Monopoly: The Card Game
 Players draw property cards, token cards, house cards, etc. to complete their hand and go out. | |
| Players | 2-6 |
|---|---|
| Setup time | 1-2 minutes |
| Playing time | 10-30 minutes (and longer with more people) |
| Random chance | Medium |
| Skill(s) required | [Mathematics adding], social interaction |
Monopoly: The Card Game is loosely based on the iconic board game Monopoly. The idea behind the game is to draw and trade cards and organize them into "color-groups" and any number of bonus cards. Players take turns drawing and discarding cards until one player announces that they have a completed hand. The value of each person's hand is then counted and that person is dealt the amount of Monopoly money they have earned. The first person to collect $100,000,000 is the winner.
The game was produced and sold by Winning Moves Games under the license from Hasbro, although it is no longer in production.
Deck
The deck contains 60 cards. There are 28 property cards, which are exactly the same as the ones in the standard Atlantic City Monopoly game. Each of these cards (except the railroads and utilities) have a distinct color band on the top and bottom, representing the "color-group" to which it belongs. The card also displays the property name, the number of cards in its "color-group", and the value of the complete group and of each house attached.
In the game, there are 14 house cards and 2 hotel cards. Players may "build" these cards onto any complete "color-group". A player does not need to have all 4 houses and a hotel to go out, but if he or she does have any houses, they must be "built" in sequence (house 3 cannot be used without also having houses 2 and 1 also in the player's hand). Houses cannot be "built" on railroads and utilities. Each house is worth the same amount as the completed "color-group" upon which it is "built". Hotels are worth $500 regardless of where they are "built".
Next comes a number of bonus cards, which increase the value of a player's hand. There are 6 token cards, each of which will double the value of the entire property set (including houses, if any). There are 4 "GO" cards, each worth $200. Four Mr. Monopoly cards are also included - whoever has the most of these cards at the end of the hand gets $1000. Finally, there are 2 "Chance" cards. Chance cards may represent any card in the deck needed to complete a set; however, these cards are only useful to the person who goes out at the end of the hand. If a player has a Chance card and someone else goes out, his or her entire hand is worth nothing, and scores $0 for that round.
Score is kept with the "pad of money" notepad enclosed inside the box. Each player is dealt their amount of money after each round.
4-Player Rules
Each player is dealt 10 cards (face down, clockwise) by the dealer. In addition, the dealer places another card in front of each player, facing up. These are the players' discard piles. Cards in the discard piles are fanned so each player can see all the cards. The deck is placed in the middle of the playing area; this is the draw pile. The deal will pass clockwise.
Players must always have a total of 10 cards in their hand after their turn is over.
The person to the left of the dealer goes first, and they may choose to do one (1) of the following:
- DRAW from the draw pile, or
- TRADE for a card in another player's discard pile, or
- DISCARD to go out.
DRAW If player chooses to draw, they take the top card from the draw pile and end their turn by discarding.
TRADE You may trade any number of cards from your discard pile for the same number of cards in another's pile. If you would like, you may discard from your hand first to get the cards of player you want. To trade, take the number of cards you want to trade and put them in the hand of the player you are trading with (they will have to discard extra cards from their hand on their next turn). You then take the cards you want from the top of that person's discard pile and place them in your hand. End your turn by discarding so that you have 10 cards.
GOING OUT If your hand is complete — meaning that you have a full "color-group" with houses (if any) in order and there are no unmatched property or house cards — you may go out. On your next turn, discard any extra cards you have to make an even ten and announce that you are going out. Play for this round has now ceased.
The player who goes out gets the reward of the top 5 cards from the draw pile, and they may use these cards if they help their hand. Before scoring, move all excess cards away. To score, count the values of each person's hand. Remember that any person with a Chance card, other than the person who went out, scores $0 for the round. The deal now passes to the left and the new dealer shuffles and re-deals the cards. Play stops when someone gets $10,000.
Other Players Number
THREE PLAYERS For a 3-player game, play is mostly the same, except that a 4th discard pile is created where the 4th player would be. This way, players still have a variety of choices for trading. If trading in a 3-player game, you may do one (1) of two things:
- Exchange the top card on their discard pile for the top card of the "4th player's" discard pile, or
- Take the top cards of both the "4th player's" discard pile and the draw pile and replace them with the top two cards of your own pile.
TWO PLAYERS Same as a 3-player game except that two additional discard piles are placed instead of one.
FIVE OR SIX PLAYERS For 5-10 player games, the game is slightly different. The whole deck is dealt out so there is no draw pile.
- For 5-player games, 84 cards are dealt to each player.
- For 6-player games, 3 cards are dealt to each player.
A trading card is also dealt to each player face up.
On your turn, you must trade cards with another player, and both players put the cards into their hands. Both players must then discard one card. After all players have gone once, each player passes one card to their left and puts it in their hand. Do this after each time around.
In these games, you may go out on one of two occasions:
- After completing your turn, or
- Before players would normally pass a card left.
The reward for going out are the trade cards on the table. The winner is the first to $7,000.