Play the banker right: Here's how much money you start with in Monopoly

Clare Mulroy, USA TODAY
Updated ·4 min read

"Do not pass go, do not collect $200." "Take a ride on the Reading."

These beloved phrases, and many others, are a staple in the game Monopoly. Recognized as the most popular board game by the Guinness World Records in 1999, parent company Hasbro prints $30 billion in Monopoly money every year, CNN reports.

But like many board games, Monopoly requires set up — choose your token, decide who goes first and dole out the money.

If your hopes are high to land on Boardwalk and Park Place, but you don’t know how much money to start with, read on.

How much money do you start with in Monopoly?

Players begin with $1,500 in Monopoly money, according to Hasbro game instructions. Here is the breakdown of how much money each player gets:

  • Two $500s

  • Two $100s

  • Two $50s

  • Six $20s

  • Five $10s

  • Five $5s

  • Five $1s

The remaining bills go to the bank. One player acts as the banker and is in charge of divvying up money and collecting fees.

How to play Euchre: Illustrated guide to the Midwestern card game favorite

How much money do you start with in Monopoly Junior?

Hasbro created Monopoly Junior in 1990 to cater to younger fans. The game differs in its currency, spaces on the board and even the replacement of jail with a visit to the “rest room,” as the original Hasbro instructions read. The goal, however, remains the same: gather as much cash as you can to be the richest player by the end of the game.

Here’s how much money to dole out to each player in Monopoly Junior:

  • One $5

  • One $4

  • Three $3s

  • Four $2s

  • Five $1s

A brief history of Monopoly

Elizabeth Magie, known to her friends as Lizzie, created the first version of Monopoly, originally called The Landlord’s Game, in the early 1900s as a way to reflect “the present system of land-grabbing with all its usual outcomes and consequences,” according to the Guardian.

Magie secured a legal claim via the U.S. Patent Office in 1903 and published the game through the Economic Game Company. The Guardian said the game was popular with leftwing intellectuals, a community of Quakers, local neighborhoods and on college campuses.

The early edition was passed from friend to friend until Charles Darrow, unemployed and desperate for money, wrote up the rules and sold the game to the Parker Brothers in 1932. The new version, now called Monopoly, succeeded greatly.

Darrow received royalties throughout his lifetime from the Parker Brothers edition, and Magie was paid $500 for the rights of The Landlord’s Game to preserve Monopoly’s originality. Magie protested the snub in 1936 interviews to The Washington Post and the Washington Evening Star, publicly angry at Darrow’s Monopoly, the Guardian reports.

What comes in a Monopoly game?

Make sure your newly bought Monopoly game has all its correct pieces before beginning gameplay. The most up-to-date version of the beloved game contains these items:

  • Gameboard

  • Eight tokens

  • 28 title deed or property cards

  • 16 Chance cards

  • 16 Community Chest cards

  • 32 houses

  • 12 hotels

  • Two dice

  • Monopoly money pack

  • Instructions

Monopoly game pieces have changed over the years. In 2013, the game replaced its classic iron token with a cat. In 2017, Hasbro crowdsourced opinions on the game’s traditional pieces once again. After more than 4.3 million votes, Hasbro decided to replace the boot, the wheelbarrow and the thimble with a T-Rex, a rubber ducky and a penguin, CNN reports.

How to play Monopoly: Setup, rules, gameplay and how to win

Keep the fun going with more illustrated game guides

Just Curious for more? We've got you covered

USA TODAY is exploring the questions you and others ask every day. From "How to fall asleep easier" to "Can astrology predict relationships?" to "What is sodoku?", we're striving to find answers to the most common questions you ask every day. Head to our Just Curious section to see what else we can answer for you.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Divide it at the start: How much money do you start with in Monopoly?