Yet another reason to cause havoc at home over Christmas.
Bring up Monopoly in any given Irish household and the likely response is ”we’re not allowed to play that anymore”, and for good reason. The multi-player game is responsible for more family feuds than anything else and usually ends in at least one spectacular tantrum.
However, we regret to inform you that there is more fuel to add to this fire as we’ve just been notified that the majority of us have actually been playing the game incorrectly since the dawn of time.
Turns out that when someone lands on a property in Monopoly, and they don’t buy it outright themselves – the property then goes out to auction for any player to purchase.
Which, in essence, means that all that time spent angling the dice in our favour was played in vain.
And indeed, for those fond of playing-by-the-rules, the Monopoly manual’s section on buying properties reads: “If the player lands on an unowned property, whether street, railroad, or utility, they can buy the property for its listed purchase price.
“If they decline this purchase, the property is auctioned off by the bank to the highest bidder, including the player who declined to buy.”
Mind. Blown.
Maybe this new development will actually shorten the game somewhat, resulting in fewer arguments.
But then again, probably not.
LISTEN: You Must Be Jokin’ with Aideen McQueen – Faith healers, Coolock craic and Gigging as Gaeilge
