Official Monopoly City Edition Rules

Last Updated on October 8, 2025 by The Official Game Rules Team

Monopoly City Edition reimagines the classic game with an urban twist. Players build a city, placing residential buildings, skyscrapers, and utilities. Elect mayors, manage city services, and strategically position your buildings to maximize your income and become the city’s most influential developer.

For more of the best Monopoly variants , read our Ultimate Guide to the Best Monopoly Editions!

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How to Play Monopoly City Edition

Game Components

  • Gameboard
  • 6 Player movers
  • 22 District cards
  • 25 Chance cards
  • 6 Reminder cards
  • 1 Rent Dodge card
  • Buildings (residential, industrial, bonus, hazards, stadiums, skyscrapers)
  • 2 Dice
  • 1 Money pack
  • 1 Electronic Trading Unit

Game Overview

Welcome to Monopoly City, where you’re not just buying streets—you’re building an entire city! Each turn, you’ll buy districts, develop them with buildings, and charge rent to grow your empire. The player with the highest net worth at the end of the game wins.

Objective

Become the wealthiest player by the time the game ends. To calculate your final score:

  1. Add up your total cash.
  2. Calculate the current rent value of all the districts you own.
  3. Combine both for your final total.
    The richest player wins.

Monopoly City Edition Game Setup

  1. Lay the gameboard flat and leave the center area clear—that’s your city-building zone.
  2. Separate the Rent Dodge card and place it next to Free Parking.
  3. Give each player a Reminder card.
  4. Shuffle the Chance cards and place them face down beside the board.
  5. Each player chooses a mover and places it on GO.
  6. Choose a Banker to manage money, cards, buildings, and auctions.

The Banker should:

  • Sort District cards by color and place them in the tray.
  • Organize buildings by type and set them near the board.
  • Deal out the appropriate amount of starting money to each player (6x $5M, 6x $1M, 2x $500K, 2x $200k, 2x $100k, 1x $50k, 5x 10k)
Monopoly city edition money dsetup rules illustration

Gameplay

1. Choose Game Length

Decide whether to play until:

  • All but one player goes bankrupt, or
  • A time limit (e.g. 1 hour, 2 hours). The Trading Unit will track this.
2. Start the Game
  • Turn on the Trading Unit.
  • All players roll the dice. Highest roll goes first.
  • Turns move clockwise.
3. On Your Turn

A. Roll the dice and move forward that many spaces.
B. Check your space and take the appropriate action.
C. Build if you want—on any district you own.

If you roll a double, take another full turn (including building again).
Game continues clockwise.

What Happens When You Land…

  • Unowned District: Buy it for the listed price or auction it.
  • Owned District: Pay rent based on its buildings.
  • Your Own District: No action, unless it has a railroad—then you may jump to another railroad.
  • Auction Space: Put any unowned district up for auction.
  • Industry Tax: Pay the listed fee if you own industrial buildings.
  • Planning Permission: Build a hazard or bonus building.
  • Free Parking: Collect the Rent Dodge card.
  • Chance: Draw a Chance card and follow its instructions.
  • Go to Jail: Go directly to jail. Do not collect wages if you pass GO.

How to Build

  • Press the Build button on the Trading Unit to find out how many blocks you can build (1–3).
  • Buy residential (cheaper, riskier) or industrial (costlier, immune to hazards) buildings.
  • You can build up to 8 total blocks on each district.
  • Build on any district you own. You can build on multiple in one turn.

Railroads

  • Build railroads for free when the Trading Unit allows.
  • Railroads help you pass GO, access districts faster, or avoid high-rent zones.
  • Land on a railroad to use it; you may jump to another railroad and take action there.
  • If the railroad belongs to another player, pay rent before leaving.

Auctions

  • Press the Auction button on the Trading Unit to start a 50-second countdown.
  • Anyone can bid at any time.
  • The last highest bidder when time runs out wins the district and pays the bank.

Special Buildings

Stadiums
  • Cost: a2m
  • Build one in a color group once you own two districts.
  • Earn a1m each time you pass GO.
  • Max 1 stadium per color group. Does not increase rent.
Skyscrapers
  • Build once you own all districts in a color group.
  • Place on any district in the group.
  • Doubles rent for all districts in the group.
Monopoly Tower
  • Cost: a7m
  • Build once you own two full color groups.
  • Place on any district in those groups.
  • Doubles rent across all districts you own.

Planning Permission

When landing on this space:

  • Build a bonus building in a district you own, or
  • Build a hazard in another player’s district, or
  • Place one in an unowned district to block others.

Note: Bonus buildings prevent hazards and vice versa. Choose wisely!

Free Parking & Rent Dodge Card

  • Land here to take the Rent Dodge card (one rent-free turn).
  • If another player lands on it before you use it, you must give it up.

Mortgages

  • Turn a District card face down to mortgage it for its current rent value.
  • You can’t earn rent while it’s mortgaged.
  • Repay the amount to flip the card and resume collecting rent.

Jail Rules

Go to Jail if:

  • You land on “Go to Jail”
  • Draw a “Go directly to Jail” Chance card
  • Roll three doubles in a row

While in Jail:

  • You can still collect rent and build
  • Get out by:
    • Paying a500k
    • Rolling a double
    • Using a “Get Out of Jail Free” card

If still jailed after 3 turns, pay the fine and move normally.

Bankruptcy

If you can’t pay your debts:

  • To the Bank: Return all District cards for auction. Return “Get Out of Jail Free” cards to their piles.
  • To Another Player: Hand over all money, District cards, and “Get Out of Jail Free” cards.

You’re out of the game once you’re bankrupt.

Ending the Game

When the game is over, add up how much you’re worth following these steps:

  1. Count your cash.
  2. Work out the rent value of all the districts you own and add them together. The rent value is the amount another player would pay you if they landed on that space.
  3. Add your cash total to your district total. This is your final amount.
  4. The richest player wins!

Monopoly City Edition adds new layers of strategy to the classic Monopoly game, making it an engaging and exciting variation for fans of the original game. With its unique building mechanics and special district cards, players can explore new ways to dominate the board and build their city empire. Ready to move beyond the basics? Check out our Ultimate Guide to Winning at Monopoly for advanced strategies and tips that apply to Monopoly City as well

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