Board games are always a hit in family gatherings or even while spending a dull evening. Undoubtedly one of the most popular board games is Monopoly. In early 1934, Charles B. Darrow invented Monopoly, which was officially launched by Parker Brother in the later year.
Now the game has become so popular that if anyone says “land on free parking”, “monopoly money” or “getting out of jail”, everyone understands what the speaker is implying.
So, what is this game all about? Unlike other board games, Monopoly is all about cash going in and out of a central bank. Two or more players are needed to roll the dice and buying or trading properties. Thus, the more money you have, the more property you own. Hence, get rich.
On the other hand, players can even get bankrupted too. The winner will own all the properties and money at the end. The design of the game depicts that the rich get richer and the poor get poorer. Currently, the latest Monopoly editions are available with more fun features in 114 countries with 47 languages.
You do not need any special skills to play this game. Still, if you’re a newbie or an intermediate player, then you might be wondering about how much money do you get in Monopoly? This guide will help you to know the details.
How Much Money Do You Start With in Monopoly?
The game is about making money and buying properties to win. There is a central bank from which the money flows in and out. You need to know certain things when it’s about Monopoly money:
1. How much money each player gets initially in Monopoly
2. How much money gets left in the bank
3. What if the central bank runs out of Monopoly money
Otherwise, the rules are simple- the more money you get left with, got better chances of winning the game.
Let’s first understand how to manage all of the Monopoly amounts:
Monopoly Money
Monopoly money contains:
- 20 Orange $500 bills
- 20 Beige $100 bills
- 30 Blue $50 bills
- 50 Green $20 bills
- 40 Yellow $10 bills
- 40 Pink $5 bills
- 40 White $1 bill
In recent editions, there are a few changes in colors. Such as
- Orange colors turning into Golden,
- $10 bills are in Blue
- $20 in brighter Green Hue
- $50 in Purple
Also, there are now 30 bills for each cash. Even $1000 bills are available too in the mega online edition.
Monopoly Starting Money
If you are a first-time player, you must know that the central bank holds all 32 houses and 12 hotels at the game’s starting. Generally, each player starts with $1500. This amount breaks into two $500, four $100, one $50, one $20, two $10, one $5, and five $1.
Additionally, you can hide your wealth from other players as the game continues further.
Money in the Central Bank
In the previous editions of the game (launched before September 2008), the central bank used to start the game with $15,140. To represent the game’s expansion, in all the latest editions, the bank begins the game with $20,580, accounting for inflation.
Extra Cash in Central Bank
The thumb rule is that the Monopoly central bank never runs out of cash. If there are many players involved in the game, then distributing money between them can make the cash fall short. But, you can add as much cash as you want. You can use paper, poker chips, like Monopoly money.
In case you are a perfectionist, and you want to play only with Monopoly cash, then there is an option, you can purchase it from a toy store, hobby store, or online.
Distribution of Monopoly Money
As already said, every player gets $1500 real Monopoly money at the beginning. However, the dollar bill distribution may vary in different editions of the game. However, in the end, the total amount, to begin with, adds up to $1500. All the rest of the cash and hardware go to the bank.
Handling the bank’s assets is an important task. That’s why generally, each team assigns a player as the banker. Does this mean that the banker cannot participate in the game? Well, he can, but he has to keep his cash and properties away from the bank.
As the game proceeds, players start buying properties. If a player lands on a property and doesn’t want to buy it, the bank starts an auction. The highest bidder gets that property. A player can even ask for a bank loan or another player to continue being in the game.
How to Play Monopoly?
Now you have a clear idea about Monopoly starting money and distribution. Let’s discuss how to play and how much money do you get in Monopoly.
The original US Standard Edition of Monopoly has officially set the game instructions in 2008. However, many families set some different rules, which is also okay.
The main objective is to get richer by buying and selling properties, collecting rent and trading using smart strategies. Focus on saving your own money while making others spend their cash.
Number of Players
Minimum two and a maximum of eight players can participate in this game. The players move around the board to buy or sell properties to get richer to win.
Components of Monopoly
The main components required to play are:
- Money
- One board
- Two dices
- 32 houses and 12 hotels
- 28 title cards to signify property ownership given to players
- 16 chance and 16 community chest cards
- Tokens for each player. There are originally ten tokens- battleship, cannon, boot, iron, racecar, horse and rider, formal hat, Scottish dog, thimble and wheelbarrow. The special editions have different tokens too.
How to Start a Monopoly Game?
- To start a Monopoly game, first stack the all chance and community chest cards on board in the right space.
- All players receive $1500 cash from the bank to start.
- The players choose a token to move around the board. The token starts on the GO space.
- One player must be selected as the banker. He/she will hold all the properties and maintain the cash flow in/out of the bank.
- Then, each player rolls the dice twice before the game. The player with the highest total value will begin the game, followed by the next player. Thus, it continues clockwise.
- The tokens move space according to the value rolled with dice.
- The corresponding action will be taken when a player lands on a space.
