   #copyright

Monopoly (game)

2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection. Related subjects: Games

   Monopoly
   Players make their way around the Monopoly board, such as this German
   one.
   Publisher Parker Brothers
   Players 2–8
   Setup time 5–15 minutes
   Playing time 1.5–6 hours
   Rules complexity Medium
   Strategy depth Medium
   Random chance Medium (dice rolling, card drawing, luck)
   Skills required Dice rolling
   Counting
   Social skills
   BoardGameGeek entry

          Throughout this article, the unqualified use of currency
          denominations such as "$" or "£" generally refers to play money
          in the context of the game.

   Monopoly is the best-selling commercial board game in the world.
   Players compete to acquire wealth through stylized economic activity
   involving the buying, rental and trading of properties using play
   money, as players take turns moving around the board according to the
   roll of the dice. The game is named after the economic concept of
   monopoly, the domination of a market by a single seller.

   According to Hasbro, since Charles Darrow patented the game in 1935,
   approximately 750 million people have played the game, making it "the
   most played [commercial] board game in the world." The 1999 Guinness
   Book of Records cited Hasbro's previous statistic of 500 million people
   having played Monopoly. Games Magazine has inducted Monopoly into its
   Hall of Fame.

History

   The history of Monopoly can be traced back to the early 1900s. In 1904,
   an inventor named Lizzie Magie patented a game through which she hoped
   to be able to explain some of the economic ideas of Henry George. Her
   game, The Landlord's Game, was commercially published a few years
   later. Magie's game was redeveloped by her, and other interested game
   players, many of whom made their own sets. Magie herself patented a
   revised edition of the game in 1924, and similar games were published
   commercially. By the early 1930s a board game named Monopoly was
   created much like the version of Monopoly sold by Parker Brothers and
   its parent companies through the rest of the 20th century, and into the
   21st. Several different people, mostly in the U.S. Midwest and near the
   U.S. East Coast, contributed to the game's design and evolution.

   By the 1970s, the game's early history had been lost (and at least one
   historian has argued that it was purposely suppressed - see below), and
   the idea that it had been created solely by Charles Darrow had become
   popular folklore, printed in the game's instructions, and even the 1974
   book The Monopoly Book: Strategy and Tactics of the World's Most
   Popular Game, by Maxine Brady. As Professor Ralph Anspach fought Parker
   Brothers and their then parent company, General Mills, over the
   trademarks of the Monopoly board game, much of the early history of the
   game was "rediscovered."

   Because of the lengthy court process, and appeals, the legal status of
   Parker Brothers' trademarks on the game was not settled until the
   mid-1980s. The game's name remains a registered trademark of Parker
   Brothers, as do its specific design elements. Parker Brothers current
   corporate parent, Hasbro, again only acknowledges the role of Charles
   Darrow in the creation of the game. Anspach published a book about his
   researches, called The Billion Dollar Monopoly Swindle, in which he
   makes his case about the purposeful suppression of the game's early
   history and development.

Board

Atlantic City version

   This is the original and classic version produced originally by Charles
   Darrow, and later by Parker Brothers. The board consists of 40 squares
   containing 28 properties, 3 " Chance" squares, 3 " Community Chest"
   squares, a " Luxury Tax" square, an " Income Tax" square, "GO", "
   Jail", " Free Parking", and "Go To Jail." In the U.S. version shown
   below, the properties are named after locations in (or near) Atlantic
   City, New Jersey.

   CAPTION: Standard (American Edition) Monopoly game board layout [  ]

                        Free Parking Kentucky Avenue
                        ($220) Chance Indiana Avenue
                           ($220) Illinois Avenue
                             ($240) B&O Railroad
                           ($200) Atlantic Avenue
                            ($260) Ventnor Avenue
                             ($260) Water Works
                            ($150) Marvin Gardens
                              ($280) Go To Jail

                               New York Avenue
                    ($200)    Monopoly    Pacific Avenue
                                   ($300)
                              Tennessee Avenue
                     ($180)       North Carolina Avenue
                                   ($300)
                       Community Chest Community Chest
                               St. James Place
                      ($180)       Pennsylvania Avenue
                                   ($320)
                            Pennsylvania Railroad
                              ($200) Short Line
                                   ($200)
                               Virginia Avenue
                              ($160)    Chance
                                States Avenue
                           ($140)       Park Place
                                   ($350)
                              Electric Company
                              ($150) Luxury Tax
                                  (Pay $75)
                              St. Charles Place
                           ($140)       Boardwalk
                                   ($400)
                    Jail       Chance    Reading Railroad
                              ($200) Income Tax
               (Pay 10% or $200)    Community Chest    ⇐ GO
                             Connecticut Avenue
                            ($120) Vermont Avenue
                           ($100) Oriental Avenue
                            ($100) Baltic Avenue
                         ($60) Mediterranean Avenue
                                    ($60)

   Landing on the Jail space by a direct roll of the dice (without being
   sent to Jail) in the corner between the Light Blue and Light
   Purple/Maroon properties means the player is "Just Visiting" and
   continue the next turn normally.

   Note that Marvin Gardens, a Yellow property on the above board, is
   actually a misspelling of the original location name, Marven Gardens.
   Marven Gardens is not a street, but a housing area outside Atlantic
   City. The housing area is said to be derived from MARgate City and
   VENtnor City in New Jersey (emphasis added). The misspelling was
   originally introduced by Charles Todd, whose home-made Monopoly board
   was copied by Charles Darrow and subsequently used as the basis of
   their design by Parker Brothers. It was not until 1995 that Parker
   Brothers acknowledged this mistake and formally apologized to the
   residents of Marven Gardens for the misspelling.

