bidder.
Cards
Once a “Chance” or “Community Chest” card is drawn, it is placed, face down, on the bottom of the deck (unless it is a “Get Out of Jail Free” card). The deck is never reshuffled during the game. It is fun when the cards have gone around once and you have an idea of what cards are coming up. This is especially true in the later stages of the game if you know one of the “building repair” cards are coming up and there are lots of houses and hotels about. Drawing cards then begins to resemble a game of Russian Roulette.
Income Tax
Income tax is calculated from total net worth, including property and buildings, not just cash on hand. You must decided whether to pay the 10% or the $200 before you count up what you have.
The Bank
The bank will not except anything from players except cash, houses, and hotels, with buildings worth only half their purchase price. Money can be raised by mortgaging properties. The bank cannot take back property. If a player happens to go bankrupt to the bank, the bank must immediately auction all of that player’s properties. The bank, or any other player, cannot loan money to another player.
Going Into Debt
Quite simply, You can’t! Once your assets are down to zero (or less) you are bankrupt and out of the game. You can get a “loan” from the bank in the form of mortgaging.
Jail
A player can collect rent or conduct any other business when in jail, just like Al Capone did.
If you do not roll doubles on your third turn in jail then you must pay the $50 fine.
Mortgages
When you bring property out of mortgage you must pay 10% interest.
If you obtain mortgage property from another player you must pay the 10% interest immediately, whether or not you take it out of mortgage. If you bring the property out of mortgage at a later time a further 10% is still applied. This additional interest can be avoided by bringing the properties out of mortgage immediately.
Trades
Under no circumstances can players loan money to each other, nor can houses or hotels be transferred from one player to another. Buildings must be sold back to the bank for one-half of their purchase price, and purchased by the other player at the appropriate value for the properties they will be built upon. Player are free to exchange properties (provided they do not contain buildings), cash or “Get Out of Jail Free” cards in trades. Players cannot trade “immunity” for fines when landing on other player’s properties.
Free Parking
Nothing happens on “Free Parking”. No money collects here. It’s exactly what the name says – free parking.
However, if you have the Stock Exchange option, Free Parking becomes the Stock Exchange.
GO
You do not get $400 if you land on “GO”. You just get your regular salary of $200.
There are 3 players.
Player #1 lands on a property and does not want to buy it.
Player #2 isn’t interested in property.
Player #3 wishes to bid on property.
Player #1 says that you need more than one player interested in the property in oredr for the bank to auction to the highest bidder.
Player #3 says that if there is only one bidder than the property goes to him ie. Player # 3.
Please help.
What is the correct answer.
Thanks!
–Jorge–
You have a minor typo.
Building: If someone buys up the last of the houses than no more building can occur.
The word than should actually be then preceeded by a comma ….houses, then no……
What do you mean when you say that free parking becomes the Stock Exchange
Hi Chris,
I hope you still check your blog, I have a questions regarding anobscure rule that is in monopoly that has caused many disagreements amongst the group of players I play with. There is a Chance card that says “You Are Assessed for Street Repairs” and we disagree on the meaning of “street”. Do you have to pay for:
1) all your houses and hotels on the board
2) all your houses and hotels on the side of the board where your piece is (i.e. if you are between Short Line and Park Place, on Chance and get this card do you pay for the houses & hotels that you own on the Greens and Boardwalk and Park Place only?)
3) all the houses and hotels (both yours and other players) on the side of the board where you are (i.e. if you are between Short Line and Park Place, on Chance and get this card do you pay for the houses & hotels on the Greens and Boardwalk and Park Place regardless of who owns them?)
The card does not say that you have to be the owner of the properties to pay for the street repairs…
Thanks!
Thank you. The reason monopoly lasts so long and gets so boring is the made up rules. Free parking lotteries put too much money into the economy and loans prolong the game further.
do you still collect 2million for passing go even when you get a advance to go collect two million card
“do you still collect 2million for passing go even when you get a advance to go collect two million card”
You only get to collect one salary ($200 usually, but $2 million on some editions) per trip around the board. If you are sent to GO! through a card, you collect your salary for landing on GO!, but do not collect another salary when leaving GO!.
Hey Steven! Sorry for the delayed response, but basically when you have to pay for street repairs, you only pay for your houses and hotels. And yes, you have to pay for every single one you own.
“What do you mean when you say that free parking becomes the Stock Exchange?”
There was an expansion set for Monopoly available called “Stock Exhchange” that converted the Free Parking spot into a stock exchange. The originals are very rare, but reproductions are readily available. I had a reproduction when I had my collection, but never played it, so I can’t comment on how it works.
I hope you or someone has an answer for me on this. If a player has to break down his hotels on a monopoly to pay another player rent and there are no more houses availible in the bank what happens? Does he lose all buildings on the property and gets completely re-imbursed from the bank for the homes or should we put something there to replace the homes (i.e. penny’s), seeing as they were he owned them before the hotel and before they were bought by someone else. This has been a bitter dispute between my friends for a couple years now and really has taken some of the fun out of the game.
COULD YOU PLEASE SETTLE A DISPUTE FOR THIS GRANDMA? WE JUST HAD A BIG BLOW UP BECAUSE MY 13 YR OLD WHO THINKS HE’S AN EXPERT AT THE GAME ( AND HE USUALLY WINS) SAYS HE DOESN’T HAVE TO SHOW HIS MONEY OR HIS PROPERTY UNLESS OF COURSE HE HAS TO COLECT RENT. I FEEL LIKE I’M PLAYING IN THE DARK BECAUSE HE SAYS HE DOESN’T EVEN HAVE TO TELL US HOW MUCH MONEY HE HAS? IS THIS FAIR? OR BETTER YET IS IT A RULE? THANKS! HELEN
Hi Helen! I’m always glad to help a grandma.
All player money and properties must be visible on the playing table at all times. However, they don’t have to be displayed. In other words, the money can be in one large pile, as can the properties. Players cannot hide money or property cards completely out of sight. Other than that, things are fair game.
Properties held by the bank (unsold) should be visible to all players at all times, so that players can see what is still available.
CHRIS, I’M NOT SURE IF MY LAST THANK YOU WENT THRU BECAUSE MY COMPUTER SHUT DOWN ON ME. SO I WILL THANK YOU AGAIN FOR ANSWERING THIS PROBLEM FOR ME. WE HAD PUT THE GAME AWAY NEVER TO BE PLAYED AGAIN IN THIS HOUSE BUT NOW THAT WE ALL KNOW THE ANSWER TO THE “MONEY HIDING” I WILL BRING IT OUT AND MAYBE ENJOY SOME GOOD OLD FASHIONED FUN AGAIN! THANKS A MILLION!. HELEN
