Monopoly players have only just discovered a little-known rule which could speed up the whole board game, but not everyone is a fan of the ‘mind-blowing’ addition
Monopoly is a staple game at many family gatherings – but it can often get quite heated. There’s usually someone who cheats, someone who takes it too seriously, and someone who gets easily annoyed. A game of Monopoly can take hours, but apparently it’s actually meant to last around 60 to 90 minutes.
So why does it always take so long? It turns out many of us have been playing the board game, which can be traced back to 1903, wrong. There’s a little-known rule which can completely alter the course of the game, and make it a lot quicker. But not everyone is a fan of it.
The forgotten rule has recently surfaced online, and many have admitted they’ve been playing it wrong this whole time.
The topic was discussed on the Triple M Breakfast show, where host Beau Ryan said he’d had a “realisation the other day” after playing Monopoly with his son. A clip of the chat was shared to TikTok.
After landing on Park Lane, which is the second most expensive property on the standard UK board, he decided not to buy it.
However, his son then shouted: “Buying it!”. Confused, Beau had replied: “Hang on champion, you can’t buy that, you didn’t land on it.” But his son then claimed the property goes to auction if the person who landed on it doesn’t buy it.
Beau didn’t believe his son and asked him to go and get the rule book – and he was left shocked when his son was correct.
Beau explained: “If anyone lands on a property in Monopoly, and they don’t buy it, the other plays can auction it.” Fellow co-host Cat Lynch said: “I didn’t know that. You’ve blown my mind.”
Beau went on to say he thinks this little-known rule “ruins the game”. In the comment section, it became clear others also had no idea these were the real rules. “Wow, been playing it wrong my whole life,” said one person.
“This is why Monopoly takes so long. I get it now,” wrote another, while a third commented: “You just ruined Monopoly for everyone.”
However, some people knew the rules all along. “P***es me off when people argue against this rule. Game goes on for months if you ignore it,” said one person.
Someone else wrote: “I’m a rules girl and am 100% a Monopoly girl. I love the Auction rule. Also, Free Parking is a nothing square. You don’t claim money put in the middle. The money going in the middle should be paid to bank.”
In the rules, it states: “Whenever a player lands on an unowned property he may buy that property from the Bank at its printed price […] If he does not wish to buy the property it is sold at auction by the Banker to the highest bidder.”
Did you know about this Monopoly rule? Let us know in the comments below.