   Illinois Avenue was renamed Martin Luther King, Jr. Blvd. in Atlantic
   City sometime during the 1980s. States Avenue and Saint Charles Place
   no longer exist, as the Showboat Casino Hotel was developed where they
   once ran.

   Short Line is believed to refer to the Shore Fast Line, a streetcar
   line that served Atlantic City. The B&O Railroad did not serve Atlantic
   City. A booklet included with the reprinted 1935 edition states that
   the four railroads that served Atlantic City in the mid-1930s were the
   Jersey Central, the Seashore Lines, the Reading Railroad, and the
   Pennsylvania Railroad. Finally, Atlantic City does not have a Water
   Works – its water is piped in from the New Jersey "mainland" through
   two pipes.

   The other versions of the game have different property names, and the
   prices may be denominated in another currency, but the game mechanics
   are almost identical. The income tax choice from the U.S. version is
   replaced by a flat rate in the UK version, and the $75 Luxury Tax
   square is replaced with the £100 Super Tax square. The same is true of
   current German boards, with a €200 for the Income Tax space on the
   board, and a €100 Zusatzsteuer (Add-on tax) in place of the Luxury Tax.
   To complicate matters further, an Austrian version, released by Parker
   Brothers/Hasbro in 2001, does allow for the 10% or €200 for Income Tax
   and has a €100 Luxury Tax.

London version

   In the 1930s, John Waddington Ltd. (Waddingtons) was a firm of printers
   from Leeds that had begun to branch out into packaging and the
   production of playing cards. Waddingtons had sent the card game Lexicon
   to Parker Brothers hoping to interest them in publishing the game in
   the United States. In a similar fashion Parker Brothers sent over a
   copy of Monopoly to Waddingtons early in 1935 before the game had been
   put into production in the United States.

   The managing director of Waddingtons, Victor Watson, gave the game to
   his son Norman (who was head of the card games division) to test over
   the weekend. Norman was impressed by the game and persuaded his father
   to call Parker Brothers on Monday morning. This call resulted in
   Waddingtons obtaining a license to produce and market the game outside
   of the United States. Watson felt that in order for the game to be a
   success in Britain the American locations would have to be replaced, so
   Victor and his secretary, Marjory Phillips, went to London to scout out
   locations. The Angel, Islington is not a street in London but an area
   of North London named after a coaching inn that stood on the Great
   North Road. By the 1930s the inn had become a Lyons Corner House (it is
   now a Co-operative Bank). Some accounts say that Marjory and Victor met
   at the Angel to discuss the selection and celebrated the fact by
   including it on the Monopoly board. In 2003, a plaque commemorating the
   naming, was unveiled at the site by Victor Watson's grandson who is
   also named Victor.

   The standard British board, produced by Waddingtons, was for many years
   the version most familiar to people in countries in the Commonwealth
   (except Canada, where the U.S. edition with Atlantic City-area names
   was reprinted), although local variants of the board are now also found
   in several of these countries such as New Zealand (see Localized
   versions of the Monopoly game).

   In the cases where the game was produced under license by a national
   company, the £ (pound) was replaced by a $ (dollar) sign, but the place
   names were unchanged.

   CAPTION: Standard (British Edition) Monopoly game board layout [  ]

   Free Parking Strand (£220) Chance Fleet Street (£220) Trafalgar Square
  (£240) Fenchurch Street station (£200) Leicester Square (£260) Coventry
      Street (£260) Water Works (£150) Piccadilly (£280) Go To Jail

          Vine Street (£200)    Monopoly    Regent Street (£300)
           Marlborough Street (£180)       Oxford Street (£300)
                       Community Chest Community Chest
                Bow Street (£180)       Bond Street (£320)
         Marylebone station (£200) Liverpool Street station (£200)
                   Northumberland Avenue (£160)    Chance
                  Whitehall (£140)       Park Lane (£350)
               Electric Company (£150) Super Tax (Pay £100)
                   Pall Mall (£140)       Mayfair (£400)
   Jail       Chance    King's Cross station (£200) Income Tax (Pay £200)
                           Community Chest    ⇐ GO
   Pentonville Road (£120) Euston Road (£100) The Angel Islington (£100)
                Whitechapel Road (£60) Old Kent Road (£60)

   For a list of some of the localized versions, including the UK "Here &
   Now" edition, and the names of their properties, see localized versions
   of the Monopoly game.

Here and Now Editions

   United Kingdom
          In 2005, Hasbro launched the UK version of the "Here and Now
          Limited Edition", updating the properties and prices to reflect
          present-day London properties. The playing pieces were also
          changed to be: Mobile phone, Roller blade, Hamburger, Jumbo Jet,
          Racing Car, Skateboard and London Bus. This version was launched
          in recognition of the game's 70th anniversary in conjunction
          with an online version.

   United States
          The U.S. version of the "Here and Now Edition" replaces Atlantic
          City landmarks with legendary U.S. streets, neighborhoods and
          national monuments. Fans were able to vote on the U.S. Monopoly
          website for their favorite landmarks from 22 cities – including
          New York's Times Square, Chicago's Wrigley Field, Honolulu's
          Waikiki Beach, Minneapolis' Mall of America, Beverly Hills'
          Rodeo Drive, Nashville's Grand Ole Opry, Phoenix's Camelback
          Mountain, and San Francisco's Golden Gate Bridge. Additionally,
          the votes determined where each landmark appears on the game
          board; the city with the most votes landing on the coveted
          Boardwalk spot. The railroads were replaced by airports, namely,
          New York's JFK, Chicago's O'Hare, Los Angeles' LAX and Atlanta's
          Hartsfield-Jackson. Property values have been increased, money
          is in higher denominations, and the Community Chest and Chance
          cards reflect more modern scenarios. Tokens in the new game
          include a box of McDonald's French fries, a cup of Starbucks
          coffee, a Toyota Prius, a New Balance tennis shoe, a Motorola
          RAZR cellular phone, and a laptop. A version for Microsoft
          Windows based on the same board was also released on CD-ROM,
          produced by Encore, Inc.

   Germany
          A German edition (called "Monopoly Heute" or "Monopoly Today")
          was released in 2005, with updated properties in Berlin.

   France
          The French edition (called "Monopoly - Nouveau plateau") was
          released in 2005, with updated properties in Paris.

   Australia
          The Australian edition followed a nomination process similar to
          the American edition, though with Premiers making the
          nominations to Hasbro. The set was released in autumn 2006.

   Canada
          A Here and Now Limited Edition has been released in Canada
          around the same time as that of the US version. It includes
          landmarks such as Niagara Falls, Percé Rock and Yorkville.

   Debit Card versions
          A "Here and Now Electronic Banking Edition" was released in the
          United Kingdom in 2006, which includes an ATM and Visa debit
          cards in place of paper money. Australia also has the UK Debit
          Card version, however with Pound sterling instead of Australian
          dollars. A similar edition is available in Germany and France
          where they are known as "Monopoly Banking" and "Monopoly
          Electronique" respectively.

Properties in detail

   This list details the 22 real estate properties in the original
   American version of Monopoly as presented by Darrow to Parker Brothers.
   The Original Atlantic City Monopoly board was done by Hoskin/Raiford's
   Atlantic City Quaker Friends School teachers with the changes noted by
   starred [*] items. The bracketed items are the differences in the names
   on the Hoskin/Raiford Quaker Monopoly board. It is believed that a
   version copied from this school's edition by Charles Todd was in turn
   copied by Charles Darrow, duplicating the changes in names, and the
   infamous misspelling of Marven Gardens.
   Name Price Price per
   house Rent Rent
   (1 House) Rent
   (2 Houses) Rent
   (3 Houses) Rent
   (4 Houses) Rent
   (Hotel) Mortgage
   Mediterranean Avenue/Old Kent Rd

