We’ve All Been Playing Monopoly Wrong The Entire Time And People Are Furious

If you’re a normal, red-blooded American, especially one born before the year 2000, there’s a good game that you grew up playing the iconic board game Monopoly.

The game, which was originally created in 1903 by Elizabeth Magie and then popularized and patented in 1935 by Charles Darrow and Parker Brothers, is a staple of many childhoods and family game nights across the country.

But generally speaking, everyone tends to have the same complaint about the game: It simply takes too long to complete. As it turns out, there’s a good reason for that.

You’ve probably been playing Monopoly incorrectly.

Most People Aren’t Following The Written Rules Of Monopoly

Now, it’s not uncommon for people to have house rules for board games. That’s true of any board game you play, not just Monopoly.

However, the unwritten rules of Monopoly have seemingly spread across the country. Rules like making money on free parking, allowing properties to go unclaimed, and loans from one player to another are all created out of thin air.

Which is why Luke Winkie of Slate posits that, actually, Monopoly is a great game; we’ve all just been playing it incorrectly this entire time.

“For one, nobody is supposed to collect money by landing on Free Parking. It’s meant to be an ordinary blank space, offering reprieve from the vultures waiting around the corner,” Winkie writes. Similarly, nowhere in the rulebook does it tell you to pile cash on the center of the board. Any money lost from ill-fated draws of the Chance or Community Chest deck go back to the bank.

“Also, if a player chooses not to buy an available property after landing on it, that card immediately goes up for auction, with a starting bid of $1—allowing for massive swings of fate, like scoring a huge discount on Park Place. There are no loans to be taken, no debts to be offered. Money can’t be donated to unlucky players. And you should not, under any circumstances, collect $400 for landing on Go.”

Monopoly Is Meant To Be A Relatively Short Game!

Following all of those established rules massively speeds up the game, as it plunges players further into debt far, far faster than usual.

“The object of Monopoly is to bankrupt everyone but yourself. So any house rule that works against that premise is going to artificially make the game longer,” one interview subject told Winkie. “When you play by the rules as printed, the game takes two hours tops. And most tournament games are limited to 90 minutes.”

Although not everyone is so receptive to this reality.

“Shut up nerd, you don’t know how to play. Free parking gets all the money in the middle,” one player posted on X.

“No, (I) never played those house rules and it still sucks, by design. It was designed to be bad,” wrote another.

Now, how you play the game is entirely up to you. But if you’re handing out more money, you’re artificially extending the game.

So, perhaps it’s time to give Monopoly another shot next time you hang out with friends or family?

It’s not the game’s fault it takes forever. It’s our fault. And the speedier version may just change your entire outlook on Monopoly forever.