Monopoly Rules That You Likely Use That Aren't Actually Rules

Everything you know is a lie.

So here is the story as Hasbro-and Parker Brothers before them- tells it: "Monopoly was born when Charles Darrow presented the game, fully formed, to Parker Brothers executives in 1934." That's fine and all but it's not exactly the full story.

The truth about "The Landlords Game."

The truth is that Monopoly had been around for over 30 years by the time that Charles presented it to Parker Brothers. You see, in 1903 Lizzie Magie, an early feminist, created the game with the name "The Landlord's Game." She wanted to create an easy way to show off how evil capitalism was.

In a political paper of the time, Magie wrote: "It's a practical demonstration of the present system of land-grabbing with all its usual outcomes and consequences. It might well have been called the 'Game of Life as it contains all the elements of success and failure in the real world, and the object is the same as the human race, in general, seems to have, i.e., the accumulation of wealth."

Capitalism has never been so darn fun.

She might have wanted to paint the financial struggle in a negative light but she sure ended up making it look fun. 100 years later, people are still playing the game she created.

If you still don't believe that Magie created the game as mere propaganda for a left-wing agenda, you should take a look at the text on what would go on to become the "Go" square.

On her original board, Magie wrote: "Labor upon Mother Earth produces wages." Henry George wrote that line. If you don't know who he was well he was an anti-monopolist from the 19th century who believed that land-owners should be taxed the full value of all of their holdings.

Magie believed that workers were the ones who actually create the value of things should be able to simply collect their money and be on their way to spend it while they work their way back around the board.

Anyway's enough about the history of the game. You wanted to know about the rules so let's dive right in. Here are the rules that you might think are real but are actually made up.

All taxes and fees are placed under "Free Parking" and the next person to land on it gets to collect everything.

Ah, Free Parking. How many people have you saved over the course of a long game of Monopoly? The only thing is, those people should have lost hard! When you land on free parking the only thing you earn by the rules is a break from having to pay out your hard earned cash. All money that's collected from taxes and fines actually goes to the bank. Bummer right?

When you land on a property and choose not to purchase it, your turn is over.

Sorry but you're all WRONG!

All properties must be sold. If you land on it and you don't want to buy it there is an immediate auction where everyone in the game gets a chance to buy it themselves. If you've ever seen someone buy Boardwalk for $25 you realize the importance of not spending every dime you have on your way around the board the first time.

When you go bankrupt, all of your properties immediately revert to bank ownership.

Monopoly is a cut-throat game bruh! Don't think that you can even get off easy when you lose. When you lose, the person that bankrupt you takes EVERYTHING you own. That's just how it works. If you want to be petty, you can always mortgage everything you own before you declare bankruptcy. That always pisses them off.

If you land on "Go" you get to collect double the money.

Landing on "Go" grants you no bonus. Just like passing "Go" if you land on it, you simply get your $200 and keep it moving. Why would you get paid double for stopping by work on payday? You wouldn't, right? So why would you get double for the game equivalent? Common sense people.

You're not allowed to collect rent while you're in jail.

This house rule makes no sense. Why wouldn't you be able to earn money from your properties while you were in jail? Wouldn't a property manager have people to handle things like that in the real world? So why would jail stop you from earning money in the game? If anyone tries to drop this one on you just pay them no mind as you rake in their hard-earned dough while you're relaxing in jail.

If you roll snake eyes you collect $500 dollars.

This one is totally the kind of rule that your big brother would try to bully you with. How else could you explain the completely random "I rolled double 1's I get $500" rule. It's bs. Now you know so don't ever let anyone fool you with it.

If 3 people land on 3 consecutive properties they each earn $500.

This rule just doesn't make sense. It's one of those rules that someone who was losing would make up just to be sure they would win no matter what only it backfired so they had to include everyone. Why else would it reward everyone? Anyway, the point is the rule is fake.

If you land on a property and you can't afford it you can take out a loan from the bank or borrow from another player and co-own the property.

Loans, in general, are a made up concept in the game of Monopoly. There are no official rules concerning them so if you play with the option of a loan know that it's a house rule. If you land on a property you want and you don't have the money for it, you better hope you win the auction that is triggered. That's the only way you are getting it in a standard game.

At the start of the game, you place half of the games money in the center of the board and everyone grabs as much as they can on the count of three.

Apparently, some people play by a rule where not everyone begins the game with the same amount of cash. You take half of all the money in the game and place it in a pile in the middle of the table. Then, on the count of 3, there is a mad dash to grab as much of the money as possible. Once all the money is claimed, you count it up and that's what you start with. Sure that may be a little more realistic than everyone starting with $1500 but it's still a fake rule nonetheless.

Mom always gets out of jail free.

This rule seems too sweet to be a real rule in the cutthroat game of Monopoly. That's because it's not really a rule. Of course, I'm sure you probably knew that already.

You have to go around the board once before you can buy land.

Just like in the real world, there is nothing preventing you from spending every dime you have from the moment it hits your hand. Splurge on. Learn money management skills the hard way. That's the only way to live.

You can buy houses and hotels on properties without owning the entire set.

The game is called Monopoly, not communist homes for all. You most certainly must own every property in a color set before you can even start to dream of building houses. No monopoly, no house.

Picking up that "Chance" card is optional.

I know the card says Chance on it and that may make it seem like the cards are optional but they aren't. The rules say it's mandatory that you draw a card when you land on the Chance spot. I hope you have good luck.

If you land on "Go" you can pass on the $200 to be placed on any space you choose.

Landing on "Go" gives you super teleport powers if you bypass earning $200? If that sounds like something a little kid would make up because they really wanted the last railroad, it's probably because it is fake. This rule isn't an official one but countless people seem to think that it is. Help fight the spread of false rules by debunking this one.

The "Mercy Rule" where you play to a certain dollar amount.

Ah, mercy. It's one of those things that have no place in a brutal game such as Monopoly. Yes, Monopoly can take forever to end sometimes and no, not everyone has the time to play until the very end. That being said, while it might seem like a good way to speed things up, the "mercy" rule doesn't exist. Sure, playing to a predetermined monetary number is a surefire way of stopping the game before the bitter end, it's just not an official rule. So the next time someone brings it up, make sure they are clear that it's nothing more than a house rule.