Crooked Cash Edition

Box

Monopoly Crooked Cash (Cash Decoder in various other countries) is the Monopoly variant that some things are not always as they seem. There are bills and Chance cards that look real but they are actually fake. In this game, Mr. Monopoly has his decoder (a trusty tool) for the players to find the fakes. This game can be played with 2-6 players.

Game Contents

Contents

• Gameboard
• Money
  • 5 Denominations
    • $10, $20, $50, $100, $500
  • All the bills have a scrambled scan that you can use with a decoder.
  • Because of the fakes, these dollar bills are treated like cards so that they can be shuffled.
• 6 Tokens
  • These tokens have special things that describe the theme of this game.
    • Scottie the Scottish Terrier (Dog)
    • Hazel the Cat
    • T-Rex
    • Penguin
    • Rubber Ducky
    • Race car
• 22 Property Title Deed cards
  • All of them are streets
  • No railroads, no utilities. Income Tax Luxury Tax
• 14 Community Chest cards, all of which are real (and like other games, most are good, some are not).
• 24 Chance cards
  • These Chance cards have a scrambled scan that you can use with a decoder.
  • 12 pairs
    • Each pair of cards has the same action, but one is real while another is fake.
• 12 Hotels
  • No houses
• 2 Dice
• Decoder
  • This resembles a magnifying glass.
• 12 Decoder chips
  • Each chip has a green side and a red side.
  • Each player has only 2 chips.
  • This means up to 6 players can play the game.

Starting the Game

Each player starts with $1500 (real and fake).

• Consisting of 2 $500 bills, 3 $100 bills, 3 $50 bills, 1 $20 bill, and 3 $10 bills.
• Since there are fake and real dollar bills, the Banker shuffles the money.

Shuffle the Community Chest and Chance cards. Place them face down on their respective draw decks. For the Chance cards, draw 3 of them and place them face up in the 3 spots on the center of the board.

• Half of the Chance cards are real and the other half are fake.

Place the decoder in the center of the board.

Each player takes 2 decoder chips. All chips will start green-side up.

A player chooses a token and places it on GO.

All players will roll the dice to determine who goes first. The highest roller starts.

Gameplay

When it is your turn, you roll the dice. You move your token by the number of spaces on the dice. When your token lands on a board space, follow the instructions for that space. After you have performed an action according to that space, your turn ends and the next turn will be a player to your left.

If you roll a double, you get another turn.

• CAUTION: If you roll doubles three times in a row, you go to Jail and you DO NOT complete the third turn.

Board Spaces

There are 36 total board spaces in this Monopoly edition. This number is 4 fewer than in regular Monopoly.

The only board space that is unique to this edition is the Trains.

Go

When you pass OR reach this corner space, collect $200. In addition, both of your decoder chips will turn to green so that you can use the decoder again.

Just Visiting / In Jail

If you are from the first row of the board, land on the “Just Visiting” section. This is a resting corner space. You incur no penalty and move ahead as usual on your next turn.

Free Parking

This is just a resting space, so you will not gain or lose anything.

• Your decoder chips will NOT be restored when landing on this corner space.

Go to Jail

When you land on this corner space, immediately move your token to the “In Jail” section on the other side of the board. That's the end of your turn. Do NOT pass Go, and do NOT collect $200.

• Even though you roll your 1st or 2nd double, you do not get another turn when going to Jail.

Property

There are 22 property spaces in the board. They are all streets.

If unowned, you must buy or auction.

If owned, pay the rent only if an owner asks you to do so.

NOTE: The game will end if all 22 properties are owned, unlike in most games (which can and will often end with some properties going untouched).

Trains

When you land on this space, advance (move forward) to the next unowned property.

• If you pass GO, collect $200 and turn all of your decoder chips to green.

You must buy it or auction.

NOTE: This is not a Railroad Property space.

Community Chest

Pick up 1 Community Chest card from the top of the Community Chest card draw deck. All Community Chest cards are real in this game.

Chance

Take 1 Chance card from the 3 Chance cards shown face-up in the middle of the board.

• Do not take a card from the Chance card draw deck directly.

Another Chance card will be removed from the top of the Chance card draw deck and will be placed face-up in an empty Chance card slot in the middle of the board.

Properties

There are 22 properties and their Title Deeds. All of them are streets, so there are no railroads and no utilities.

Unowned

When you land on a property that is unowned, you must buy it or auction it.

• You CANNOT decline both of these options.

Buy

When you buy a property, pay the listed price shown on its board space. As in most games, if you have enough money to buy but not the exact bill, the banker is allowed to make change.

