Monopoly cheat-sheet (standard rules)

A one-page reference for standard Monopoly. Players: 2–8. Buy property, charge rent, bankrupt everyone else.

Setup

1. Each player gets $1,500, split as: 2×$500, 2×$100, 2×$50, 6×$20, 5×$10, 5×$5, 5×$1.
2. Pick a token, put everyone on GO, choose a Banker.
3. Shuffle the Chance and Community Chest decks onto their spaces.

On your turn

1. Roll both dice and move that many spaces (clockwise).
2. Do the space: buy the property, pay rent, draw a card, pay a tax, etc.
3. Doubles? Roll again. Three doubles in a row → go straight to Jail.
4. Pass GO → collect $200.

Buying property

• Land on an unowned property: either buy it at the printed price, or it goes to auction.
• Rent: the owner collects rent from anyone who lands there (ask before the next player rolls). A full color set doubles the rent on its unimproved lots, and lets you build.
• Building: build houses evenly across a color set (no second house on a lot until every lot in the set has one). 4 houses → trade up to a hotel.

Jail

• You go to Jail when you land on “Go to Jail,” draw a card that says so, or roll three doubles. (You do not collect $200 on the way.)
• Get out by paying $50, using a Get Out of Jail Free card, or rolling doubles (you get three tries; if you fail, pay the $50 and move).
• While in Jail you still collect rent and can buy/sell houses.

The rules people get wrong

Official vs. house rules

• Unbought property is auctioned. If you land on a property and don’t buy it, it must go to auction to all players (bidding starts at $1). Skipping the auction is a house rule.
• Free Parking pays nothing. No money pot, officially — the “taxes pile up on Free Parking” thing is a house rule.
• Landing on GO is just $200, not double. Double-on-GO is a house rule.
• No loans from the bank, and the bank never goes broke (use paper if you run out of bills).

Winning

When you can’t pay what you owe, you’re bankrupt and out. The last player left wins. (Short on time? Agree on an end time and the richest player — cash plus property and buildings — wins.)