Simpsons Monopoly takes the classic Parker Brothers board game and throws it into the cartoon city of Springfield, home to Homer, Marge, Lisa, Bart and little Maggie. Two to eight players attempt to control the real estate market with familiar locations from the Simpsons television show. Simpsons Monopoly features the same rules as the original Monopoly but with the same attitude and humour of the show that inspires it. Familiar characters from the show are seen either on the board or in the Community Chest and Chance cards. Simpsons Monopoly is appropriate for kids of all ages.
Place the Community Chest and Chance cards face down on their respective places on the board. Although these cards function the same way as in the original Monopoly game, the drawings and instructions feature characters from the Simpsons.
Select a token to play. The pewter tokens in Simpsons Monopoly represent characters from the long running cartoon: Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa, Maggie, Santa's Little Helper (the family dog) and Snowball V (the fifth family cat) amongst others. Place your token on the area marked "Go." This is the starting position.
Roll the dice to determine who will be the Banker. The player with the highest dice roll is the Banker and gets to go first in the Simpsons Monopoly game.
Give £900 to each player in the following denominations: two £200s, £100s and £50s, six £20s and five £10s, £5s and £1s.
Roll the dice and move your token the appropriate number of squares. If you land on a property, you have the choice to buy it or put it up for auction for the other players. Players draw Chance or Community Chest cards if they land on those squares. The properties available for purchase in Simpsons Monopoly are familiar locations from around Springfield: Moe's Tavern, Krustylu Studios, the Kwik-E-Mart and the Nuclear Power Plant, amongst others.
Pay the Banker if you land on the Legitimate Businessmen's Protection Tax (which replaces the classic Income Tax). This is a reference to Springfield's organised crime family run by Fat Tony. The First Church of Springfield Collection Plate replaces the traditional Luxury Tax square.
Buy properties if you land on them. Pay the Banker in exchange for a Springfield property card, which shows the amount of money players must pay you if they land on your property.
Build monorail stops or stations (which replace houses and hotels from the traditional game) once you own all of the properties within a single colour group. Controlling the monorail system in Springfield is the goal of Simpsons Monopoly in a similar way as controlling the houses and hotels was the goal in the original game. Building stops and stations will increase rent fees.
Collect £100 every time you pass "GO."
Mortgage your properties if you cannot pay rent. Mortgaging gives you half of a property's value. If you have no properties to mortgage and you have no more money, you are considered "Bankrupt" and are therefore eliminated from the Simpsons Monopoly game.
