Monopoly (game)

Lizzie Magie's 1904 board design

The history of Monopoly can be traced back to 1903,[1] when American anti-monopolist Lizzie Magie created a game which she hoped would explain the single tax theory of Henry George. It was intended as an educational tool to illustrate the negative aspects of concentrating land in private monopolies. She took out a patent in 1904. Her game, The Landlord's Game, was self-published, beginning in 1906.[4]

Magie created two sets of rules: an anti-monopolist set in which all were rewarded when wealth was created, and a monopolist set in which the goal was to create monopolies and crush opponents.[5]

Several variant board games, based on her concept, were developed from 1906 through the 1930s; they involved both the process of buying land for its development and the sale of any undeveloped property. Cardboard houses were added and rents increased as they were added to a property. Magie patented the game again in 1923.[6]

According to an advertisement placed in The Christian Science Monitor, Charles Todd of Philadelphia recalled the day in 1932 when his childhood friend, Esther Jones, and her husband Charles Darrow came to their house for dinner. After the meal, the Todds introduced Darrow to The Landlord's Game, which they then played several times. The game was entirely new to Darrow, and he asked the Todds for a written set of the rules. After that night, Darrow went on to utilize this and distribute the game himself as Monopoly.[7]

Parker Brothers bought the game's copyrights from Darrow.[8] When the company learned Darrow was not the sole inventor of the game, it bought the rights to Magie's patent for $500.[9]

Parker Brothers began marketing the game on November 5, 1935.[10] Cartoonist F. O. Alexander contributed the design.[11] U. S. patent number US 2026082 A was issued to Charles Darrow on December 31, 1935, for the game board design and was assigned to Parker Brothers Inc.[12] The original version of the game in this format was based on the streets of Atlantic City, New Jersey.

In 1936, Parker Brothers began licensing the game for sale outside the United States. In 1941, the British Secret Intelligence Service had John Waddington Ltd., the licensed manufacturer of the game in the United Kingdom, create a special edition for World War II prisoners of war held by the Nazis.[13] Hidden inside these games were maps, compasses, real money, and other objects useful for escaping. They were distributed to prisoners by fake charity organizations created by the British Secret Service.[14]

In the Nazi-occupied Netherlands, the German government and its collaborators were displeased with Dutch people using Monopoly Game sets with American or British locales, and developed a version with Dutch locations. Since that version had in itself no specific pro-Nazi elements, it continued in use after the war, and formed the base for Monopoly games used in the Netherlands up to the present.

Economics professor Ralph Anspach published Anti-Monopoly in 1973, and was sued for trademark infringement by Parker Brothers in 1974. The case went to trial in 1976. Anspach won on appeals in 1979, as the 9th Circuit Court determined that the trademark Monopoly was generic and therefore unenforceable.[15] The United States Supreme Court declined to hear the case, allowing the appellate court ruling to stand. This decision was overturned by the passage of Public Law 98–620 in 1984.[16][17] With that law in place, Parker Brothers and its parent company, Hasbro, continue to hold valid trademarks for the game Monopoly. However, Anti-Monopoly was exempted from the law and Anspach later reached a settlement with Hasbro and markets his game under license from them.[18]

The research that Anspach conducted during the course of the litigation was what helped bring the game's history before Charles Darrow into the spotlight.[15]

In 1991, Hasbro acquired Parker Bros. and thus Monopoly.[19] Before the Hasbro acquisition, Parker Bros. acted as a publisher only issuing two versions at a time, a regular and deluxe. Hasbro moved to create and license many other versions of Monopoly and sought public input in varying the game.[20] A new wave of licensed products began in 1994, when Hasbro granted a license to USAopoly to begin publishing a San Diego Edition of Monopoly,[19][21] which has since been followed by more than a hundred more licensees including Winning Moves Games (since 1995)[22] and Winning Solutions, Inc. (since 2000) in the United States.

In 2003, the company held a national tournament on a chartered train going from Chicago to Atlantic City (see § U.S. National Championship).[20] Also in 2003, Hasbro sued the maker of Ghettopoly[23] and won.[24] In February 2005, the company sued RADGames over their Super Add-On accessory board game that fit in the center of the board.[25] The judge initially issued an injunction on February 25, 2005, to halt production and sales before ruling in RADGames' favor in April 2005.[26]

In 2008, the Speed Die was added to all regular Monopoly sets.[22] After polling their Facebook followers, Hasbro Gaming took the top house rules and added them to a House Rule Edition released in the Fall of 2014 and added them as optional rules in 2015.[27] In January 2017, Hasbro invited Internet users to vote on a new set of game pieces, with this new regular edition to be issued in March 2017.[28]

On May 1, 2018, the Monopoly Mansion hotel agreement was announced by Hasbro's managing director for South-East Asia, Hong Kong and Taiwan, Jenny Chew Yean Nee with M101 Holdings Sdn Bhd. M101 has the five-star, 225-room hotel, then under construction, located at the M101 Bukit Bintang in Kuala Lumpur and would have a 1920s Gatsby feel. M101's Sirocco Group would manage the hotel when it opened in 2019.[29]

There have since been some changes to the board. Not all of the Chance and Community Chest cards as shown in the 1935 patent were used in editions from 1936/1937 onwards.[31] Graphics with the Mr. Monopoly character (then known as "Rich Uncle Pennybags") were added in that same time-frame.[32] A graphic of a chest containing coins was added to the Community Chest spaces, as were the flat purchase prices of the properties. Traditionally, the Community Chest cards were yellow (although they were sometimes printed on blue stock) with no decoration or text on the back; the Chance cards were orange with no text or decoration on the back.[32]

Hasbro commissioned a major graphic redesign to the U.S. Standard Edition of the game in 2008 along with some minor revisions. Among the changes: the colors of Mediterranean and Baltic Avenues changed from purple to brown, and the colors of the GO square changed from red to black. A flat $200 Income Tax was imposed (formerly the player's choice of $200 or 10% of their total holdings, which they could not calculate until after making their final decision). Originally the amount was $300 but was changed a year after the game's debut,[33] and the Luxury Tax amount increased to $100 from $75. There were also changes to the Chance and Community Chest cards; for example, the "poor tax", "receive for services", "Xmas fund matures", and "grand opera opening" cards became "speeding fine", "receive $25 consultancy fee", "holiday fund matures", and "it is your birthday", respectively; though their effects remained the same; the player must pay only $50 instead of $150 for the school tax. In addition, a player now gets $50 instead of $45 for sale of stock, and the Advance to Illinois Avenue card now has the added text indicating a player collects $200 if they pass Go on the way there.[34]

2014 U.S. Monopoly box

All the Chance and Community Chest cards received a graphic upgrade in 2008 as part of the graphic refresh of the game. Mr. Monopoly's classic line illustration was also now usually replaced by renderings of a 3D Mr. Monopoly model. The backs of the cards have their respective symbols, with Community Chest cards in blue, and Chance cards in orange.[34]

Additionally, recent versions of Monopoly replace the dollar sign ($) with an M with two horizontal strokes through it.[35]

In the U.S. versions shown below, the properties are named after locations in (or near) Atlantic City, New Jersey.[36] Atlantic City's Illinois Avenue was renamed Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. in the 1980s. St. Charles Place no longer exists, as the Showboat Atlantic City was developed where it once ran.[37]

Different versions have been created based on various current consumer interests such as: Dog-opoly,[38] Cato-poly,[39] Bug-opoly,[40] and TV/movie games among others.

