(PCM) The holidays bring families together and what better way to spend some quality family togetherness than breaking out a good ol’ game of Monopoly. You know the one that usually ends in a stalemate with siblings screaming at one another and the board getting tossed across the room. Well, it seems that the classic way in which most families play Monopoly is all wrong and by actually following the rules printed in the box, game play can be both a lot faster and smoother.
Research shows that most people who play Monopoly have never even seen the actual rule book and have been basing their game play on a hand me down rule-set that has been passed down from generation to generation. Sadly, these rules are wrong. The Today I Found Out YouTube channel has kindly taken the time to break down the correct rules for playing Monopoly and some of what they have uncovered is quite surprising.
For instance, did you know that the Free Parking space on the game board literally does nothing. It is nothing more than a space holder spot for players to take a break and count their money. The official rule book states that the Free Parking space has no special meaning, however players who have created their own rules claim that all the tax and fine money collected from players goes into a pot in the middle of the board and whoever lands on Free Parking gets that money. Not so!
Also, did you know that when you land on a property and you decide not to purchase the property the rest of the game players can then decide to bid on that property? We had no idea, but we could certainly see that rule speeding up the game and property buying process quite a bit.
No game has the ability to make people angrier than Monopoly, however it turns it is way more of a strategy game about causing your opponents to go broke. The video above provides some fascinating rules that we had no idea were part of the Monopoly universe. However, good luck convincing your family as they will most likely refuse to budge on the rules for Monopoly they have followed for years.