                                     60

                                     50

                                      2

                                     10

                                     30

                                     90

                                     160

                                     250

                                     30

   Baltic Avenue/Whitechapel Rd

                                     60

                                     50

                                      4

                                     20

                                     60

                                     180

                                     320

                                     450

                                     30

   Oriental Avenue/The Angel, Islington

                                     100

                                     50

                                      6

                                     30

                                     90

                                     270

                                     400

                                     550

                                     50

   Vermont Avenue/Euston Rd

                                     100

                                     50

                                      6

                                     30

                                     90

                                     270

                                     400

                                     550

                                     50

   Connecticut Avenue/Pentonville Rd

                                     120

                                     50

                                      8

                                     40

                                     100

                                     300

                                     450

                                     600

                                     60

   St. Charles Place/Pall Mall

                                     140

                                     100

                                     10

                                     50

                                     150

                                     450

                                     625

                                     750

                                     70

   States Avenue/Whitehall

                                     140

                                     100

                                     10

                                     50

                                     150

                                     450

                                     625

                                     750

                                     70

   Virginia Avenue/Northumberland Ave

                                     160

                                     100

                                     12

                                     60

                                     180

                                     500

                                     700

                                     900

                                     80

   St. James Place/Bow St

                                     180

                                     100

                                     14

                                     70

                                     200

                                     550

                                     750

                                     950

                                     90

   Tennessee Avenue/Marlborough St

                                     180

                                     100

                                     14

                                     70

                                     200

                                     550

                                     750

                                     950

                                     90

   New York Avenue/Vine St

                                     200

                                     100

                                     16

                                     80

                                     220

                                     600

                                     800

                                    1000

                                     100

   Kentucky Avenue/Strand

                                     220

                                     150

                                     18

                                     90

                                     250

                                     700

                                     875

                                    1050

                                     110

   Indiana Avenue/Fleet St

                                     220

                                     150

                                     18

                                     90

                                     250

                                     700

                                     875

                                    1050

                                     110

   Illinois Avenue/Trafalgar Sq

                                     240

                                     150

                                     20

                                     100

                                     300

                                     750

                                     925

                                    1100

                                     120

   Atlantic Avenue/Leicester Sq

                                     260

                                     150

                                     22

                                     110

                                     330

                                     800

                                     975

                                    1150

                                     130

   Ventnor Avenue/Coventry St

                                     260

                                     150

                                     22

                                     110

                                     330

                                     800

                                     975

                                    1150

                                     130

   * Marvin Gardens [Marven Gardens]/Piccadilly

                                     280

                                     150

                                     24

                                     120

                                     360

                                     850

                                    1025

                                    1200

                                     140

   Pacific Avenue/Regent St

                                     300

                                     200

                                     26

                                     130

                                     390

                                     900

                                    1100

                                    1275

                                     150

   * North Carolina Avenue [South Carolina Avenue]/Oxford St

                                     300

                                     200

                                     26

                                     130

                                     390

                                     900

                                    1100

                                    1275

                                     150

   Pennsylvania Avenue/Bond St

                                     320

                                     200

                                     28

                                     150

                                     450

                                    1000

                                    1200

                                    1400

                                     160

   Park Place/Park Lane

                                     350

                                     200

                                     35

                                     175

                                     500

                                    1100

                                    1300

                                    1500

                                     175

   Boardwalk/Mayfair

                                     400

                                     200

                                     50

                                     200

                                     600

                                    1400

                                    1700

                                    2000

                                     200

   The four railroads/stations (Reading Railroad, Pennsylvania Railroad,
   B&O Railroad, and Short Line/Kings Cross, Marylebone, Fenchurch St,
   Liverpool St) are each worth 200. Rent is based on the number of
   railroads that player owns: 25 for one, 50 for two, 100 for three, and
   200 for all four. Each railroad has a mortgage value of 100.

   The two utilities (Electric Company and Water Works) are each worth
   150. If a player owns either, rent is equal to the amount shown on the
   dice times 4. If a player owns both, rent is equal to the amount shown
   on the dice times 10. Each utility has a mortgage value of 75.

Equipment

   All twelve tokens from the U.S. Deluxe Edition Monopoly.
   Enlarge
   All twelve tokens from the U.S. Deluxe Edition Monopoly.

   Each player is represented by a small pewter token which is moved
   around the edge of the board according to the roll of two dice. The
   twelve playing pieces currently used are pictured to the left and are
   as follows (from left to right): a wheelbarrow (1937b edition), a
   battleship, a sack of money (1999 editions onwards), a horse and rider,
   a car, a train (Deluxe Edition only), a thimble, a cannon (1937b
   edition), an old style shoe, a Scottie dog, an iron, and a top hat.

   Many of the tokens came from companies such as Dowst Miniature Toy
   Company, which made metal charms and tokens designed to be used on
   charm bracelets. The battleship and spinning wheel were also used
   briefly in the Parker Brothers war game Conflict (released in 1940),
   but after the game failed on the market, the premade pieces were
   recycled into Monopoly usage. Hasbro recently adopted the battleship
   and cannon for Diplomacy.

   Early localized editions of the standard edition (including some
   Canadian editions, which used the U.S. board layout) did not include
   pewter tokens but instead had generic wooden head-shaped tokens
   identical to those in Sorry! (not unlike the MSN Messenger logo).
   Parker Brothers also acquired Sorry! in the 1930s. Plastic versions of
   these tokens can be seen in the German Monopoly set pictured at the
   beginning of this article.

   Other things included in the standard edition are:
   The dice in Britain were replaced with a spinner because of a lack of
   materials due to World War II
   Enlarge
   The dice in Britain were replaced with a spinner because of a lack of
   materials due to World War II
     * A pair of six-sided dice.
     * A Title Deed for each property. A Title Deed is given to a player
       to signify ownership, and specifies purchase price, mortgage value,
       the cost of building houses and hotels on that property, and the
       various rent prices depending on how developed the property is.
       Properties include:
          + 22 streets, divided into 8 color groups of two or three
            streets. A player must own all of a colour group (have a
            monopoly) in order to build houses or hotels. A player can
            also be considered to have a monopoly by having both utilities
            and/or all four railroads (or stations) during gameplay.
            However, the utilities and railroads cannot be improved or
            have houses and/or hotels built on them.
          + 4 railways/stations. Players collect higher rent if they own
            more than one railway. Hotels and houses cannot be built on
            railways. These are usually replaced by railway stations in
            non-U.S. editions of Monopoly.
          + 2 utilities. Players collect higher rent if they own both
            utilities. Hotels and houses cannot be built on utilities.
     * A supply of paper money. The supply of money is theoretically
       unlimited; if the bank runs out of money the players must make do
       with other markers, or calculate on paper. Additional paper money
       can be bought at certain locations, notably game and hobby stores.
       In U.S. standard editions, the supply generally starts with
       $15,140, the same amount given away in United States dollars to the
       winner of the quadrennial Monopoly World Championship.
     * 32 wooden or plastic houses and 12 wooden or plastic hotels. (The
       original and the current 'Deluxe Edition' have wooden houses and
       hotels; the current 'base set' uses plastic buildings.) Unlike
       money, houses and hotels have a finite supply. If no more are
       available, no substitute is allowed.
     * A deck of 16 Chance cards and a deck of 16 Community Chest cards.
       Players draw these cards when they land on the corresponding
       squares of the track, and follow the instructions printed on them.

   Hasbro also sells a Deluxe Edition, which is mostly identical to the
   classic edition but has wooden houses and hotels and gold-toned tokens,
   including one token in addition to the standard eleven: a railroad
   locomotive. Other additions to the Deluxe Edition include a card
   carousel, which holds the title deed cards, and money printed with two
   colors of ink.

   In 1978, retailer Neiman Marcus manufactured and sold an all-Chocolate
   edition of Monopoly through their "Christmas Wish Book" for that year.
   The entire set was edible, including the money, dice, hotels,
   properties, tokens and playing board. The set retailed for US$600.