Standard (American Edition) Monopoly board layout as of September 2008

Free Parking	Kentucky Avenue $220	Chance ?	Indiana Avenue $220	Illinois Avenue $240	B&O Railroad $200	Atlantic Avenue $260	Ventnor Avenue $260	Water Works $150	Marvin Gardens $280	Go To Jail
New York Avenue $200	MONOPOLY									Pacific Avenue $300
Tennessee Avenue $180										North Carolina Avenue $300
Community Chest										Community Chest
St. James Place $180										Pennsylvania Avenue $320
Pennsylvania Railroad $200										Short Line $200
Virginia Avenue $160										Chance ?
States Avenue $140										Park Place $350
Electric Company $150										Luxury Tax (pay $100)
St. Charles Place $140										Boardwalk $400
In Jail/Just Visiting	Connecticut Avenue $120	Vermont Avenue $100	Chance ?	Oriental Avenue $100	Reading Railroad $200	Income Tax (pay $200)	Baltic Avenue $60	Community Chest	Mediter- ranean Avenue $60	Collect $200 salary as you pass GO

Marvin Gardens, the farthest yellow property, is a misspelling of its actual name, Marven Gardens. The misspelling was introduced by Charles and Olive Todd, who taught the game to Charles Darrow. It was passed on when their homemade Monopoly board was copied by Darrow and then by Parker Brothers. The Todds also changed the Atlantic City Quakers' Arctic Avenue to Mediterranean, and shortened the Shore Fast Line to the Short Line.[41] It was not until 1995 that Parker Brothers acknowledged the misspelling of Marvin Gardens, formally apologizing to the residents of Marven Gardens.[42]

Short Line refers to the Shore Fast Line, a streetcar line that served Atlantic City.[37] The B&O Railroad did not serve Atlantic City. A booklet included with the reprinted 1935 edition states that the four railroads that served Atlantic City in the mid-1930s were the Jersey Central, the Seashore Lines, the Reading Railroad, and the Pennsylvania Railroad.

The Baltimore & Ohio (now part of CSX) was the parent of the Reading. There is a tunnel in Philadelphia where track to the south was B. & O. and track to the north is Reading. The Central of N.J. did not have a track to Atlantic City but was the daughter of the Reading (and granddaughter of the B. & O.) Their track ran from the New York City area to Delaware Bay and some trains ran on the Reading-controlled track to Atlantic City.[43]

The actual "Electric Company" and "Water Works" serving the city are respectively Atlantic City Electric Company (a subsidiary of Exelon) and the Atlantic City Municipal Utilities Authority.[37]

The board cover of the standard British version, with the 2008–13 artwork

In the 1930s, John Waddington Ltd. (Waddingtons) was a printing company in Leeds that had branched out into packaging and the production of playing cards.[44] Waddingtons had sent the card game Lexicon to Parker Brothers hoping to interest them in publishing the game in the United States. In a similar fashion, Parker Brothers sent over a copy of Monopoly to Waddingtons early in 1935 before the game had been put into production in the United States.

Victor Watson, the managing director of Waddingtons, gave the game to his son Norman, head of the card games division, to test over the weekend. Norman was impressed by the game and persuaded his father to call Parker Brothers on Monday morning – transatlantic calls then being almost unheard of.[44] This call resulted in Waddingtons obtaining a license to produce and market the game outside the United States.[45]

Watson felt that for the game to be a success in the United Kingdom, the American locations would have to be replaced, so Victor and his secretary, Marjory Phillips, went to London to scout out locations.[46][44] The Angel, Islington is not a street in London but a building (and the name of the road intersection where it is located). It had been a coaching inn that stood on the Great North Road. By the 1930s, the inn had become a J. Lyons and Co. tea room (today The Co-operative Bank). Some accounts say that Marjory and Victor met at the Angel to discuss the selection and celebrated the fact by including it on the Monopoly board. In 2003, a plaque commemorating the naming was unveiled at the site by Victor Watson's grandson, who is also named Victor.[47]

During World War II, the British Secret Service contacted Waddington (who could also print on silk) to make Monopoly sets that included escape maps, money, a compass and file, all hidden in copies of the game sent by fake POW relief charities to prisoners of war.[48]

The standard British board, produced by Waddingtons, was for many years the version most familiar to people in countries in the Commonwealth (except Canada, where the U.S. edition with Atlantic City-area names was reprinted), although local variants of the board are now also found in several of these countries.

In 1998, Winning Moves procured the Monopoly license from Hasbro and created new UK city and regional editions[49] with sponsored squares. Initially, in December 1998, the game was sold in just a few W H Smith stores, but demand was high, with almost fifty thousand games shipped in the four weeks leading to Christmas. Winning Moves still produces new city and regional editions annually.

The original income tax choice from the 1930s U.S. board is replaced by a flat rate on the UK board, and the $75 Luxury Tax space is replaced with the £100 Super Tax space, the same as the current German board. In 2008, the U.S. Edition was changed to match the UK and various European editions, including a flat $200 Income Tax value and an increased $100 Luxury Tax amount.[34]

In cases where a national company produced the game, the $ (dollar) sign was replaced with the £ (pound), but the place names were unchanged.

UK edition Monopoly board layout

Free Parking	Strand £220	Chance ?	Fleet Street £220	Trafalgar Square £240	Fenchurch Street station £200	Leicester Square £260	Coventry Street £260	Water Works £150	Piccadilly £280	Go To Jail
Vine Street £200	MONOPOLY									Regent Street £300
Marlborough Street £180										Oxford Street £300
Community Chest										Community Chest
Bow Street £180										Bond Street £320
Marylebone station £200										Liverpool Street station £200
Northumberland Avenue £160										Chance ?
Whitehall £140										Park Lane £350
Electric Company £150										Super Tax (pay £100)
Pall Mall £140										Mayfair £400
In Jail/Just Visiting	Pentonville Road £120	Euston Road £100	Chance ?	The Angel, Islington £100	King's Cross station £200	Income Tax (pay £200)	Whitechapel Road £60	Community Chest	Old Kent Road £60	Collect £200 salary as you pass GO

Beginning in the U.K. in 2005, a revised version of the game, titled Monopoly Here and Now, was produced, replacing game scenarios, properties, and tokens with newer equivalents.[50] Similar boards were produced for Germany and France. Variants of these first editions appeared with Visa-branded debit cards taking the place of cash – the later U.S. "Electronic Banking" edition has unbranded debit cards.[51][52]

The success of the first Here and Now editions prompted Hasbro U.S. to allow online voting for twenty-six landmark properties across the United States to take their places along the game-board.[53] The popularity of this voting, in turn, led to the creation of similar websites, and secondary game-boards per popular vote to be created in the U.K., Canada,[54] France, Germany, Australia, New Zealand, Ireland, and other nations.[53]

In 2006, Winning Moves Games released the Mega Edition, with a 30% larger game-board and revised game play.[55] Other streets from Atlantic City (eight, one per color group) were included, along with a third "utility", the Gas Company. In addition, $1,000 denomination notes (first seen in Winning Moves' Monopoly: The Card Game) are included. Game play is further changed with bus tickets (allowing non-dice-roll movement along one side of the board), a speed die (itself adopted into variants of the Atlantic City standard edition; see below), skyscrapers (after houses and hotels), and train depots that can be placed on the Railroad spaces.[56]

This edition was adapted for the U.K. market in 2007, and is sold by Winning Moves U.K.[57] After the initial U.S. release, critiques of some of the rules caused the company to issue revisions and clarifications on their website.

