What is International Monopoly?

It's a cool variation on the traditional Monopoly® rules. It combines the boards of several countries into a huge International Monopoly board. Because the various language versions of Monopoly® include different currency, cards, and alternate boards, it adds a sense of the unexpected to the familiar traditional rules. It's a blast!

International Monopoly was developed over several years of testing by , David Van Wagner, Michael Maddox, Phil Colbaugh II, and several others.


Rules for International Monopoly

The game is played with multiple sets of Monopoly® boards, each a different language version. For example, you could combine the U.S. and British boards, or the U.S., British, and French boards. (Use as many boards as you like, but be aware that each added board dramatically increases the length of the game.) Each board must be a complete set with its own money, deed cards, and Community Chest and Chance cards. You only need one set of player pieces (one piece per player).

Shuffle all Community Chest cards together (mixing the various language versions together). Separate them into piles and place a pile on each board. Do the same with the Chance cards.

Distribute money to each player in each board's currency. For instance, in the above three-country game, each player would receive 1500 U.S. dollars, 1500 British pounds, and 1500 French francs.

Pick one country to serve as the starting point and arrange the other countries' boards in the order you prefer.

Play begins and proceeds as with normal Monopoloy®. If you wish to use optional "house" rules like a Free Parking kitty or Double Salary for landing on Go, that is acceptable.

There are only a few differences between regular Monopoly® and International Monopoly:

  1. When your piece passes Boardwalk (or the country equivalent), the piece continues, not on the same board, but starting on Go on the board of the next country. When you're finished with the last country's board, you continue on at Go of the starting board, creating a loop through all the boards.
  2. When your piece is in another country, you *must* pay bank debts with that country's currency. If you do not have enough cash in that currency, you may exchange other currency via the bank for a 10% fee. For example, a debt of U.S. $1,000 would cost you 1,100 British pounds. If you wish, you may negotiate a lower exchange fee with another player who has a surplus of the currency you need.
  3. When collecting a debt, a player should state the currency required (i.e. "Rent! You owe me 750 pounds!"). If the renter does not specify the currency, the payee may pay with any combination of currencies (i.e. 200 dollars, 500 pounds, and 50 francs). If the renter does specify the currency, the payee is required to pay in that currency. In multiple currency transactions, change may be given in any type of currency (in single currency transactions, change must be given in the same currency as received, unless the payee agrees otherwise). NOTE: the renter may not specify a currency not appropriate for that country (i.e. specify U.S. dollars in Britain).
  4. Chance and Community Chest cards pay money in the currency printed on them (i.e. British cards pay in pounds). If a card requires you to pay a fine, you must pay it in the currency indicated. If you're to pay another player, you may negotiate the currency with the other player (if they are agreeable). If a Chance or Community Chest card sends you to a location on a board, you travel to that country and that square. If you pass any Go squares during your trip around the boards, you collect your Go salary in that currency. (The exception is the "Go to Jail" cards -- they send you to the jail of the card's country, but you collect no salary on your way there.)
  5. If a player owns the same property (based on square location) on more than one board, that player collects double, triple, etc. rent (based on the number of boards and properties owned). The rent is a multiple of whatever the traditional rent would be. For example, if a player owned Boardwalk with a Hotel on the U.S. board and the British equivalent of Boardwalk with no houses or hotels (but didn't own the British Park Place), someone landing on the British square would owe 100 pounds (double the normal rent) but a player landing on the U.S. square would owe $4,000 (double the normal rent). If the owner later obtained British Park Place but didn't improve British Boardwalk, rent there would be double twice to 200 pounds (doubled once as per official Monopoly® rules for an unimproved monopoly and double again as per International Monopoly rules).
  6. While the total number of houses and hotels must match the official Monopoly® rules (32 houses and 12 hotels for each board), there is an option to "import" houses or hotels from another country. To do this, you pay double the normal cost of the house or hotel, plus the purchase must be made in that country's currency.

Here are some notes to remember on unusual properties and situations:

  1. Community Chest and Chance cards apply to the country that created them. For instance, "Get Out of Jail Free" cards are only valid in the jail of the country which assigned the card.
  2. The 10% Income Tax square applies only to assets in that country (i.e. if you have 10,000 pounds of British assets and only $500 dollars of U.S. asssets, you'd pay $50).
  3. Owning multiple railroads only increases the rent for railroads owned within the same country. For instance, in traditional Monopoly® owning three railroads increases the rent to $100. In International Monopoly, owning two U.S. railroads and one British railroad counts as only two U.S. railroads ($50). Obviously, if you own the corresponding railroad in another country, that rent is doubled (or whatever multiple's appropriate for how many boards you are playing with).
  4. Rolling doubles three times sends you to the jail of the country where you rolled the third double (you do not advance your piece -- it immediately moves to jail).

Tip: eBay and other online auctions often have foreign Monopoly® sets for sale at reasonable prices. If you only speak English, look for British and Australian sets.

Tip: Because there's so much more money and property involved, International Monopoly games will last longer than a traditional game, especially with several boards and lots of players, so plan ahead. The cool thing is that towards the end of the game the amounts of money are staggering and fortunes are won and lost very quickly, making it far more exciting than traditional rules.

Tip: Have an International Monopoly night. Invite friends over for an all-nighter and serve ethnic snacks based on each country in your game. While your piece is in that country, you may only eat that country's food!

International Monopoly rules are Copyright ©1999 by Marc Zeedar. All Rights Reserved.

You may print or save these rules for personal use only. No reproduction in any form without written permission is permitted. Monopoly®, the distinctive design of the game board, the four corner squares, as well as each of the distinctive elements of the board and the playing pieces are trademarks of Hasbro, Inc. for its real estate trading game and game equipment.