Rules       printable version While the rules for the game of Monopoly are very well balanced, they make certain presumptions. The biggest presumption is that the players are all sitting fairly close to a small game board with tokens, houses, hotels, and other game components of a small and manageable size. In the case of the Monpoly In The Park (MITP) game board, nothing is small and very few aspects are manageable. It is therefore important to make some alterations to some of the standard game rules to allow for maximum game enjoyment and benefit without breaking the in-game economy or changing the true spirit of the game. Normal games played on the MITP board will be limited to anywhere from 45 minutes to 90 minutes. Normal turn length in a standard monopoly game is between 15 and 30 seconds. In an MITP game, turns can take up to 5 minutes depending on the complexity of the amount of movement and the events of the turn. In light of that, the following rules modifications are to be made. It is expected that these rules will help to speed up the game play without unbalancing the game. There is an additional goal at work here. While maintaining the in-game economy is a very important goal, the game of Monopoly doesnít start to become REALLY exciting until monopolies are formed and houses and hotels are bought. That is when the real drama of ìWill they land on that hotel on Boardwalk or will they escapeî start to occur. It is therefore decided that the goal of these rules changes are designed to move the players into the more interesting stages of the game as quickly as possible so they can enjoy more of the ìdramaî that tends to make the game memorable. The concept of the Monopoly Short Game was introduced back in the early 1940s. In the late 1950s, an additional Alternate Short Game scenario was also introduced into the rules. The MITP Monopoly game will largely be based on the original Short Game with a few modifications from the Alternate Short Game and further customizations based on the realities encountered while playing many MITP Practice games. Just for reference purposes, the original short game rules will be included in italics so that the reader can understand the differences between the MITP game and the standard Short Game. MITP Short Game Rules Modifications Each player/team will be given three properties to start with. Two will be colored properties and one will be a railroad or utility. The actual values of these properties will be balanced so that no one player will have a significant advantage over another. The combinations of cards have been pre-determined but enough variations were created to ensure that the pattern should not be discernable. The choice of three properties helps to move the game along and simulates at least two complete circles of the board by all players. In the original short game, the three cards dealt to each player were randomly selected. In the alternate short game, only two cards were dealt outóalso randomly. Players WILL NOT be asked to pay for their starting propertiesóthey are free properties. This means they start with their $1,500 as well as their three properties. This again is used to keep the players a little richer than they might be at the second or third time around the board, enabling them to continue buying and possibly even trading sooner than normal. In the original short game, the properties were free. In the alternate short game, the players had to pay for the two properties they were dealt. Auto-pay will be in effect for any owned property landed on. This means that any player that lands on a property owned by another player is obligated to pay the owner whatever rent amount is due. In all official forms of the Monopoly game, the payment of rent is only upon demand. If the owner forgets to ask and the next player rolls, the owner loses out on the ability to collect the rent owed to them. Auto-pay will be in effect for any player landing on or passing Go. This means that any player landing on or passing go will automatically be entitled to collect their salary. In all official forms of the Monopoly game, the payment of salary to a player only occurs upon demand. If the player forgets to ask for their salary before the next player rolls, they donít get it. The normal turn progression for each player will be as follows: Trade Properties (make offers), Build or sell houses and/or hotels, Roll the dice, resolve the roll (move the token and take whatever actions are required based on where you landed). We are making this change in order to provide a structured format that players who are not familiar with Monopoly game mechanics can rely upon. Also, this helps the announcer and banker keep the game relatively under control. In all official forms of the Monopoly game, you can pretty much do just about everything at any point (other than roll the dice). You can make trade offers, buy and sell houses, mortgage or un-mortgage properties at any point in the game. This can lead to some chaotic moments in the gameómoments that the MITP game cannot afford time-wise. When you receive the Chance card that directs you to move to the nearest utility and re-roll the dice and pay ten times that amount, in our case do not re-roll the dice, just pay ten times the amount shown on the dice. Rolling these large dice takes time and it is not necessary in this case. In all official forms of the Monopoly game, you are supposed to re-roll the dice when instructed to by this specific Chance card. However, in the case of normal rolls resulting in a player landing on a utility, they are not supposed to re-roll at that point. This is not a significant modification to the core rules. A player will be given no more than one minute to complete a trade. If the players involved in the trade cannot make up their minds about whether to complete the trade or not, then the player must go on with the rest of their turn. There is nothing preventing the player from re-offering the trade during their next turn. In all official forms of the Monopoly game, there is no time limit on trade negotiations (other than when the other players complain). This self-imposed time limit is designed to keep the game moving along. The penalty for landing on the Income Tax square is always a flat $200. Calculating the 10% is too troublesome in a normal gameóit certainly wonít be any easier in an MITP game! In all official forms of the Monopoly game, it is the players choice as to which they pay. The player must declare which method they are going to use before they actually start calculating their 10% however. In addition to these rules, there are a few additional rules from the official short game that I think would be good rules to adopt in our version: Staying in jail can only last for one or two turns, not the full three turns. This is an official Short Game rule. A hotel can be purchased after having three houses (instead of four). The rent value of the hotel would remain the same as the normal hotel price. Basically, we are just eliminating the fourth house rent tier. This is an official Short Game rule. Houses maintained by: