House Rules

"PLAY IT RIGHT!" Some people play the MONOPOLY game according to what are called "house" rules. The official MONOPOLY game rules - which are followed in tournament play - do not allow such variations. _{Monopoly Streets pop-up message everytimes player making new rules.}

In the game of Monopoly, House Rules are variations on standard play. Some of them are very common, such as putting taxes and fines on Free Parking. Others, such as the "Sell Cards" rule are somewhat obscure. Many casual Monopoly players are surprised and disappointed to discover that some of the rules they are used to are not actually part of the official rules. House rules are totally forbidden in tournament play, as those games go by the Official Rules, plus time limits.

Standard/Video Game House Rules

• Initial Money: Normally all players will start with $1,500 but it can be changed to make the game shorter (or longer).
  • In the SNES version of the game, you can set the initial money ranging from $0 to $30,000.
  • In Monopoly Streets, the minimum amount is $500, $500 increments, to the maximum amount of $2,500
• Properties at Start: You can dealt all players a number of properties at random (sub-rules: if small amount of properties is dealt, players must pay the bank equal to buy price of all the properties he/she acquired), auction some of the properties out, or none at all (Default).
  • In the SNES version of the game, you can give any properties to any players you wish (for free).
• Speed Die: Adds a 3rd die and special rules to help speed up the game, either enabled from start, or enabled on each player's first turn AFTER passing GO.
• Build Rules: Allow you to changed how player's can build a Houses/Hotel, there are 3 types, one is exclusive to Monopoly Streets.
  1. Even Build (Default): With Even Build, houses must be built evenly on each property in a color group.
  2. Free Build: Free Build allow houses to be built unevenly once a complete color group is owned.
  3. City Build: City Build allow houses to be built without owning a color group.

• Houses Available: Total numbers of houses available in the game (Default: 32).
• Hotels Available: Total numbers of hotels available in the game (Default: 12).
• Houses per Hotel: Number of houses a player must buy before they can build a hotel (Default: 4).
• Properties on Bankruptcy: When a player goes bankrupt, their properties are either given to the player owed rent (Default), randomly distributed to all players, or always returned to the Bank.
• Auction: When a player lands on an unowned property, by Default they can put it up for auction. But it can either be changed to forced auction (property put it up for auction everytimes an unowned property is lands) or simply pass on that property.
• Selling Houses Percentage: This is the percentage of the purchase price that the player will get back when selling a house or hotel (Default: 50%).
• Mortgage Interest: Mortgage interest charged in addition to the Mortgage price, before you can unmortgage a property (Default: 10%).
• Salary for Passing GO: Amount of money the player collects for passing GO (Default: $200).
• Double Salary on GO: When set to ON, player gets double salary ($400 instead of $200) if they land (i.e. end their movement) on GO.
• Income Tax/Luxury Tax: Amount the player owes when they land on Tax (Default: $200 and $100 respectively).
• Income Tax 10% Rule: By default this rule is removed since 2008, but if it is ON, the player can pay a flat fee, or 10% of their total Net Worth. Alternatively, the player land on Income Tax forced to pay 10% of their total Net Worth.
• Free Parking Payout: Nothing happen (by Default), player collect a fixed amount of money from the bank, or player collect all the Fee Collected from taxes, jail, Chance and Community Chest cards (Other versions include placing the final unpurchased property there).
• Max Turns in Jail: Maximum number of turns in Jail a player is allowed before they must pay bail (Default: 3).
• Bail Amount to Leave Jail: Amount of money charged to get out of Jail (Default: $50).
• Jail Punishment: While player is in Jail, one or more of the following punishment rules may applied.
  1. Player cannot collect any rents
  2. Player cannot unmortgage a properties.
  3. Player cannot build Houses/Hotels.
  4. Player cannot trade with other players.
• Place Token: (SNES) Normally all players start at GO, but you can change the start position of any tokens to anywhere on the board (excluding Go To Jail space).
• Place Buildings: (SNES) Before the game, if at least 1 player have a complete color group, you can put Houses/Hotels to that properties (for free).