In September 2006, the U.S. edition of Monopoly Here and Now was released. This edition features top landmarks across the U.S.[58] The properties were decided by votes over the Internet in the spring of 2006.[59]

Monetary values are multiplied by 10,000 (e.g., one collects $2,000,000 instead of $200 for passing GO and pays that much for Income Tax (or 10% of their total, as this edition was launched prior to 2008), each player starts with $15,000,000 instead of $1,500, etc.).[58] Also, the Chance and Community Chest cards are updated, the Railroads are replaced by Airports (Chicago O'Hare, Los Angeles International, New York City's JFK, and Atlanta's Hartsfield-Jackson), and the Utilities (Electric Company and Water Works) are replaced by Service Providers (Internet Service Provider and Cell Phone Service Provider).[59] The houses and hotels are blue and silver, not green and red as in most editions of Monopoly. The board uses the traditional U.S. layout; the cheapest properties are purple, not brown, and "Interest on Credit Card Debt" replaces "Luxury Tax".

Despite the updated Luxury Tax space, and the Income Tax space no longer using the 10% option, this edition uses paper Monopoly money, and not an electronic banking unit like the Here and Now World Edition. However, a similar edition of Monopoly, the Electronic Banking edition, does feature an electronic banking unit and bank cards, as well as a different set of tokens. Both Here and Now and Electronic Banking feature an updated set of tokens from the Atlantic City edition.[59]

It is also notable that three states (California, Florida, and Texas) are represented by two cities each (Los Angeles and San Francisco, Miami and Orlando, and Dallas and Houston). No other state is represented by more than one city (not including the airports). One landmark, Texas Stadium, has been demolished and no longer exists. Another landmark, Jacobs Field, still exists, but was renamed Progressive Field in 2008.[60]

Monopoly Here and Now: The U.S. Edition (2006)

Free Parking	Camelback Mountains, Phoenix $2.2M	Chance ?	Waikiki Beach, Honolulu $2.2M	Walt Disney World, Orlando $2.4M	JFK Airport, New York City $2M	French Quarter, New Orleans $2.6M	Hollywood, Los Angeles $2.6M	Internet Service $1.5M	Golden Gate Bridge, San Francisco $2.8M	Go To Jail
Pioneer Square, Seattle $2M	MONOPOLY Here and Now: The U.S. Edition									Las Vegas Blvd, Las Vegas $3M
Johnson Space Center, Houston $1.8M										Wrigley Field, Chicago $3M
Community Chest										Community Chest
South Beach, Miami $1.8M										White House, Washington $3.2M
Los Angeles International Airport $2M										Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International Airport $2M
Liberty Bell, Philadelphia $1.6M										Chance ?
Red Rocks Amphitheatre, Denver $1.4M										Fenway Park, Boston $3.5M
Cell Phone Service $1.5M										Interest On Credit Card Debt pay $750K
Centennial Olympic Park, Atlanta $1.4M										Times Square, New York City $4M
In Jail/Just Visiting	Mall of America, Minneapolis $1.2M	Gateway Arch, St. Louis $1M	Chance ?	Grand Ole Opry, Nashville $1M	O'Hare Airport, Chicago $2M	Income Tax pay $2M or 10%	Texas Stadium, Dallas $600K	Community Chest	Jacobs Field, Cleveland $600K	Collect $2M salary as you pass GO

In 2015, in honor of the game's 80th birthday, Hasbro held an online vote to determine which cities would make it into an updated version of Here and Now. This second edition is more a spin-off as the winning condition has changed to completing a passport instead of bankrupting opponents. Community Chest is replaced with Here and Now cards, while the Here and Now space replaced the railroads. Houses and hotels have been removed.[61]

Hasbro released a World edition with the top voted cities from all around the world, as well as at least a Here and Now edition with the voted-on U.S. cities.[62]

Monopoly Empire has uniquely branded tokens and places based on popular brands. Instead of buying properties, players buy popular brands one by one and slide their billboards onto their Empire towers. Instead of building houses and hotels, players collect rent from their rivals based on their tower height. The first player to fill their tower with billboards wins.[63] Every space on the board is a brand name, such as Xbox, Coca-Cola, McDonald's and Samsung.[64]

Monopoly Token Madness

This version of Monopoly contains an extra eight "golden" tokens. That includes a penguin, a television, a race car, a Mr. Monopoly emoji, a rubber duck, a watch, a wheel and a bunny slipper.[65]

Monopoly Jackpot

During the game, players travel around the gameboard buying properties and collecting rent. If they land on a Chance space, or roll the Chance icon on a die, they can spin the Chance spinner to try to make more money. Players may hit the "Jackpot", go bankrupt, or be sent to Jail. The player who has the most cash when the bank crashes wins.[66]

Monopoly: Ultimate Banking Edition

The 'Ultimate Banking Unit' utilized in the Ultimate Banking Edition

In this version, there is no cash. The Monopoly Ultimate Banking game features an electronic ultimate banking piece with touch technology. Players can buy properties instantly and set rents by tapping. Each player has a bankcard and their cash is tracked by the Ultimate Banking unit. It can scan the game's property cards and boost or crash the market. Event cards and Location spaces replace Chance and Community Chest cards. On an Event Space, rents may be raised or lowered, a player may earn or lose money, or someone could be sent to Jail. Location Spaces allow players to pay and move to any property space on the gameboard.[67]

Monopoly Voice Banking

In this version, there are no cash or cards. Voice Banking allows the player to respond by voice to the Top Hat. The hat responds by purchasing properties, paying rent, and making buildings.[68]

Ms. Monopoly is a version of the game released in 2019, in which female players earn more than male players.[69]

Monopoly Deal is a card game derived from the board-game Monopoly introduced in 2008, produced and sold by Cartamundi under a license from Hasbro. Players attempt to collect three complete sets of cards representing the properties from the original board game, either by playing them directly, stealing them from other players, swapping cards with other players, or collecting them as rent for other properties they already own. The cards in the 110-card deck represent properties and wild cards, various denominations of Monopoly money used to pay rent, and special action cards which can either be played for their effects or banked as money instead.[70]

A deck of thirty-two Chance and Community Chest cards (sixteen each) which players draw when they land on the corresponding squares of the track, and follow the instructions printed on them.