Rules For The Board Spaces and Actions
Each space represents a specific property. Monopoly has 40 spaces with 28 properties, including 22 Streets, 4 Railroads and two utilities (3 Chance spaces and 3 Community Chest spaces). The other spaces are a Luxury Tax space, an Income tax space, four corner squares such as Go, Free Parking space, Visit Jail and Go to Jail.
Before starting the game, it’s important to know the basic actions for each board space.
- If a player lands on an unowned property, he/she can buy it.
- If another player lands on your property, collect rent from him/her. The value of each property is written at the bottom of the space.
- If someone lands on Free Parking, he/she gets nothing.
- If someone lands on Visit Jail space, he/she simply visits the jail.
- But if the player lands on Go to Jail space, this means the player has to go to the Jail and needs to pay a fine/bond to get out.
- If a player lands on Chance space and draws the card, he/she needs to perform the action written on that card. Then return the card at the bottom of piles.
- If a player lands on Tax space, he/she needs to pay tax.
- If a player lands on Go space or passes it, he/she will get $200 from the bank.
How Much Money Do You Get in Monopoly?
There are some rules and guidelines to follow on Monopoly. How much money do you get in Monopoly completely depends on how you play the game.
- First and foremost, try to buy the highest-priced properties at the beginning.
- Every player starts the game on GO square at the Monopoly board. Each player will get $200 every time they pass GO. However, recent editions like “Monopoly Here and Now” award the players with $2 million at the beginning.
- When a player lands on available property and doesn’t want to buy it, the bank calls for an auction. The highest bidder becomes the owner of the property.
- If a player lands on your property, you can collect rent from him/her before the next rolling.
- If you roll the dice and get the same numbers on both dices, you’ve to roll again. It is called rolling doubles. But if you get three doubles simultaneously, visit jail. Unfortunately, you won’t get $200 or pass GO.
- When you are in jail, you have three possible ways to come out. Escape jail by rolling both dice with the same numbers, playing a “get out of jail free card”, or paying a bond of $50 to the bank before rolling the dice. You can get the said card by drawing it out from community chest/chance card piles or buying it from another player in exchange for cash.
- When you own all properties of the same color, rent gets doubled. Also, you get the opportunity to buy houses. Thus you can earn more money.
- Eventually, depending on the property card, the rent of the houses gets increased. However, everyone needs at least one house on their property before adding another.
- If you have four houses of the same color group, trade these for a hotel. Following the title deed cost of the hotel, return the houses to the bank. So, whenever a player lands on your property, you can ask for more rent.
- For example, if you own Illinois Avenue with a hotel on it, an opponent lands on and gives you $1,100 rent. This can be a game-changer as well as a game-ender moment.
- When a bank runs out of cash, it can’t sell houses or hotels. In order to buy, a player either needs to wait for a house or hotel to be sold to the bank or sell their own house/hotel to the bank at half price to continue in the game.
- Do you have a property without a hotel or house? Then sell it to another player for a price.
- You can also mortgage your property to the bank if needed. However, you won’t get rent if other players land on it.
- You have to pay an amount along with 10% more to lift the mortgage. Thus, restore your property and collect rent again.
- Another way to escape a mortgage is by selling the mortgaged property. Yes, you can sell your property to another player, take the cash and move on. The mortgage will be the new owner’s headache.
- Are you out of cash to clear all debts? Then you fail. When you owe money to the bank or other players more than you’ve in your resources and funds, you go bankrupt and the game is over for you. Bad luck!
Hence, play carefully and strategically. Your objective is to survive the game till the end. Get control over your properties and collect more rent from others. So as soon as the other players run out of cash, you can win.
Top 9 Highest-Priced Properties
It’s essential to learn which properties are most visited. So that you can buy them before your opponent owns them.
- Illinois Avenue- $1,100 rent.
- B&O Railroad- $25 rent.
- Kentucky Avenue- $1050 rent.
- New York Avenue- $100.
- Reading Railroad
- Tennessee Avenue
- Pennsylvania Railroad
- St. James Place
- Indiana Avenue
How to Make Money in Monopoly?
The simple answer is: play smart and win the game. Monopoly will end with only one player while others go bankrupt. As long as you have the highest priced or all the same colored properties, you will have a chance.
Here are some tips for you to make money on the Monopoly:
- Develop your properties as fast as you can.
- Buy orange and red properties as they have higher values.
- Snatch up all the properties of the same color to gain more Monopoly amount.
- Don’t try to “go to jail”.
- Make sure you don’t make three doubles in a row.
- Don’t save money at the beginning.
Finally, to answer your question on how much money do you get in Monopoly is the initial amount $1500 plus you win the amount at the end.
Final Thoughts
Playing monopoly can be a serious yet fun money-making indoor activity for both the kids and the adults. To play it like a pro, you can keep a calculator to track your buying, selling or mortgage, or rent.
On the other hand, Monopoly is also a good learning activity for young kids, as they have to do quick addition/subtraction throughout the game. Plus they also learn something from the bargaining properties, estimation of amounts, etc. Morals like “cheaters always lose at the end” or “set some rules to win” do create a sportsmanship spirit in them.
In short, Everyone can test their skills, patience through this adventurous game, Monopoly. Play as long as you understand the strategy to win it.