Fan-Made House Rules

• Less Money: Each player gets just 1200 in 2 500s, 1 100, 1 50, 1 20, 2 10s, 1 5 and 5 1s
• Headstart: The Banker auctions any properties the players want (they usually pick Boardwalk). This is a very common house rule.
• More Money: Each players receive 2 500s, 2 100s, 10 50s, 10 20s, 7 10s, 5 5s, and 5 1s, instead of the original 2 500s, 2 100s, 2 50s, 6 20s, 5 10s, 5 5s, and 5 1s. In the mega edition, they get 2 500s, 2 100s, 10 50s, 10 20s, 7 10s, 5 5s, and 5 1s, but with the 1 1,000 bill.
• Even More Money: Each player uses 3 500s instead of 2 to make the game more fun.
• Stupid Bankruptcy: When a player lands on Free Parking, all other players pay the lucky player $10,000. Even if you add more bills in The Mega Edition, it's still very weird.

1000 bill used by some people in the original version.

• Exchange: If someone pays additional money (like $500 with the 500 bill for Boardwalk), the 100 monopoly bill goes to the center of the board, and when someone lands on Free Parking, the total exchanges go to the lucky player.

5000 bill used by some people in the mega version.

• Additional Bills: The banker uses $1000 bills (or 6 in the Junior Version and $5000 bills in the Mega Version) and they give more money to make entertainment longer and education shorter.
• Bankruptcy = No Longer Banker: If the Banker goes bankrupt, the player with the most cash becomes the Banker and the second most cash becomes the auctioneer.
• Card Sellers: A Chance or Community Chest card may be sold to another player for any price, but must NOT be revealed to ANY player until it is sold.
• Voluntary Bankruptcy: At any time, ONE player per game may declare Voluntary Bankruptcy. They return all they have to the Bank and receive $800 and the Purple/Brown properties. The owners of these properties will receive $120 in compensation, plus $50 per Houses and $250 per Hotel. This may only be done ONCE per game.
• Snake Eyes = Cash: When rolling 2 Ones (Snake Eyes), a player receives $100. Other versions call for one of each bill, totaling $666, plus the 20 bill.
• Take a Chance: A player has the option to do nothing when landing on a Chance space.
• See the Sights: Players must travel around the board one complete time before they can begin buying properties. Hurry up and get to GO before everyone else!
• Cash Advance: Don’t have enough to buy Boardwalk? With this House Rule, players can make loans between each other to co-own properties. Who collects rent money? That’s determined by the new property owners!
• Three’s a Crowd: Are there 3 players in a row on 3 unique properties? Well done, each player gets an extra $500.
• Delayed Purchase: No players may purchase property until ONE player has passed Go. This rule makes the game go a little faster if the See the Sights rule is also used. This rule and the one above are good with games with 5 or more players.
• Go Go GO!: If a player lands directly on Go, he or she has the right to not collect their $200 and instead move their game piece to any place on the board.
• Speak up: The owner must demand rent before the very next player rolls, or even before the same player (having rolled doubles) rolls again. Further, some house rules may claim that if a player lands on somebody's property on a roll of doubles, he/she is not "staying the night" and therefore does not need to pay rent.
• Auction Winner: If the one who landed on the property does not win the auction, he pays the rent to the winner.
• Auction Loser: If the one who landed on the property does not win the auction, he is Quintuple Chairman Of The Board ($250 to each player)
• Gotta own them all: According to some home rules no property trading happens until all properties are owned by someone. At this point, play stops and a flurry of trading proceeds until all players are satisfied. Trades may be made regardless of a players turn in the game.
• Upgrade: Allow a player to build a hotel directly, even if there are not enough houses in the bank (one hotel equals five houses). This way a building shortage only affects poor players.
• Downgrade: Allow a player to downgrade a hotel to four house even though there are not enough houses (write-in paper that is 4 houses)
• Location, Location, Location: Build a certain property only when they land on it. Combined with the requirement that properties in a color group be developed equally, this makes development very slow as it can only be done one house at a time.
• Development Mogul: You are able to buy houses and hoard them in order to prevent others from winning.
• Free Boardwalk: Want to own Boardwalk? Then, use this rule for buying Boardwalk for less than ten dollars.
• Regular Illinois Avenue: Buy Illinois Avenue from $24 to $2,400.