   The F.A.O. Schwarz store in New York City sold a custom version in 2000
   called " One-Of-A-Kind Monopoly" for US$100,000. This special edition
   comes in a locking attaché case made with Napolino leather and lined in
   suede, and features include:
     * 18- carat (75%) gold tokens, houses and hotels
     * Rosewood board
     * street names written in gold leaf
     * emeralds around the Chance icon
     * sapphires around the Community Chest
     * rubies in the brake lights of the car on the Free Parking Space
     * the money is real, negotiable United States currency

   The Guinness Book of World Records states that a set made of 23-carat
   gold, with rubies and sapphires atop the chimneys of the houses and
   hotels, and worth US$2,000,000 is the most expensive Monopoly set ever
   produced.

Rules

   Two to eight people may play Monopoly, but the game dynamics are ideal
   with six players. With more than six players, it is too likely that an
   individual will not have the opportunity to buy significant property
   and be bankrupted without ever having been in contention. With four or
   fewer players, there are not as many possible combinations of property
   ownership, and the importance of astute trading and negotiation is
   diminished.

   Each player begins the game with his token on the Go square, and $1500
   (£1500, €1500, etc.) in cash divided as follows, per the U.S. standard
   rules:
     * 2 each of:
          + $500 bills
          + $100 bills
          + $50 bills
     * 6 $20 bills
     * 5 each of:
          + $10 bills
          + $5 bills
          + $1 bills

   The British version has an initial cash distribution of:
     * 2 x £500
     * 4 x £100
     * 1 x £50
     * 1 x £20
     * 2 x £10
     * 1 x £5
     * 5 x £1

   Classic German editions (i.e. those pre-Euro) started with 30,000
   "Spielmark" in eight denominations and abbreviated M., and later used
   the Deutschmark (DM.) abbreviation, with seven denominations. In the
   classic Italian game, each player receives L350,000 ($3500) in a
   two-player game, but L50,000 ($500) less for each player more than two.
   Only in a six-player game does a player receive the equivalent of
   $1500. The classic Italian games were played with only four
   denominations of currency. At least one Spanish edition (the Barcelona
   edition) started the game with 150,000 in play money, with a breakdown
   identical to that of the American version.

   All property deeds, houses, and hotels are held by the bank until
   bought by the players.

Official rules

   Players take turns in order, as determined by chance before the game. A
   player's turn consists of rolling two dice and advancing on the board
   the corresponding number of squares clockwise around the track.
   Depending on where he/she lands, he/she takes any of a number of
   actions. If he or she lands on an unowned property, then the player has
   two options. He or she can either buy the property for its listed
   purchase price, or he or she can put it up for auction. The same goes
   for Railroads and utilities. If a person lands on Chance or Community
   Chest, then he or she draws the top card from the respective pile. If
   the player rolls doubles, he or she rolls again after completing the
   first turn, but if the player rolls three doubles in a row, he/she is
   sent to jail. If the player lands on a owned property he or she pays
   the owner a set amount of rent on colored properties and railroads, or
   multiplies a dice roll by a certain factor for the utilities. The
   player can also buy houses for their property if he/she owns all the
   property in a color group. The rent increases the more houses are on a
   space. Once there are four houses on a space, the player can build a
   hotel. The construction or selling back of houses and hotels must be
   done evenly across all properties in a colour group. This means that
   each property must have first received one house before a second can be
   constructed, two houses before a third can be constructed, and so on.

House rules

   Many casual Monopoly players are surprised and disappointed to discover
   that some of the rules that they are used to are not part of the
   official rules. Many of these house rules tend to make the game longer
   by giving some players more money. Some common house rules include the
   following (and more can be found via links at the end of this article):
     * Free Parking jackpot, which usually consists of an initial stake
       (typically $500) plus collections of fines and taxes otherwise paid
       to the bank. A player who lands on Free Parking wins the jackpot,
       which may then be reset with the initial stake (if any). The
       jackpot is usually put in the centre of the board.
     * Players in jail cannot collect rent, build house or conduct trades.
     * A bonus for landing directly on GO by dice roll (commonly an
       additional $200). This does not include cards that send the player
       to GO.
     * Delayed Start: Players must pass GO before they can buy property.
     * Not having an auction when a player lands on a property and does
       not buy it.
     * Unlimited houses and hotels. A variant on this is to declare that
       houses cost $50 each, and hotels cost $100 each.
     * The fourth house step in building is skipped. In other words, after
       building a third house, the next step is building a hotel.
     * No need to build houses and hotels evenly over monopolized
       properties.
     * A bonus for rolling snake eyes (a pair of ones), often $100 or
       $500.
     * Properties are auctioned as soon as they are landed on, without the
       chance for the player who landed on the property to buy it
       outright. This is actually carried over from "auction monopoly"
       rules that were popular in the 1920s.
     * All properties are handed out evenly to all players before the game
       begins, or one or two are dealt to each player. (This variation is
       in the official UK rules as a short game option.)
     * No income tax on weekends and after 4 p.m. because the "income tax
       office" is closed.
     * A ' get out of jail free' card means that one can stay where they
       are on the board.
     * No need to roll a double when in jail.
     * A player rolling a 3 has the option of taking a Chance card
       instead.
     * The final unsold property is added to the Free Parking jackpot and
       must be won therein; it cannot be purchased even if a player lands
       on it.
     * A player can build a house as soon as he or she buys a property.
     * A player may buy resort shares when passing GO. Buying shares means
       that a player pays the lowest rent if he or she lands there.
     * A player who owns a property colour set may sell shares of one of
       them. A player who buys property shares pays half of the rent if he
       or she lands there and receives half of the rent if other players
       land there.