A title deed for each property is given to a player to signify ownership, and specifies purchase price, mortgage value, the cost of building houses and hotels on that property, and the various rents depending on how developed the property is. Properties include:

• Twenty-two streets divided into eight color groups of two or three streets; a player must own all of a color group to build houses or hotels. Once achieved, color group properties must be improved or "broken down" evenly. See the section on Rules.
• Four railroads, players collect $25 rent if they own one railroad; $50 for two; $100 for three; $200 for all four. These are usually replaced by railroad stations in non-U.S. editions of Monopoly.
• Two utilities, rent is four times the dice value if one utility is owned, but ten times if both are owned. Hotels and houses cannot be built on utilities or stations. Some country editions have a fixed rent for utilities; for example, the Italian editions has a L. 2,000 ($20) rent if one utility is owned, or L. 10,000 ($100) if both are owned.

The purchase price for properties varies from $60 to $400 on a U.S. Standard Edition set.

2 standard dice, included in the original Monopoly Board Game.

A pair of six-sided dice is included, with a "Speed Die" added for variation in 2007. The 1999 Millennium Edition featured two jewel-like dice which were the subject of a lawsuit from Michael Bowling, owner of dice maker Crystal Caste.[71] Hasbro lost the suit in 2008 and had to pay $446,182 in royalties.[72] Subsequent printings of the game reverted to normal six-sided dice.

32 houses and 12 hotels made of wood or plastic (the original and current Deluxe Edition have wooden houses and hotels; the current "base set" uses plastic buildings). Unlike money, houses and hotels have a finite supply. If no more are available, no substitute is allowed. In most editions, houses are green and hotels red.

Older U.S. standard editions of the game included a total of $15,140 in the following denominations:

• 20 $500 bills (orange)
• 20 $100 bills (beige)
• 30 $50 bills (blue)
• 50 $20 bills (green)
• 40 $10 bills (yellow)
• 40 $5 bills (pink)
• 40 $1 bills (white)

Newer (September 2008 and later) U.S. editions provide a total of $20,580–30 of each denomination instead. The colors of some of the bills are also changed: $10s are now blue instead of yellow, $20s are a brighter green than before, and $50s are now purple instead of blue.

Each player begins the game with their token on the Go square, and $1,500 (or 1,500 of a localized currency) in play money ($2,500 with the Speed Die). Before September 2008, the money was divided with greater numbers of 20 and 10-dollar bills. Since then, the U.S. version has taken on the British version's initial cash distributions.

Although the U.S. version is indicated as allowing eight players, the cash distribution shown above is not possible with all eight players since it requires 32 $100 bills and 40 $1 bills. However, the amount of cash contained in the game is enough for eight players with a slight alteration of bill distribution.

Pre-Euro German editions of the game started with 30,000 "Spielmark" in eight denominations (abbreviated as "M."), and later used seven denominations of the "Deutsche Mark" ("DM."). In the classic Italian game, each player received L. 350,000 ($3500) in a two-player game, but L. 50,000 ($500) less for each player more than two. Only in a six-player game does a player receive the equivalent of $1,500. The classic Italian games were played with only four denominations of currency. Both Spanish editions (the Barcelona and Madrid editions) started the game with 150,000 in play money, with a breakdown identical to that of the American version.

According to the Parker Brothers rules, Monopoly money is theoretically unlimited; if the bank runs out of money it may issue as much as needed "by merely writing on any ordinary paper".[73] However, Hasbro's published Monopoly rules make no mention of this.[74] Additional paper money can be bought at certain locations, notably game and hobby stores, or downloaded from various websites and printed and cut by hand. One such site has created a $1,000 bill; while a $1,000 bill can be found in Monopoly: The Mega Edition and Monopoly: The Card Game, both published by Winning Moves Games, this note is not a standard denomination for "classic" versions of Monopoly.[75]

In several countries there is also a version of the game that features electronic banking. Instead of receiving paper money, each player receives a plastic bank card that is inserted into a calculator-like electronic device that keeps track of the player's balance.[76][77]

Lizzie Magie originally created this game for children to learn how to add and subtract through the usage of paper money. However, now with the new innovations of credit cards implemented in these games, many consumers are worried that the purpose of the game is ruined.[78]

Each player is represented by a small metal or plastic token that is moved around the edge of the board according to the roll of two six-sided dice. The number of tokens (and the tokens themselves) have changed over the history of the game with many appearing in special editions only, and some available with non-game purchases. After prints with wood tokens in 1937, a set of eight tokens was introduced.[79] Two more were added in late 1937,[79] and tokens changed again in 1942.[79] During World War II, the game tokens were switched back to wood.[80] Early localized editions of the standard edition (including some Canadian editions, which used the U.S. board layout) did not include pewter tokens but instead had generic wooden pawns identical to those that Sorry! had.[81]

Many of the early tokens were created by companies such as Dowst Miniature Toy Company, which made metal charms and tokens designed to be used on charm bracelets. The battleship and cannon were also used briefly in the Parker Brothers war game Conflict (released in 1940), but after the game failed on the market, the premade pieces were recycled for Monopoly usage.[82] By 1943, there were ten tokens which included the Battleship, Boot, Cannon, Horse and rider, Iron, Racecar, Scottie Dog, Thimble, Top hat, and Wheelbarrow. These tokens remained the same until the late 1990s, when Parker Brothers was sold to Hasbro.

In 1998, a Hasbro advertising campaign asked the public to vote on a new playing piece to be added to the set. The candidates were a "bag of money", a bi-plane, and a piggy bank. The bag ended up winning 51 percent of the vote compared to the other two which failed to go above 30%.[79] This new token was added to the set in 1999 bringing the number of tokens to eleven.[79] Another 1998 campaign poll asked people which monopoly token was their favorite. The most popular was the Race Car at 18% followed by the Dog (16%), Cannon (14%) and Top Hat (10%). The least favorite in the poll was the Wheelbarrow at 3% followed by Thimble (7%) and the Iron (7%).[79] The "Cannon", and "Horse and rider" were both retired in 2000 with no new tokens taking their place.[83] Another retirement came in 2007 with the sack of money that brought down the total token count to eight again.[79]

In 2013, a similar promotional campaign was launched encouraging the public to vote on one of several possible new tokens to replace an existing one. The choices were a guitar, a diamond ring, a helicopter, a robot, and a cat.[84] This new campaign was different than the one in 1998 as one piece was retired and replaced with a new one. Both were chosen by a vote that ran on Facebook from January 8 to February 5, 2013. The cat took the top spot with 31% of the vote over the iron which was replaced.[85] In January 2017, Hasbro placed the line of tokens in the regular edition with another vote which included a total of 64 options. The eight playable tokens at the time included the Battleship, Boot, Cat, Racecar, Scottie Dog, Thimble, Top hat, and Wheelbarrow. By March 17, 2017, Hasbro retired three additional tokens, namely the thimble, wheelbarrow, and boot; these were replaced by a penguin, a Tyrannosaurus and a rubber duck.[86]

[87]

Over the years Hasbro has released tokens for special or collector's editions of the game. One of the first tokens to come out included a Steam Locomotive which was only released in Deluxe Editions. A Director's Chair token was released in 2011 in limited edition copies of Under the Boardwalk: The Monopoly Story. Shortly after the 2013 Facebook voting campaign, a limited-edition Golden Token set was released exclusively at various national retailers, such as Target in the U.S., and Tesco in the U.K.[88]

The set contained the Battleship, Boot, Iron, Racecar, Scottie Dog, Thimble, Top hat and Wheelbarrow as well as the iron's potential replacements. These replacement tokens included the cat, the guitar, the diamond ring, the helicopter, and the robot.[80][85][88] Hasbro released a 64-token limited edition set in 2017 called Monopoly Signature Token Collection to include all of the candidates that were not chosen in the vote held that year.[89]

Players take turns in order with the initial player determined by chance before the game. A typical turn begins with the rolling of the dice and advancing a piece clockwise around the board the corresponding number of squares. If a player rolls doubles, they roll again after completing that portion of their turn. A player who rolls three consecutive sets of doubles on one turn has been "caught speeding" and is immediately sent to jail instead of moving the amount shown on the dice for the third roll.