• NOTE: When paying, beware of the other players for any suspicions that you use fake bills.
  • If decoding is successful by another player, you have to use another bill (real or fake) or place that property up for auction instead.

Auction

If you don’t want to buy or you don’t have enough money, a property must be auctioned.

All players (including you and those in Jail) can bid. Bidding starts at $10 and increase by as little as $10. An auction ends when no player is willing to increase the bid. The highest (last) bidder will have to pay the highest bid amount.

• NOTE: When paying for the highest bid, beware of the other players for any suspicions that you use fake bills.
  • If decoding is successful by another player, you have to use another bill (real or fake) or re-auction that property.

Owned Property and Paying Rent

When you land on a property that somebody else owns, you have to pay the rent only if the owner asks you to pay.

• If that owner does not ask you while a next player rolls the dice, you do not have to pay.
• NOTE: Beware of any other players (the owner receiving rent is NOT included) for any suspicions that you use fake money while you are paying the rent.

Color Set

If you own all the streets in one color group, you have a complete color set. A rent for each street in a complete color set is doubled.

Hotels

Once you have a complete color set, you can build hotels in the streets in that complete color set.

• There are no houses in this game.

You buy and build a hotel on a street at a price shown on that street’s Title Deed card.

A street can have only 1 hotel. A hotel raises the rent of a street to its highest level.

There are only 12 hotels in this game. If there is 1 hotel left but multiple players want it, there will be an auction for that only hotel remaining.

Selling

You can sell a street at any time to raise money (especially when you’re in debt). The selling price for a street is exactly the same as the purchase price. When you sell a street, you give the Title Deed of that street to the Bank.

• This is like a mortgage, except that you DO NOT keep a Title Deed card.

When there is a hotel on a street that you are selling, sell the hotel first for half of the hotel cost shown on a Title Deed. Then, sell a street for a full cost.

Community Chest cards

There are 14 Community Chest cards in this game (2 fewer than the original 16 in regular Monopoly). When you land on a Community Chest space, pick up 1 card from the top of its draw deck. These cards do not have a scrambled scan, so they are always usable without worrying about suspicions.

Chance cards

There are 24 Chance cards in this game (10 more than the original 16 in regular Monopoly). When you land on a Chance space, choose 1 of the 3 already-shown Chance cards. All of these cards can be kept until used. These cards have a scrambled scan. These cards are in pairs, so there are 12 pairs. The 2 cards of any pair have the exact same actions, but one is real and the other is fake.

Fake Chance cards

Beware of the other players to suspect that you use a fake Chance card.

• If another player suspects you of using a fake card and it is indeed a fake card, you CANNOT use that card and it will be placed back on the bottom of the Chance card deck. In addition, the player who correctly detected the fake Chance card gets $100 from the bank.

• However, if it is a real one, you can use that real card.

Jail

You will go to Jail if any of these events happen to you:

• (a) You land on the “Go to Jail” space.
• (b) You pick up a Community Chest card that says to go to Jail.
  • Some have choices between a monetary penalty and going to Jail.
• (c) Somebody chooses you to go to Jail based on a Chance card.
  • A fake card can be in effect only if it is not decoded.
• (d) You roll doubles three times in a row.

You can still do these things while in Jail

• Collect rent
• Bid during auctions
• Buy and build hotels (or sell them)
• Use Chance or Community Chest cards
• Sell properties
• Make trades & deals

However, you CANNOT use a decoder while staying in Jail. As usual, you do NOT pass Go OR collect $200.

To get out of Jail, you can do any of these 3 things:

• (a) Pay $50. Then roll and move as normal.
  • Beware of the other players’ suspicions from using fake money.
• (b) Use a “Get Out of Jail Free” Community Chest card. Then roll and move as normal.
  • Or, you can make a deal to get that card and use that card.
• (c) Roll a double.
  • You have 3 attempts to do this.
    • If successful, you get out of Jail for free but use that successful roll to move your token. After performing an action on a space, your turn ends.
    • If you don’t roll a double by your 3rd attempt, pay $50 and use that roll to move your token.

Deals & Trades

You can buy, sell, swap, or trade properties with other players at any time.

A property can be traded for other property, cash, and/or “Get Out of Jail Free” card.

• If you give a property to another player for cash, you and that player can agree on any amount (not only for face value of a property given).

Hotels, other Community Chest cards, and all Chance cards CANNOT be dealt or traded.

CAUTION: The other players not involved in a deal can use a decoder to find out that a fake money is exchanged. If a fake bill is decoded, use another bill or even cancel the deal.

In Debt & Bankruptcy

If you don’t have enough money to pay for rent or penalty, you are in debt. When in debt, you can sell your property (1 or more) to the Bank for face value or to another player for agree-upon amount.