   House rules, while unofficial, are not wholly unrecognized by Parker
   Brothers. George S. Parker himself created two variants, to shorten the
   length of game play. Video game and computer game versions of Monopoly
   have options where popular house rules can be used. House rules that
   have the effect of introducing more money into the game have a
   side-effect of increasing the time it takes for players to become
   bankrupt, lengthening the game considerably.

Strategy

   Monopoly involves a substantial portion of luck, with the roll of the
   dice determining whether a player gets to own key properties or lands
   on squares with high rents. Even the initial misfortune of going last
   is a significant disadvantage because one is more likely to land on
   property which has already been bought and therefore be forced to pay
   rent instead of having an opportunity to buy unowned property. There
   are, however, many strategic decisions which allow skilled players to
   win more often than the unskilled.

Property square probabilities

   The layout of the "special" squares on the board (that is, the
   non-property squares), as well as the dice-roll probabilities, mean
   that not all squares have an equal probability of being landed upon.
     1 2 3 4  5  6
   1 2 3 4 5  6  7
   2 3 4 5 6  7  8
   3 4 5 6 7  8  9
   4 5 6 7 8  9  10
   5 6 7 8 9  10 11
   6 7 8 9 10 11 12

   As illustrated by the table, seven is the most probable roll, occurring
   6 out of 36 times whereas 2 and 12 are the least probable rolls, each
   occurring once every 36 rolls. For this reason, Park Place is one of
   the least landed-on squares as the square seven places behind it is "Go
   to Jail".

   Also when you are in jail, you are likely to get out by rolling a
   double, one in every six rolls. A get out of jail free card can be sold
   to any other player.

   In consequence, some properties are landed upon more than others and
   the owners of those properties get more income from rent. The board
   layout factors include the following:
     * Jail: Since players are frequently directed to "Go To Jail," they
       will move through the purple, orange and red property groups
       immediately after leaving Jail. The two properties with the highest
       probability of being landed upon after leaving jail are the two
       cheaper orange properties (St James Place and Tennessee Avenue in
       North America, Bow Street and Marlborough Street outside North
       America). This makes the orange property set highly lucrative.
     * Go to…: One square — Go To Jail — plus a number of Chance and
       Community Chest cards will cause the player to advance a distance
       around the board. Thus, the squares immediately following Go To
       Jail and the take-a-card squares have a reduced probability of
       being landed upon. The least-landed upon property in this situation
       is the cheaper dark blue property (Park Place or Park Lane) because
       it sets in the lee of both Go to Jail and Community Chest (the
       Chance directly before it wouldn't affect its odds because it is
       impossible to roll a one).
     * Go to (property): Several properties are blessed with Chance cards
       which draw players to them. St Charles Place (Pall Mall), Illinois
       Avenue (Trafalgar Square), Boardwalk (Mayfair), all of the
       railroads except Short Line (Liverpool Street Station), and both of
       the utilities benefit from this feature. Reading Railroad (King's
       Cross Station) has the fortune of having both a "go to" dedicated
       card plus the card advancing to the nearest railroad.
     * Advance to Go: A player may be directed to the Go square by a
       Chance or a Community Chest card, thus lowering the probability of
       being landed-upon of every square in-between. The properties most
       affected by this are the yellow, green, and dark blue sets. It also
       marginally raises the probability for each square in the wake of
       Go, including the purple and orange sets which will be reached two
       or three rolls after being on Go.
     * Go Back Three Spaces: This directive comes from a Chance card. A
       quick look at the board shows that there are three Chance squares
       and hence three other squares which are 3 spaces behind. The
       leading orange property (New York Avenue or Vine Street) gains the
       most benefit from this card since the Chance square nestled amongst
       the red properties is itself the most landed-upon Chance square.

   In all, during game play, Illinois Avenue (Trafalgar Square), New York
   Avenue (Vine Street), B&O Railroad (Fenchurch Street Station), and
   Reading Railroad (King's Cross Station) are the most frequently
   landed-upon properties. Mediterranean Avenue (Old Kent Road) and Baltic
   Avenue (Whitechapel Road) are the least-landed-upon properties.

Dealing and bargaining

   Much of the skill comes from knowing how to make the best use of a
   player's resources and above all knowing how to strike a good bargain.
   Monopoly is a social game where players often interact and must "deal"
   with each other in ways not unlike "real world" real estate bargaining.
   Note that the best deal is not always for the most expensive property;
   it is often situational, dependent on money resources available to each
   player and even where players happen to be situated on the board. When
   looking to deal, a player should attempt to bargain with another player
   who not only possess properties he or she needs but also properties the
   other player needs themself. In fact, offering relatively fair deals to
   other players can end up helping the player making the offer by giving
   him or her a reputation as an honest broker, which can make players
   less wary of dealings in the future. What is more, most people play
   Monopoly with the same group repeatedly. For this reason, such a
   reputation can have effects far beyond the game being played.