A player who lands on or passes the Go space collects $200 from the bank. Players who land on either Income Tax or Luxury Tax pay the indicated amount to the bank. In older editions of the game, two options were given for Income Tax: either pay a flat fee of $200 or 10% of total net worth (including the current values of all the properties and buildings owned). No calculation could be made before the choice, and no latitude was given for reversing an unwise decision. In 2008, the calculation option was removed from the official rules, and simultaneously the Luxury Tax was increased to $100 from its original $75. No reward or penalty is given for landing on Free Parking.

Properties can only be developed once a player owns all the properties in that color group. They then must be developed equally. A house must be built on each property of that color before a second can be built. Each property within a group must be within one house level of all the others within that group.

If a player lands on a Chance or Community Chest space, they draw the top card from the respective deck and follow its instructions. This may include collecting or paying money to the bank or another player or moving to a different space on the board. Two types of cards that involve jail, "Go to Jail" and "Get Out of Jail Free", are explained below.

A player is sent to jail for doing any of the following:

• Landing directly on the "Go to Jail" space
• Throwing three consecutive doubles in one turn
• Drawing a "Go to Jail" card from Chance or Community Chest

When a player is sent to jail, they move directly to the Jail space and their turn ends ("Do not pass Go. Do not collect $200."). If an ordinary dice roll (not one of the above events) ends with the player's token on the Jail corner, they are "Just Visiting" and can move ahead on their next turn without incurring any penalty whatsoever.

If a player is in jail, they do not take a normal turn and must either pay a fine of $50 to be released, use a Chance or Community Chest Get Out of Jail Free card, or attempt to roll doubles on the dice. If a player fails to roll doubles, they lose their turn. Failing to roll doubles for three consecutive turns requires the player to either pay the $50 fine or use a Get Out of Jail Free card, after which they move ahead according to the total rolled. Players in jail may not buy properties directly from the bank since they are unable to move. This does not impede any other transaction, meaning they can engage in, for example, mortgaging properties, selling/trading properties to other players, buying/selling houses and hotels, collecting rent, and bidding on property auctions. A player who rolls doubles to leave jail does not roll again; however, if the player pays the fine or uses a card to get out and then rolls doubles, they do take another turn.

If the player lands on an unowned property, whether street, railroad, or utility, they can buy the property for its listed purchase price. If they decline this purchase, the property is auctioned off by the bank to the highest bidder, including the player who declined to buy.[90] If the property landed on is already owned and unmortgaged, they must pay the owner a given rent; the amount depends on whether the property is part of a set or its level of development. When a player owns all the properties in a color group and none of them are mortgaged, they may develop them during their turn or in between other player's turns. Development involves buying miniature houses or hotels from the bank and placing them on the property spaces; this must be done uniformly across the group. Therefore, a second house cannot be built on any property within a group until all of them have one house. Once the player owns an entire group, they can collect double rent for any undeveloped properties within it. Although houses and hotels cannot be built on railroads or utilities, the given rent increases if a player owns more than one of either type. If there is a housing shortage (more demand for houses to be built than what remains in the bank), then a housing auction is conducted to determine who will get to purchase each house.

Properties can also be mortgaged, although all developments on a monopoly must be sold before any property of that color can be mortgaged or traded. The player receives half the purchase price from the bank for each mortgaged property. This must be repaid with 10% interest to clear the mortgage. Houses and hotels can be sold back to the bank for half their purchase price. Players cannot collect rent on mortgaged properties and may not give improved property away to others; however, trading mortgaged properties is allowed. The player receiving the mortgaged property must immediately pay the bank the mortgage price plus 10% or pay just the 10% amount and keep the property mortgaged; if the player chooses the latter, they must pay the 10% again when they pay off the mortgage.

A player who cannot pay what they owe is bankrupt and eliminated from the game. If the bankrupt player owes the bank, they must turn all their assets over to the bank, who then auctions off their properties (if they have any), except buildings. If the debt is owed to another player instead, all assets are given to that opponent, except buildings which must be returned to the bank. The new owner must either pay off any mortgages held by the bank on such properties received or pay a fee of 10% of the mortgaged value to the bank if they choose to leave the properties mortgaged. The winner is the remaining player left after all of the others have gone bankrupt.

If a player runs out of money but still has assets that can be converted to cash, they can do so by selling buildings, mortgaging properties, or trading with other players. To avoid bankruptcy the player must be able to raise enough cash to pay the full amount owed.

A player cannot choose to go bankrupt; if there is any way to pay what they owe, even by returning all their buildings at a loss, mortgaging all their real estate and giving up all their cash, even knowing they are likely going bankrupt the next time, they must do so.

From 1936, the rules booklet included with each Monopoly set contained a short section at the end providing rules for making the game shorter, including dealing out two Title Deed cards to each player before starting the game, by setting a time limit or by ending the game after the second player goes bankrupt. A later version of the rules included this variant, along with the time limit game, in the main rules booklet, omitting the last, the second bankruptcy method, as a third short game.[91]

[V]irtually no one plays the game with the rules as written.

— Computer Gaming World, 1994[92]

Many house rules have emerged for the game throughout its history. Well-known is the "Free Parking jackpot rule", where all the money collected from Income Tax, Luxury Tax, Chance and Community Chest goes to the center of the board instead of the bank. Many people add $500 to start each pile of Free Parking money, guaranteeing a minimum payout. When a player lands on Free Parking, they may take the money. Another rule is that if a player lands directly on Go, they collect double the amount, or $400, instead of $200. Since these rules provide additional cash to players regardless of their property management choices, they can lengthen the game considerably and limit the role of strategy.[93]

Video game and computer game versions of Monopoly have options where popular house rules can be used. In 2014, Hasbro determined five popular house rules by public Facebook vote, and released a "House Rules Edition" of the board game. Rules selected include a "Free Parking" house rule without additional money and forcing players to traverse the board once before buying properties.[94]

Trading is a vital strategy in order to accumulate all the properties in a color set. Obtaining all the properties in a specific color set enables the player to buy houses and hotels which increase the rent another player has to pay when they land on the property. According to Slate, players trade to speed up the process and secure a win. Building at least 3 houses on each property allows the player to break even once at least one player lands on this property.[98]

