Ahhh, Monopoly. An iconic game that taught me everything I know about capitalism.
I actually love Monopoly and don't mind that it takes a full moon cycle to play the game. I always played the banker, so obviously I thought I knew stuff. Until yesterday that is...*dun dun dun*
Whilst browsin' Twitter I somehow ended up on a thread of people talking about what hill they'd be willing to die on. It was then that I saw something that made me say, "Holy canoli??!?" See for yourself:
@iowahawkblog When someone lands on a property🏠in #Monopoly 🎲💵 & they don't buy it, IT GOES TO AUCTION for any play… https://t.co/sZusJpsmX3
That's right — apparently in the actual rule book of Monopoly, if you land on a property and choose not to buy it, it then goes up for auction and everyone can bid on it. AND ALSO THE BANKER IS THE AUCTIONEER. That could have been me!!!!
I looked up the official rules to make sure this was no sick joke, and it checks out:
BUYING PROPERTY… Whenever you land on an unowned property
you may buy that property from the Bank at its printed price. You
receive the Title Deed card showing ownership; place it face up in
front of you.
If you do not wish to buy the property, the Banker sells it at auction
to the highest bidder. The buyer pays the Bank the amount of the bid
in cash and receives the Title Deed card for that property. Any player,
including the one who declined the option to buy it at the printed
price, may bid. Bidding may start at any price
WHICH MEANS either 1) Someone else can bid on the property and get it for way below market value, or 2) The person who decided not to purchase it can also bid and get it for way below what they would have paid!!!!!
So yeah, that's what I just learned about Monopoly. An entire real-life eBay situation can occur and I've never even experienced it.