The end game

   One common criticism of Monopoly is that it has carefully defined yet
   almost unreachable termination conditions. Edward P. Parker, a former
   president of Parker Brothers, is quoted as saying, "We always felt that
   forty-five minutes was about the right length for a game, but Monopoly
   could go on for hours. Also, a game was supposed to have a definite end
   somewhere. In Monopoly you kept going around and around." However, the
   problem of time can be resolved by playing with a time limit and
   counting each player's net worth when the time is up. In fact,
   tournament play calls for a 90-minute time limit. Two hour time limits
   are used for international play. The Lord of the Rings edition gives
   players the option of creating a random time limit using the included
   One Ring token and specialized dice.

   Played strictly to the rules, many games will be effectively decided
   when one player succeeds in bankrupting another because the bankrupt
   player gives all his property to the one to whom he could not pay his
   debt. A player who thus gains a fistful of properties will virtually
   control the game from that point onwards since other players will be
   constantly at risk. On the other hand, if a player is bankrupted by
   being unable to meet his debt to the bank (e.g., a fine or tax or other
   debt that is not rent), then his property is auctioned off; this can
   open up new possibilities in a game which was evenly set or in which a
   lot of property sets were divided among the players.

   Another path to a faster ending is by a key property bargain, whether
   it be a very shrewd trade which sets one player up with a
   well-positioned set or a very rash trade where an inexperienced player
   gives his experienced opponent an underpriced gem. Either way, a deal
   which pays off for one player is most often the turning point of the
   game.

   A third way to finish the game, though not the fastest, is to jot down
   important information (like property, money, and spaces the pieces are
   on), then put that in the box with the game to finish at a later date.

   Hasbro states that the longest game of Monopoly ever played lasted
   1,680 hours (70 days).

Add-ons

   Numerous official and unofficial add-ons have been made for Monopoly,
   both before its commercialization and after. The best-known expansion
   to the game is the Stock Exchange Add-On, published by Parker Brothers
   in 1936 ( wikibook). The Stock Exchange add-on was later redesigned and
   rereleased in 1992 under license by Chessex, this time including a
   large number of new Chance and Community Chest cards.

   In the Stock Exchange add-on, the Free Parking square is replaced with
   the Stock Exchange. The add-on also contained three each of Chance and
   Community Chest cards directing the player to advance to the Stock
   Exchange. The 1992 add-on also included seven other Chance cards and
   eight Community Chest cards (to play with the 1992 add-on, one
   Community Chest card - "From sale of stock you get $45" - is removed).

   The add-on also included thirty stock certificates, five for each of
   the six different stocks, differing only in its purchase price, ranging
   from $100 to $150. Shares, like properties, can be considered to be
   tradeable material, and could also be mortgaged for half their purchase
   price. Shareholders could increase the value of their shares by buying
   up more of the same company's shares.

   When a player moves onto Free Parking, stock dividends are paid out to
   all players with any unmortgaged shares. The amount to be paid out to
   each player is determined based on the number and kind of shares owned.
   Specifically, a player receives dividends from each stock based on the
   following mathematical formula:

          (purchase price of share / 10) × (number of shares owned)^2

   The player who lands on Free Parking can also choose to buy a share if
   any remain – should the player decline, the Bank auctions a share off
   to the highest bidder. The 1936 rules are ambiguous with regards to the
   stock that is put up for auction, and convention has it that the winner
   of the auction chooses the stock to be received.

   The Stock Exchange add-on serves to inject more money into the game, in
   a similar manner to railroad properties, as well as changing the
   relative values of properties. In particular, the Yellow and Green
   properties are more valuable due to the increased chance of landing on
   Free Parking, at the expense of the Light Purple and Orange groups.

   A Monopoly Stock Exchange Edition was released in 2001, this time
   adding an electronic calculator-like device to keep track of the
   complex stock figures. This was a full edition, not just an add-on,
   that came with its own board, money and playing pieces. Properties on
   the board were replaced by companies on which shares could be floated,
   and offices and home offices (instead of houses and hotels) could be
   built.

   "Playmaster", another add-on, kept track of all player movement and
   dice rolls as well as what properties are still available. It then uses
   this information to call random auctions and mortgages that will be
   advantageous for some players and a punishment for others, making it
   easier to free up cards of a colour group. It also plays eight short
   tunes when key game functions occur, for example when a player lands on
   a railroad it will play I've Been Working on the Railroad.

Spinoffs

   Monopoly Tycoon is a PC game in the Tycoon series that makes strategy
   and speed into determining factors for winning the game, eliminating
   completely the element of luck inherent in the dice rolls of the
   original. The game uses the U.S. standard Atlantic City properties as
   its basis, but the game play is unique to this version. The game also
   allows for solo and multiplayer online games.