One common criticism of Monopoly is that although it has carefully defined termination conditions, it may take an unlimited amount of time to reach them. Edward P. Parker, a former president of Parker Brothers, is quoted as saying, "We always felt that forty-five minutes was about the right length for a game, but Monopoly could go on for hours. Also, a game was supposed to have a definite end somewhere. In Monopoly you kept going around and around."[99]

Hasbro states that the longest game of Monopoly ever played lasted 70 days.[100]

Numerous add-ons have been produced for Monopoly, sold independently from the game both before its commercialization and after, with three official ones discussed below:

The original Stock Exchange add-on was published by Capitol Novelty Co. of Rensselaer, New York in early 1936.[101] It was marketed as an add-on for Monopoly, Finance, or Easy Money games. Shortly after Capitol Novelty introduced Stock Exchange, Parker Brothers bought it from them then marketed their own, slightly redesigned, version as an add-on specifically for their "new" Monopoly game; the Parker Brothers version was available in June 1936. The Free Parking square is covered over by a new Stock Exchange space and the add-on included three Chance and three Community Chest cards directing the player to "Advance to Stock Exchange".[102]

The Stock Exchange add-on was later redesigned and re-released in 1992 under license by Chessex, this time including a larger number of new Chance and Community Chest cards. This version included ten new Chance cards (five "Advance to Stock Exchange" and five other related cards) and eleven new Community Chest cards (five "Advance to Stock Exchange" and six other related cards; the regular Community Chest card "From sale of stock you get $45" is removed from play when using these cards). Many of the original rules applied to this new version (in fact, one optional play choice allows for playing in the original form by only adding the "Advance to Stock Exchange" cards to each deck).

A Monopoly Stock Exchange Edition was released in 2001 (although not in the U.S.), this time adding an electronic calculator-like device to keep track of the complex stock figures. This was a full edition, not just an add-on, that came with its own board, money and playing pieces. Properties on the board were replaced by companies on which shares could be floated, and offices and home offices (instead of houses and hotels) could be built.[103]

Playmaster, another official add-on, released in 1982, is an electronic device that keeps track of all player movement and dice rolls as well as what properties are still available. It then uses this information to call random auctions and mortgages making it easier to free up cards of a color group. It also plays eight short tunes when key game functions occur; for example when a player lands on a railroad it plays "I've Been Working on the Railroad", and a police car's siren sounds when a player goes to Jail.[104]

In 2009, Hasbro released two minigames that can be played as stand-alone games or combined with the Monopoly game. In Get Out of Jail, the goal is to manipulate a spade under a jail cell to flick out various colored prisoners. The game can be used as an alternative to rolling doubles to get out of jail.[105][106] In Free Parking, players attempt to balance taxis on a wobbly board. The Free Parking add-on can also be used with the Monopoly game. When a player lands on the Free Parking, the player can take the Taxi Challenge, and if successful, can move to any space on the board.[107][108]

The Speed Die

First included in Winning Moves' Monopoly: The Mega Edition variant, this third, six-sided die is rolled with the other two, and accelerates game-play when in use.[109] In 2007, Parker Brothers began releasing its standard version (also called the Speed Die Edition) of Monopoly with the same die[110] (originally in blue, later in red). Its faces are: 1, 2, 3, two "Mr. Monopoly" sides, and a bus. The numbers behave as normal, adding to the other two dice, unless a "triple" is rolled, in which case the player can move to any space on the board. If "Mr. Monopoly" is rolled while there are unowned properties, the player advances forward to the nearest one. Otherwise, the player advances to the nearest property on which rent is owed. In the Monopoly: Mega Edition, rolling the bus allows the player to take the regular dice move, then either take a bus ticket or move to the nearest draw card space.

Mega rules specifies that triples do not count as doubles for going to jail as the player does not roll again.[111] Used in a regular edition, the bus (properly "get off the bus") allows the player to use only one of the two numbered dice or the sum of both, thus a roll of 1, 5, and bus would let the player choose between moving 1, 5, or 6 spaces.[112] The Speed Die is used throughout the game in the "Mega Edition", while in the "Regular Edition" it is used by any player who has passed GO at least once. In these editions it remains optional, although use of the Speed Die was made mandatory for use in the 2009 U.S. and World Monopoly Championship, as well as the 2015 World Championship.[113]

Parker Brothers and its licensees have also sold several spin-offs of Monopoly. These are not add-ons, as they do not function as an addition to the Monopoly game, but are simply additional games with the flavor of Monopoly:

• Advance to Boardwalk board game (1985): Focusing mainly on building the most hotels along the Boardwalk.[114]
• Don't Go to Jail: Dice game originally released by Parker Brothers; roll combinations of dice to create color groups for points before rolling the words "GO" "TO" and "JAIL" (which forfeits all earned points for the turn).[115]
• Monopoly Express: A deluxe, travel edition re-release of Don't Go To Jail, replacing the word dice with "Officer Jones" dice and adding an eleventh die, Houses & Hotels, and a self-contained game container/dice roller & keeper.[116]
• Express Monopoly card game (1994 U.S., 1995 U.K.): Released by Hasbro/Parker Brothers and Waddingtons in the U.K., now out of print. Basically a rummy-style card game based on scoring points by completing color group sections of the game-board.[117]
• Free Parking card game (1988) A more complex card game released by Parker Brothers, with several similarities to the card game Mille Bornes. Uses cards to either add time to parking meters, or spend the time doing activities to earn points.[118] Includes a deck of Second Chance cards that further alter game-play. Two editions were made; minor differences in card art and Second Chance cards in each edition.
• Monopoly: The Card Game (2000) an updated card game released by Winning Moves Games under license from Hasbro. Similar, but decidedly more complex, game-play to the Express Monopoly card game.[119]
• Monopoly City: Game-play retains similar flavor but has been made significantly more complex in this version. The traditional properties are replaced by "districts" mapped to the previously underutilized real estate in the centre of the board.[120]
• Monopoly Deal: The most recent card game version of Monopoly. Players attempt to complete three property groups by playing property, cash & event cards.[121]
• Monopoly Junior board game (first published 1990, multiple variations since): A simplified version of the original game for young children.[122]
• Monopoly Town by Parker Brothers / Hasbro (2008) a young children's game of racing designed to help them learn to count.[123]
• The Mad Magazine Game (1979): Gameplay is similar, but the goals and directions often opposite to those of Monopoly; the object is for players to lose all of their money.[124]

Besides the many variants of the actual game (and the Monopoly Junior spin-off) released in either video game or computer game formats (e.g., Commodore 64, Macintosh, Windows-based PC, Game Boy, Game Boy Advance, Nintendo Entertainment System, iPad, Genesis, Super NES, etc.), two spin-off computer games have been created.[125] An electronic hand-held version was marketed from 1997 to 2001.[126]

• Monopoly: The iPhone game designed by Electronic Arts.[127]
• Monopoly Millionaires: The Facebook game designed by Playfish.[128]
• Monopoly Streets: A video game played for the Xbox 360, Wii, and PlayStation 3. The video game includes properties now played on a street.[129]
• Monopoly Tycoon: A game where players build businesses on the properties they own.[130]
• Monopoly Plus: A game for the Xbox One and PlayStation 4 with high definition graphics.[131]
• Monopoly: The mobile game on iOS and Android devices designed by Marmalade Game Studios.[132]

