How to Play Monopoly
The Objective
The objective of Monopoly is to be the last player remaining who is not bankrupt. Players do this
by buying properties, collecting rent from their opponents, and building a real estate empire.
The Setup
● a.) Place the game board on a table.
● b.) Shuffle the Chance and Community Chest cards and place them face-down on their
designated spots on the board.
● c.) Each player chooses a token and places it on the "GO" square.
● d.) One person is chosen to be the banker. The banker is in charge of the bank's money,
title deeds, houses, and hotels. The banker must keep their personal money separate
from the bank's money if they are also playing.
● e.) Each player receives $1,500 in Monopoly money from the bank. The money is
distributed in a specific way:
○ 2 x $500 bills
○ 2 x $100 bills
○ 2 x $50 bills
○ 6 x $20 bills
○ 5 x $10 bills
○ 5 x $5 bills
○ 5 x $1 bills
● f.) To determine who goes first, each player rolls the two dice. The player with the
highest roll goes first, and the play proceeds clockwise from there.
Gameplay
1.) Taking a Turn: On your turn, roll the two dice and move your token that many spaces
clockwise around the board.
2.) Landing on a Space: The action you take depends on the space you land on:
● a.) Unowned Property: If you land on a property (a street, railroad, or utility) that no one
owns, you have the option to buy it for the price printed on the board. If you buy it, you
pay the bank and receive the corresponding title deed card. If you choose not to buy it,
the banker immediately auctions it off to the highest bidder.
● b.) Owned Property: If you land on a property owned by another player, you must pay
them rent. The amount of rent is listed on the property's title deed card and depends on
whether the owner has a monopoly on the color set, or if they have houses and hotels
built on the property. The owner must ask for the rent before the next player rolls the
dice, or they cannot collect it.
● c.) Chance or Community Chest: You must draw the top card from the deck and follow
the instructions on the card.
● d.) Tax Spaces: You must pay the specified tax amount to the bank.
● e.) GO: If you land on or pass "GO," you collect $200 from the bank.
● f.) Jail:
○ You are sent to jail if you land on the "Go to Jail" space, draw a card that says
"Go to Jail," or roll doubles three times in a row on your turn. When you go to jail,
your turn ends immediately, and you do not collect money for passing GO.
○ While in jail, you can still collect rent, buy properties in auctions, and buy and sell
houses or hotels.
○ To get out of jail, you can use a "Get Out of Jail Free" card, pay a $50 fine before
rolling on your turn, or try to roll doubles on one of your next three turns. If you
roll doubles, you are free to move that many spaces. If you fail to roll doubles on
your third turn, you must pay the $50 fine and use your last roll to move.
3.) Monopolies and Building: If you acquire all the properties in a single color group, you have
a "monopoly." This allows you to charge double the rent for any unimproved property in that
group. You can then begin to build houses and, eventually, a hotel on those properties to
significantly increase the rent you collect. You must build houses evenly across the properties in
the color group. For example, you can't build a third house on one property until all the others in
that group have two houses.
4.) Bankruptcy: When a player owes money to the bank or another player and does not have
enough cash to pay, they can sell houses and hotels back to the bank for half their value. They
can also mortgage properties to the bank for a specific amount listed on the title deed. If a
player still cannot pay what they owe, they are declared bankrupt and are eliminated from the
game. The last player remaining wins.
