So I was playing Monopoly against my computer the other day and I had several ideas for changing the face of Monopoly. The rules of the game are listed above. Below are my proposed changes to the rulebook.
JAIL - According to the official rules you land in jail if... you roll doubles 3 times in a row. That's an understandable rule! No one likes a lucky so-n-so who manages to roll doubles over and over again and makes it around the board a couple times. However, also according to the official rules, you can get out of jail by rolling doubles again or paying $50. Does that sound odd too you? Do the crime three times and get stuck in jail, do the crime again and get out!? Or bribe someone and get out!?I propose the following change to the JAIL rule. Every jail sentence carries a fixed term of 3 moves (no paying $50 to get out). The only way to get out of jail is to NOT roll doubles on any of your three turns spent in jail. If you roll doubles while in jail, your sentence is extended by an additional fixed number of turns.
MORTGAGED PROPERTY - According to the official rules "If the property is mortgaged, no rent can be collected."This rule is outdated! There are many people living today who have one and two mortgages on their home and rental property and still collect rent.
I propose the following change to this MORTGAGE rule. If the property is mortgaged, rent is collected. The player who owns the mortgaged property receives 50% of the rent, and the bank receives 50% (the amount the bank receives is applied to the amount needed to unmortgage the propoerty). This is a cool rule cause you can pay off the mortgage on the property as people land on the property.
GIFT CARDS - Ever noticed how there never seems to be enough money in a Monopoly game for a game that has a lot of players or on games that last a long time (esp. with one player who is really successful).This is a new rule I propose be added to Monopoly. All you need to play with this rule are index cards sufficent for each player.
Every player is issued a rechargable gift card (index card) at the beginning of the game. If at any time, the bank needs money it can seize funds from any player... and the amount seized is written on that player's index card. The index card is usuable like any gift card. When amounts are transferred from player to player (in the case of rent), the amount is simply subtracted from one index card and added to the other index card. No negative balances are allowed on gift cards. If the amount on the card is not sufficent to pay, then zero out the balance and pay the remaining in cash.
START ORDER - The official rules state: "Starting with the Banker, each player in turn throws the dice. The player with the highest total starts the play..."Going first is a definite advantage, because you can buy properties before anyone else gets there. So why not make players pay for the advantage?
My proposed rule is this: At the start of the game, bid for first position, then second, etc. This can cripple the player in the lead, who may have used a significant portion of his money to secure first place.
ONCE AROUND THE BOARD - Another alternative to figuring out start order instead of bidding on who goes first is not to let anyone purchase property until they have been around the board once and passed GO.