Monopoly-themed slot machines and lotteries have been produced by WMS Gaming in conjunction with International Game Technology for land-based casinos.[133][134][135]WagerWorks, who have the online rights to Monopoly, have created online Monopoly themed games.[136]

London's Gamesys Group have also developed Monopoly-themed gambling games.[137] The British quiz machine brand itbox also supports a Monopoly trivia and chance game.[138]

There was also a live, online version of Monopoly. Six painted taxis drive around London picking up passengers. When the taxis reach their final destination, the region of London that they are in is displayed on the online board. This version takes far longer to play than board-game Monopoly, with one game lasting 24 hours. Results and position are sent to players via e-mail at the conclusion of the game.[139]

Mail Games Inc. created a play-by-mail game (PBM) version of Monopoly, reviewed in the August–September 1990 issue of White Wolf Magazine.[140] The PBM version was similar to the board game, although compared to many PBM games it was relatively simple.[140] The game moderator processed players' turn orders simultaneously, but alternated the order that players' turns were initiated to allow sequential transactions as in the board game.[140]

The McDonald's Monopoly game is a sweepstakes advertising promotion of McDonald's and Hasbro that has been offered in Argentina, Australia, Austria, Brazil, Canada, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Ireland, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Singapore, South Africa, Spain, Switzerland, Taiwan, United Kingdom and United States.[141]

A short-lived Monopoly game show aired on Saturday evenings from June 16 to September 1, 1990, on ABC. The show was produced by Merv Griffin and hosted by Mike Reilly. The show was paired with a summer-long Super Jeopardy! tournament, which also aired during this period on ABC.[142]

From 2010 to 2014, The Hub aired the game show Family Game Night with Todd Newton. For the first two seasons, teams earned cash in the form of "Monopoly Crazy Cash Cards" from the "Monopoly Crazy Cash Corner", which was then inserted to the "Monopoly Crazy Cash Machine" at the end of the show. In addition, beginning with Season 2, teams won "Monopoly Party Packages" for winning the individual games. For Season 3, there was a Community Chest. Each card on Mr. Monopoly had a combination of three colors. Teams used the combination card to unlock the chest. If it was the right combination, they advanced to the Crazy Cash Machine for a brand-new car. For the show's fourth season, a new game was added called Monopoly Remix, featuring Park Place and Boardwalk, as well as Income Tax and Luxury Tax.[143]

To honor the game's 80th anniversary, a game show in syndication on March 28, 2015, called Monopoly Millionaires' Club was launched. It was connected with a multi-state lottery game of the same name and hosted by comedian Billy Gardell from Mike & Molly. The game show was filmed at the Rio All Suite Hotel and Casino and at Bally's Las Vegas in Las Vegas, with players having a chance to win up to $1,000,000. However, the lottery game connected with the game show (which provided the contestants) went through multiple complications and variations, and the game show last aired at the end of April 2016.[144][145]

In November 2008, Ridley Scott was announced to direct Universal Pictures' film version of the game, based on a script written by Pamela Pettler. The film was being co-produced by Hasbro's Brian Goldner as part of a deal with Hasbro to develop movies based on the company's line of toys and games.[146][147] The story was being developed by author Frank Beddor.[148] However, Universal eventually halted development in February 2012 then opted out of the agreement and the rights reverted to Hasbro.[149][150]

In October 2012, Hasbro announced a new partnership with production company Emmett/Furla Films, and said they would develop a live-action version of Monopoly, along with Action Man and Hungry Hungry Hippos.[151] Emmett/Furla/Oasis dropped out of the production of this satire version that was to be directed by Ridley Scott.[152]

In July 2015, Hasbro announced that Lionsgate will distribute a Monopoly film with Andrew Niccol writing the film as a family-friendly action adventure film[152] co-financed and produced by Lionsgate and Hasbro's Allspark Pictures.[153]

In January 2019, it was announced that Allspark Pictures would now be producing an untitled Monopoly film in conjunction with Kevin Hart's company HartBeat Productions and The Story Company. Hart is attached to star in the film and Tim Story is attached to direct. No logline or writer for this iteration of the long-gestating project has been announced.[154]

The documentary Under the Boardwalk: The MONOPOLY Story, covering the history and players of the game, won an Audience Award for Best Documentary at the 2010 Anaheim International Film Festival. The film played theatrically in the U.S. beginning in March 2011 and was released on Amazon and iTunes[155] on February 14, 2012. The television version of the film won four regional Emmy Awards from the Pacific Southwest Chapter of NATAS.[156] The film is directed by Kevin Tostado and narrated by Zachary Levi.[157][158]

Until 1999, U.S. entrants had to win a state/district/territory competition to represent that state/district/territory at the once every four year national championship. The 1999 U.S. National Tournament had 50 contestants - 49 State Champions (Oklahoma was not represented) and the reigning national champion.[159]

Qualifying for the National Championship has been online since 2003. For the 2003 Championship, qualification was limited to the first fifty people who correctly completed an online quiz. Out of concerns that such methods of qualifying might not always ensure a competition of the best players, the 2009 Championship qualifying was expanded to include an online multiple-choice quiz (a score of 80% or better was required to advance); followed by an online five-question essay test; followed by a two-game online tournament at Pogo.com. The process was to have produced a field of 23 plus one: Matt McNally, the 2003 national champion, who received a bye and was not required to qualify. However, at the end of the online tournament, there was an eleven-way tie for the last six spots. The decision was made to invite all of those who had tied for said spots. In fact, two of those who had tied and would have otherwise been eliminated, Dale Crabtree of Indianapolis, Indiana, and Brandon Baker, of Tuscaloosa, Alabama, played in the final game and finished third and fourth respectively.[113]

The 2009 Monopoly U.S. National Championship was held on April 14–15 in Washington, D.C. In his first tournament ever, Richard Marinaccio, an attorney from Sloan, New York (a suburb of Buffalo), prevailed over a field that included two previous champions to be crowned the 2009 U.S. National Champion. In addition to the title, Marinaccio took home $20,580—the amount of money in the bank of the board game—and competed in the 2009 World Championship in Las Vegas, Nevada, on October 21–22, where he finished in third place.[113]

In 2015, Hasbro used a competition that was held solely online to determine who would be the U.S. representative to compete at the 2015 Monopoly World Championship. Interested players took a twenty-question quiz on Monopoly strategy and rules and submitted a hundred-word essay on how to win a Monopoly tournament. Hasbro then selected Brian Valentine of Washington, D.C., to be the U.S. representative.[160][161]

Hasbro conducts a worldwide Monopoly tournament. The first Monopoly World Championships took place in Grossinger's Resort in New York, in November 1973, but they did not include competitors from outside the United States until 1975. It has been aired in the United States by ESPN. In 2009, forty-one players competed for the title of Monopoly World Champion and a cash prize of $20,580 (USD)—the total amount of Monopoly money in the current Monopoly set used in the tournament.[113] The most recent World Championship took place September 2015 in Macau. Italian Nicolò Falcone defeated the defending world champion and players from twenty-six other countries.[162][163] Monopoly Dreams at The Peak in Hong Kong has stated that it will be the site of the next world championship in March 2021.[164]

