The 'Jailbird' Rule For Monopoly
Antony Brown, co-founder of Dice Maestro, is a games analyst and inventor who writes regularly on board games. This article explains how a simple rule variation evens out some of the bias of landing on certain property groups in Monopoly.
This simple rule variation evens out some of the bias landing on certain property groups more than others, especially the Orange. After a stretch in jail a player throws a single die to determine where they are “rehabilitated” into the game. Players are welcome to print a copy of this rule variation but it cannot be published in any form without prior permission from Dice Maestro.
What Is The ‘Jailbird’ Rule?
In the official rules a player moves out of jail by either (a) throwing a double (within the first three turns of landing in Jail) and moving the number of spaces shown; or (b) playing a "Get Out of Jail Free" and moving on the next turn or (c) paying a fine of $50 and moving on the next turn.
The “Jail Bird” rule stipulates that on leaving Jail a player rolls one die and immediately positions his playing piece according to the following table (US readers should note that a roll of "1" places the piece on the first card pick-up square, "2" on the 2nd and so on).
The player does not pass GO and does not pick up any card but on his next turn moves from the “rehabilitation square” by throwing both dice as normal. In the case of (a) above the playing piece is not moved the number of spaces shown by the double but moved to "rehab" (the rehab sqaure being determined by the score of one die).
Why Use It?
Over the long run there is an inherent bias of players landing on certain property groups more than others, especially the Orange. One of the reasons is because players leaving Jail are more likely to land on an Orange-topped square. And Jail is by far the most visited square of all in Monopoly because of the Go To Jail square and cards as well as the three-double rule. The “Jailbird” rule eliminates this bias and also adds an interesting twist to the game.
What Is Its Effect?
Over the long run, the probabilities of landing on particular squares or colour groups become more even, especially increasing the chances of landing on the Purple and Light Blue groups. It also means that on leaving Jail some ex-cons may pass GO more quickly than others. A bit like life, really.
Is The Rule Official?
No. This is a “house rule” that can be adopted by regular Monopoly players.
This article, the table and the ‘Jail Bird’ rule are copyright Dice Maestro Limited. The Monopoly trademark and its logo, the distinctive design of the game board, each distinctive element of the board including the four corner squares, and the playing pieces are trademarks of Hasbro, Inc.