   Parker Brothers has also sold several games which are spinoffs of
   Monopoly. These are not add-ons as they don't function as an addition
   to the Monopoly game, but are simply additional games in the flavor of
   Monopoly.
     * Monopoly Junior board game, a simplified version for young children
     * Advance to Boardwalk board game
     * Express Monopoly, a card game released by Hasbro/Parker Brothers
       and Waddingtons in the UK in the 1990s, now out of print.
     * Monopoly: The Card Game, an updated card game released by Winning
       Moves Games under license from Hasbro.
     * Free Parking card game
     * Don't Go To Jail The MONOPOLY Dice Game
     * Monopoly Express A 2006 monopoly game in the UK which uses dice
     * Monopoly Express Casino A 2006 monopoly game in the UK which uses
       dice

   A short-lived Monopoly game show aired on Saturday evenings during the
   summer of 1990 on ABC. The show was produced by Wheel of Fortune and
   Jeopardy! creator Merv Griffin. The show was hosted by a former
   Jeopardy! contestant Mike Riley. Three contestants competed by
   answering crossword puzzle like clues to acquire the properties on the
   board. After the properties were acquired, a Monopoly game round was
   played. The winner then went on to play the bonus game. In the bonus
   game, the contestant had to choose 4 properties on the board to convert
   to "Go To Jail" spaces. Along with the actual "Go To Jail" space, the
   contestant rolled the dice and had to pass GO without landing on a "Go
   To Jail" space. If the contestant passed Go, they won US$25,000;
   however if the contestant landed on Go, they would win US$50,000. The
   show was paired on ABC with a summer long Super Jeopardy! tournament.

   In North America, a variety of slot machines have been produced with a
   Monopoly theme. In Europe, there were also Monopoly "fruit machines",
   some of which remain popular through emulation. The British quiz
   machine brand itbox also supports a Monopoly trivia and chance game,
   which, like most other itbox games, costs 50p ( GB£0.50) to play and
   has a GB£20 jackpot, although this is very rarely won.

   There is also a live, online version of monopoly. Six painted taxis,
   drive around London picking up passengers. When the taxis reach their
   final destination, the region of London that they are in is displayed
   on the online board. This version takes far longer to play than
   board-game monopoly, with one game lasting 24 hours. Results and
   position are sent to players via e-mail at the conclusion of the game.

Variants

   Because Monopoly evolved in the public domain before its
   commercialization, Monopoly has seen many variant games. Most of these
   are exact copies of the Monopoly games with the street names replaced
   with locales from a particular town, university, or fictional place.
   National boards have been released as well. Many of these are listed at
   Localized versions of the Monopoly game. Details, including box cover
   art, can be seen in the List of licensed Monopoly game boards. Over the
   years, many speciality Monopoly editions, licensed by Parker
   Brothers/Hasbro, and produced by them, or their licensees (including
   USAopoly and Winning Moves Games) have been sold to local and national
   markets worldwide. Two well known "families" of -opoly like games,
   without licenses from Parker Brothers/Hasbro, have also been produced.

Late for the Sky

   Late for the Sky Production Company produces a huge range of Monopoly
   based games with similar rules and board layout as Monopoly but with a
   large selection of special themes. They also offer Monopoly based games
   based on your own theme. Major product lines of theirs include nearly
   sixty titles based on US college and university campuses and the City
   in a Box line. Late for the Sky has also licensed many of their -Opoly
   products to Outset Media in Canada for sales there. Outset Media has
   also produced further games exclusively for the Canadian market that
   build upon the Late for the Sky product lines.

Help On Board

   Help On Board is a company that specializes in creating fundraising
   board games for various charities. Many of these have been made in an
   "-opoly" style using locales within a variety of communities in the
   United States and Canada. Proceeds from sales of the games go to
   various local causes. A gallery of images of some of these fundraising
   board games can be seen on their website.

Related games

   Some games have been published which take after Monopoly, but have
   variations in rules which affect game play. Some of these include:
     * Anti-Monopoly, written by Ralph Anspach in 1974.
     * Atlantik is a Monopoly-based computer game for KDE on Linux, again,
       with the street names changed. It maintains the same set of rules
       for Monopoly while adding multiplayer support across a LAN or the
       internet.
     * Dinosauropoly, a version using prehistoric motifs and rules.
     * Dogopoly: The Game of High Steaks and Bones, created by Spahits
       Games in 1977 with a 25th anniversary edition released in 2002. Not
       to be confused with the Dog-opoly published by Late for the Sky.
     * Easy Money, published by Milton Bradley, also in the 1930s.
     * The Farming Game is a board game in which the goal is to run a
       financially successful farm, and like Monopoly the heart of the
       game is economics. The game's website draws comparisons to
       Monopoly.
     * Fast Food Franchise is a board game by TimJim games which shares
       Monopoly's core mechanic, but through careful design guarantees
       that it will actually end.
     * The Fascinating Game of Finance, later shortened to Finance, first
       marketed in 1932 by Knapp Electric, and later by Parker Brothers.
     * Ghettopoly, released in 2003, caused considerable offense upon its
       release. The game, intended to be a humorous rendering of ghetto
       life, was decried as racist for its unflinching use of racial
       stereotypes, so much that Hasbro sought and received a court
       ordered injunction against Ghettopoly's designer. The game and its
       sequel are no longer available directly from the designer's
       website.
     * The Mad Magazine Game, a Mad Magazine themed board game in which
       the object of the game is to lose all your money, play is
       counter-clockwise, and the dice must be rolled with the left hand.
       Released by Parker Brothers in 1979.
     * Make Your Own-opoly is a game set sold by TDC Games of Itasca,
       Illinois. Using a Microsoft Windows-based PC, a person can print
       out his or her own property cards, labels to place on the board and
       the box, and game currency.
     * Solarquest, a popular space-age adaptation, was released by Golden
       in 1986.

Popular culture

   Since Parker Brothers first published and marketed the board game
   Monopoly in 1935, it has influenced popular culture in many ways. It
   has been referenced in cartoons, comic strips, novels, and comedy
   routines, among others.

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