Date	Location	Winner	Nationality
1973	Liberty, New York	Lee Bayrd	United States
1974	New York City	Alvin Aldridge	United States
1975	Washington, D.C.	John Mair	Ireland
1977	Monte Carlo	Cheng Seng Kwa	Singapore
1980	Bermuda	Cesare Bernabei	Italy
1983	Palm Beach	Greg Jacobs	Australia
1985	Atlantic City	Jason Bunn	United Kingdom
1988	London	Ikuo Hyakuta	Japan
1992	Berlin	Joost van Orten	Netherlands
1996	Monte Carlo	Christopher Woo	Hong Kong[165]
2000	Toronto	Yutaka Okada	Japan
2004	Tokyo	Antonio Zafra Fernández	Spain[166]
2009	Las Vegas	Bjørn Halvard Knappskog	Norway[167]
2015	Macau	Nicolò Falcone	Italy[163]
2021	Hong Kong	TBD[164]	TBD

There have been a large number of localized editions, broken down here by region:

• List of licensed and localized editions of Monopoly: Africa and Asia (including the Middle East and South-East Asia but excluding Russia and Turkey)
• List of licensed and localized editions of Monopoly: Europe (including Russia and Turkey)
• List of licensed and localized editions of Monopoly: North America (including Central America but excluding the United States of America)
• List of licensed and localized editions of Monopoly: Oceania (Australia and New Zealand)
• List of licensed and localized editions of Monopoly: South America
• List of licensed and localized editions of Monopoly: USA (including the United States of America and all editions based on commercial brands)

This list is of unauthorized, unlicensed games based on Monopoly:

Ghettopoly

Micropoly – The Microsoft Monopoly Game[179]

Copyright date: Open source Released by: The Micropoly Project Issued through: Download Free Software XEROX $220 Download SGI $220 APPLE $240 Internet Service Provider AOL $200 REAL NETWORKS $260 AMAZON $260 Television Network MSNBC $150 YAHOO $280 Corrupted Registry: Goto Reinstall 3COM $200 Micropoly – The Microsoft Monopoly Game[180] HP $300 CISCO $180 IBM $300 Open Sources Open Sources NOVELL $180 SUN $320 Internet Service Provider UUNET $200 Internet Service Provider MSN $200 ADOBE $160 Download ORACLE $140 INTEL $350 Computer Network NETWORK SOLUTIONS $150 Antitrust Ruling (pay $75) NETSCAPE $140 MICROSOFT $400 Reinstall Windows/Just Rebooting DELL $120 COMPAQ $100 Download MOTOROLA $100 Internet Service Provider MINDSPRING $200 Deposition (pay 10% or $200) LUSH CREATIONS $60 Open Sources AETHER-SPHERE $60 Start Collect $200 salary as you pass Game description: A parody game based on Anti-Monopoly. Other features: Chance is Download, Community Chest is Open Sources and the Railroads are Internet Service Provider(s).

Middopoly
Memeopolis (Android app)

In 2008, Hasbro released Monopoly Here and Now: The World Edition. This world edition features top locations of the world. The locations were decided by votes over the Internet. The result of the voting was announced on August 20, 2008.[181]

Out of these, Gdynia is especially notable, as it is by far the smallest city of those featured and won the vote thanks to a spontaneous, large-scale mobilization of support started by its citizens. The new game uses its own currency unit, the Monopolonian (a game-based take on the Euro; designated by M). The game uses said unit in millions and thousands. As seen below, there is no dark purple color-group, as that is replaced by brown, as in the European version of the game.

It is also notable that three cities (Montreal, Toronto, and Vancouver) are from Canada and three other cities (Beijing, Hong Kong, and Shanghai) are from the People's Republic of China. No other countries are represented by more than one city.

Of the 68 cities listed on Hasbro Inc.'s website for the vote, Jerusalem was chosen as one of the 20 cities to be featured in the newest Monopoly World Edition.[182] Before the vote took place, a Hasbro employee in the London office eliminated the country signifier "Israel" after the city, in response to pressure from pro-Palestinian advocacy groups.[183] After the Israeli government protested, Hasbro Inc. issued a statement that read: "It was a bad decision, one that we rectified relatively quickly. This is a game. We never wanted to enter into any political debate. We apologize to our Monopoly fans."[182]

Monopoly Here and Now: The World Edition (2008)

Free Parking	Sydney M2.2M	Chance ?	New York M2.2M	London M2.4M	Monopoly Cruise M2M	Beijing M2.6M	Hong Kong M2.6M	Wind Energy M1.5M	Jerusalem M2.8M	Go To Jail
Vancouver M2M	MONOPOLY Here and Now: The World Edition									Paris M3M
Shanghai M1.8M										Belgrade M3M
Community Chest										Community Chest
Rome M1.8M										Cape Town M3.2M
Monopoly Air M2M										Monopoly Space M2M
Toronto M1.6M										Chance ?
Moscow M1.4M										Riga M3.5M
Solar Energy M1.5M										Super Tax pay M1M
Istanbul M1.4M										Montreal M4M
In Jail/Just Visiting	Athens M1.2M	Barcelona M1M	Chance ?	Tokyo M1M	Monopoly Rail M2M	Income Tax pay M2M	Taipei M600K	Community Chest	Gdynia M600K	Collect M2M salary as you pass GO

A similar online vote was held in early 2015 for an updated version of the game. The resulting board should be released worldwide in late 2015. Lima, Peru won the vote and will hold the Boardwalk space.[184]

Hasbro sells a Deluxe Edition, which is mostly identical to the classic edition but has wooden houses and hotels and gold-toned tokens, including one token in addition to the standard eleven, a railroad locomotive. Other additions to the Deluxe Edition include a card carousel, which holds the title deed cards, and money printed with two colors of ink.[185]

In 1978, retailer Neiman Marcus manufactured and sold an all-chocolate edition of Monopoly through its Christmas Wish Book for that year. The entire set was edible, including the money, dice, hotels, properties, tokens and playing board. The set retailed for $600.[186]

In 2000, the FAO Schwarz store in New York City sold a custom version called One-Of-A-Kind Monopoly for $100,000.[187] This special edition comes in a locking attaché case made with Napolino leather and lined in suede, and features include:

• 18-carat (75%) gold tokens, houses, and hotels
• Rosewood board
• Street names written in gold leaf
• Emeralds around the Chance icon
• Sapphires around the Community Chest
• Rubies in the brake lights of the car on the Free Parking Space
• The money is real, negotiable United States currency

The Guinness Book of World Records states that a set worth $2,000,000 and made of 23-carat gold, with rubies and sapphires atop the chimneys of the houses and hotels, is the most expensive Monopoly set ever produced.[188] This set was designed by artist Sidney Mobell to honor the game's 50th anniversary in 1985, and is now in the Smithsonian Institution.[189]