• If you have a hotel on a property, you must sell that hotel first for half price before you sell that property.

Once you get enough cash, pay the rest of your debt.

NOTE: Beware of the other players using a decoder. If you use fake money that has been decoded, use another bill or sell (or give away) more of your assets to cover your debt.

If you are still in debt but have no more assets, you are bankrupt and you are out of the game.

Decoder

The decoder is a tool used to detect a fake in a Monopoly dollar bill or in a Chance card. The decoder is used to decipher the images from a scrambled scan within a bill or a card.

The decoder looks a lot like a magnifying glass.

"Same" Chance cards with circle scrambled scans. However, only one of them is real.

Scrambled Scan

All dollar bills and Chance cards have scrambled scans on them. It is difficult but possible to see the scans without the decoder.

The images in a scrambled scan consist of the common symbols from the Monopoly game.

Using a Decoder

The decoder has a “M” symbol on a handle and the “lens” on one side of a circle. To use the decoder correctly, hold with the “M” symbol facing you and with the “lens” on the bottom. The decoder’s handle should be perpendicular to the horizontal orientation of a dollar bill or a Chance card so that you can clearly see the images in a scrambled scan. After using the decoder, put it back on the center of a gameboard.

By using the decoder correctly, you will be able to see the scrambled images clearly. Therefore, you can tell on whether a bill or a Chance card is real or fake.

Real or Fake

The Mr. Monopoly on the left is real. The Mr. Monopoly on the right has a mask and is fake.

In the images from a scrambled scan, look for Mr. Monopoly. All the symbols are relatively the same on all dollar bills and all Chance cards, except for Mr. Monopoly.

If you see Mr. Monopoly wearing a mask, then a dollar bill or a Chance card is a FAKE.

If you see Mr. Monopoly but without a mask (he is normal-looking), then a dollar bill or a Chance card is REAL (not a fake).

Decoder Chips

When one of your decoder chips is green, you can use the decoder. When both of your chips are red (shown on the right with the X), you cannot use the decoder.

A decoder chip has a green side and a red side.

• The chips remain with the player they were assigned to for the entire game.

Each player has 2 decoder chips (all chips are green at the start). If a player’s chip has a green side (1 or 2), that player can use the decoder. If both of a player’s decoder chips are red, that player cannot use the decoder. A player can reactivate both of their chips to green by reaching OR passing GO (or by a Chance card).

• NOTE: You CANNOT use the decoder also when you are in Jail.

Inspecting for Fake Cash

You can use a decoder when somebody else gives the money. This happens when:

• A player pays for something (properties, hotels, penalties, Jail fee) to the Bank.
• A player pays the rent to an owner.
• A player gives money to another player in a deal or trade.

NOTE: You CANNOT use a decoder when somebody else receives cash from the Bank. This happens when:

• A player receives cash for rewards from the Bank in a Chance card, Community Chest card, or passing GO.

Here are the steps for checking fake cash:

1. Announce to all players that you will use a decoder to check for fake money. You have to announce quickly before the payer successfully gives away cash.
2. Flip one of your decoder chips to the red side, indicating that you will use a decoder.
3. Choose only 1 bill to inspect to see if it is a fake.
   • If a bill is FAKE, you take that fake bill as your reward and the payer has to use another bill to complete their payment.
   • However, if a bill is real, you do not get a reward and the payer will pay as usual.

Inspecting for Fake Chance Cards

You can also use a decoder when somebody else is using a Chance card.

Here are the steps for checking a fake card:

1. Announce to all players that you will use a decoder to check for a fake Chance card. You have to announce before another player uses a Chance card.
2. Flip one of your decoder chips to the red side, indicating that you will use a decoder.
3. Inspect the Chance card.
   • If a card is FAKE, you receive $100 as your reward and that card cannot be used.
   • However, if a card is real, that card can be used but you do not get any reward.
4. After inspecting a fake card or using a real card, put that Chance card back on the bottom of the Chance card draw deck.

Ending the Game

The game will end when all properties have been owned. That is, the game will end at an exact time when a last property has been owned (purchase or auction).

Final Scoring

Cash is the only basis for final scoring.

All players collect rent on the properties that they own. A collection happens only once for each property.

• If you own a color set, collect the higher “color set” rent for each unimproved property (without a hotel) for that color set.
• If you have a hotel in a property, collect the highest “hotel” rent for that property.

After collecting rent from the properties for scoring, all players count their final cash.

• Players simply ignore the authenticity of cash that they receive for final scoring.

A player with the most cash (real and fake) wins the game.