Tabletop games
Monopoly
Bankrupt the other players by buying, building and charging rent.
- players
- 2–8
- minutes
- 90-180
- variants
- 2
You’ll need the game box. Marquoir sums up the rules and keeps score.
Setup
- Each player receives a starting sum, 1,500 in the classic version, and chooses a token.
- The property cards stay with the bank until they are bought.
- One player is named banker; they also play, but keep the bank's money separate from their own.
How to play
- Roll two dice and move forward that many spaces.
- An unowned property may be bought; otherwise it goes to auction, which most tables forget.
- An owned property charges rent, which rises with houses and hotels.
- A double gives another roll; three doubles in a row send you to jail, without collecting the salary for passing the start space.
Scoring
- The counter tracks each player's wealth: cash, plus the value of their land and buildings.
- A complete colour group doubles the rent on undeveloped sites, before any building at all.
- Mortgages are deducted: a mortgaged site is worth only half its price.
End of the game
- A player who can no longer pay is eliminated: their assets go to their creditor or to the bank.
- The game ends when everyone but one is bankrupt — or at the agreed time, the richest player winning.
House rules and pitfalls
- Auctions are in the official rules and change everything: a property someone declines never stays unowned.
- There is no jackpot on the Free Parking space: it is the most widespread house rule in the world, and the one that makes games drag on the most.
- You cannot build a hotel without first placing four houses, nor build unevenly within a group.
Variants
End of the game
Until bankruptcy
Play until only one solvent player is left.
At the agreed time
Set a finishing time: the richest player wins, buildings included.
chosen when starting, the scorer follows
Frequently asked questions
Is there really a jackpot on Free Parking?
No. No official version has fines pile up there. It is a universal house rule, and it is what makes games last: money that should leave the game comes back into it.
What happens if nobody wants to buy a property?
It goes straight to auction, starting at any price, and the highest bidder wins it. Many tables ignore this rule, which slows the start of the game considerably.
How do you get out of jail?
In three ways: pay 50, use a get-out-of-jail card, or roll a double — three attempts at most, after which you must pay. You keep collecting rent in the meantime.
Can you build a hotel straight away?
No. The site needs four houses, and building must stay even within the group: never more than one house of difference between two sites of the same colour.
What happens when the bank runs out of houses?
None are created: you wait until a player sells some back. The housing shortage is a real strategy, and it is part of the official rules.
Does a mortgaged site earn rent?
No. You receive half its value when you mortgage it, and it earns nothing until you pay it off, with ten per cent interest on top.
Can players trade sites with each other?
Yes, on any terms agreed, including money, except for sites with buildings: the houses must first be sold back to the bank, at half their price.
The box
- Released
- 1935
- Age
- Ages 8+
- Designers
- Charles Darrow, Elizabeth J. Magie (Phillips)
- Artwork
- Charles Darrow, Edison Girard
- Publisher
- Hasbro
- Mechanics
- EnchèresRevenusEmpruntsTour passéPropriétés
- Contents
- 1 plateau
- 8 pions
- 2 dés
- 28 titres de propriété
- 16 cartes Chance et 16 cartes Caisse de communauté
- 32 maisons et 12 hôtels
- Des billets
- Expansions
- Monopoly: Parc gratuit · 2025
Where to find it
Specialist French shops. Marquoir earns nothing from these links.