I’ll admit it. I’m a cheat when it comes to Monopoly. There’s a lot of us out there.
You start off all law abiding, just wanting to have a good old fashioned family game of Monopoly. Seventeen hours you’re in tears, stealing cash from the banker as his eyes begin to close, and getting ready to flip the table.
But now. Cheaters rejoice. Our moment has come. A Monopoly game just for cheaters is coming to us in just a matter of weeks! Hallelujah. Choirs are singing.
Jonathan Berkowitz, senior vice president of Hasbro, told INSIDER:
A recent study conducted by Hasbro revealed nearly half of game players attempt to cheat during Monopoly games, so in 2018, we decided it was time to give fans what they’ve been craving all along – a Monopoly game that actually encourages cheating.
So how do you play the cheaters’ version? Well, the object of the game is still to be the player with the most money at the end of the game.
This edition, players get away with cheating as many times as they can during game play – sounds reasonable.
It means players can skip extra spaces after rolling the dice to avoid squares they don’t want to land on, they can actively try to avoid paying rent, and slip a few extra bills from the bank when no one’s looking.
And amazingly, if a player gets away with a cheat, they’re not punished, they’re rewarded.
But. And of course there is a but. If they get caught, there are consequences – and on the back of the cheat cards there’s a list of rewards and punishments for each cheat.
Berkowitz continued:
For the first time in Monopoly history, there is no designated Banker.
Players are in control of the Bank on their turn, and pass it to the next player when their turn is over, making it easier to pull off ‘cheats’, such as a the Bank Heist.
Here’s a list of some of the cheats in the game:
Stealing money from the bank
Placing a hotel on one of your pieces of property
Removing a hotel from someone else’s property
Taking an extra $100 in Monopoly money from the bank when you pass go
Moving another player’s token instead of your own on your turn
Giving someone less money than you owe them
Collecting rent for someone else’s property
On the board, a few of the spaces have been ‘hacked’ by cheaters, with several spaces having designated prices on them.
For example, if you’re the first to land on what’s called Pennsylvania Avenue, you don’t need to pay for it, because it’s marked as free.
Berkowitz continued:
We’ve finally decided to embrace our less-than-honest fans by encouraging them to partake in those iconic (yet sometimes unspoken) Monopoly moments that occur during family game nights.
We’re excited to see what fans can get away with and how they’ll react to the new sneaky twists in the game.
The Monopoly Cheaters Edition will be available from the beginning of June.
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