• Paid Mediterranean Avenue: Want to avoid Mediterranean Avenue? Then, use this rule for buying Mediterranean Avenue for over $1,000.
• Go for Win: When someone lands DIRECTLY in Go, he/she wins the game.
• Halfway Chairman of the Board: When you draw a Chance card making you Chairman of the Board, you pay each player $25.
• Jail Defender: When someone goes to jail, he/she must pay each player $100 (enough to save you from two jails)
• Blue and Green Free Block: Want to have two of the most valuable monopolies? Then, buy Boardwalk and Park Place for $4 and the three green properties for $3 and a Skyscraper in Boardwalk (Monopoly: The Mega Edition) could make every player pay you $3,000,000,000! That is impossible to make in the regular version. That is even more than fifteen thousand Boardwalk-sellers!
• Twelve-Cash: When someone rolls 12 (15 in mega edition), everyone pays him/her $35.
• Land Luck: When someone lands on Illinois Avenue (the most stopped space), he must pay everyone a tip of $24.
• Property with Tax: Add 10% Tax to any property you buy.
• Property with Tip: My Bank, do you want money? Then, for the brown properties, give a tip of $5. For the turquoise properties, give a tip of $10. For the pink properties, give a tip of $15. For the orange properties, give a tip of $20. For the red properties, give a tip of $35. For the yellow properties, give a tip of $50. For the green properties, give a tip of $75. For the blue properties, give a tip of $100. For the railroads, give a tip of $25. For the utilities, give a tip of $1.
• Tax and Tip Money: When two of the above house rules are used, the money goes to the center of the board and a lucky player gets it if they land on Free Parking.
• Boardwalk is no Bankrupt!: When someone buys Boardwalk, he must pay every player $100 ($200 in the Mega Edition)
• Go for Monopoly: When someone LANDS on GO, he gives other players hotel (in their monopoly) for free.
• Free Jail: When someone goes to Jail, in a 6-player game, every other player pays you $10.
• One-and-a-Half-Go: A player receiver $300 for landing directly on Go.
• Jail Auction: When you go to Jail, you must auction all of your properties.
• Free Additional Properties: In the Mega Edition, at the beginning of the game, the banker auctions Arctic Avenue, Massachusetts Avenue, Maryland Avenue, New Jersey Avenue, Gas Company, Michigan Avenue, California Avenue, South Carolina Avenue, and Florida Avenue.
• Jail Ends a Player: When someone goes to jail or lands in "Just Visiting", he goes bankrupt.
• Bankrupt Ends: When one player goes bankrupt, the game is over even in a 3-or-more-player-game. It is similar to Monopoly Junior.
• Sell Properties to the Bank: If mortgaging is not good for you, just sell them.
• $200 for GO during Jail: When a player passes GO, he collects $200, even in Jail.
• Free Jail: A player goes to Jail for one turn and gets it for free, but auctions his/her most expensive property.
• Decuple Go: A player receives $2,000 for passing GO.
• Tenth-Of-Go: A player receives $20 for passing GO.
• No Mortgages: Sell title deeds and get half the price to be an anti-auctioneer! This House Rule Will Save Your Time.
• Skyscrapers: Build yellow skyscrapers in the original version!
• Space Elevators: Build blue space elevators in the mega version!
• Cash for Winner: When you get $5,000, you win the game. But in the Mega Edition, if you get $10,000, you win the game.
• Free Parking Auction: When you land on Free Parking, pick a property for the bank to auction. This is similar to the Auction space in the Mega Edition.
• Smooth Rentalvalue progressions:When a player lands on a property and the owner owns two properties in that color group and there is a third property he doesn't own, the player who landed there pays half of triple the normal rent.
• Don't Use the $1 Bills: Want the game to be slightly easier? Remove all $1 bills from the game, and round all money amounts to the nearest $5.
• Advance To Boardwalk: In addition to standard monopoly action, players also try to race around the board all the way to Boardwalk, and the 1st player to passed or landed on boardwalk, get a $400 bonus, 2nd get $200, etc. This rule lasted until 4th player reached boardwalk.
• Tarnation Cards From Thai: Add 1 "Bankrupt" card into both Chance and Community Chest cards pile. When the player draw one of them, remove that card from that pile (optional).
• Le ol' Switcheroo: During a certain number of turns, all players randomly switch his/her token position with their opponent's token position.
• Exact Change Only/No Refunds: No players will give or receive any change if they pay more than the exact amount owed.
• Trade Improved Properties: Properties with houses or hotels may be traded without first selling the houses (Cannot be used unless "City Build" rule is on).