Here's a quick way to tell if someone is an annoying and foolish lemming: Ask them if they like the game Monopoly. If they say no, ask them why not? They will almost certainly claim that the game simply takes too long. Then ask them if they play with the "free parking scoops the pot of accumulated taxes and fees rule". They'll say yes and claim that it is how everyone plays. Then you say that it's not actually in the official rules and that people just made that rule up over the years. They'll retort that it makes the game much more fun. Wow.
Really? A game who's duration is solely limited by the amount of money in circulation but is claimed to be too long by all is made more fun by putting more money back in circulation? Amazing.
Monopoly is an expertly crafted game and should be played by its intended rules for optimal fun and duration of play. Do yourself a favor and read the rule book, or if you're one of the aforementioned annoying lemmings, then I'll quickly review the most 3 most ignored ignored Monopoly rules.
1. Free Parking is just that. A free space to park your token for one turn. Nothing happens if you land there. Accept this fact and the world will be a better place.
2. There are 12 Hotels and 32 houses. That's it. If you run out then you can't build anymore. This is one of the most powerful strategies for any but the most basic Monopoly player, but rarely does the common player take advantage of it. Create a housing shortage and dominate.
3. If a property is landed on and the player decided not to purchase it outright, the property then goes up in an open auction for all the players (including the one who initially declined to purchase). This rule ensures that all the properties get purchased in a timely manner and speeds the game up significantly. Brilliant, right? Wrong! It's in the damn rulebook but I've never seen a casual Monopoly game use this rule.
In conclusion, please allow the Parker Brothers to rest in peace by playing their game with the proper rules. You'll have alot more fun and you'll be far less annoying to me. Thank you.
2 comments:
Monopoly IS a stupid game. If the game didn't suck, then people wouldn't have "changed the rules" in the first place? Look at the classic board games like Life, Sorry and Clue and you will see that people "play by the rules" and love the games. There is a reason people had to change the rules over the year...because the game isn't good!!
-Joe from Pawtucket
While I'm proud to say, I knew the 3 lesser known rules pointed out by The Suite Spot, I will also point out that Parker Brothers deserves some shame for originally turning down Mr. Darrow (game's creator).
I feel inclined as an employee to mention that General Mills purchased Parker Brothers in 1963, and kept true to the game's original rules.
It wasn't until Hasbro took control in 1991 did these rule variances start to actually be printed/electable options.
still, I freakin love the game with a brew or 2
Original rules: http://richard_wilding.tripod.com/monorules.htm
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