Today I Found Out host Simon Whistler explains the many ways people are playing Monopoly wrong, and what actually happens when a player lands on the “Free Parking” space. The rules of the game have not changed very much since it was first introduced, but many players have developed “house rules” that in some cases actually slow the game down significantly.
Few board games have the ability to cause arguments like Monopoly, an unsurprising fact given the object of the game it was based on (see: Who Invented Monopoly?) was to send your opponent to the poor house while you bask in the pleasures of immense wealth and prosperity. In the eight decades or so the game has existed, the rules of Monopoly haven’t really changed all that much, but because everyone “knows” how to play, how people actually play the game has slowly diverged from what the actual rule book, which nobody ever bothers to read, says. In anticipation of various family get-togethers coming up this holiday season, in which you’ll no doubt be subjected to a game of Monopoly at some point, in this article, we’re going to correct the various ways you’ve probably been playing Monopoly wrong your whole life.