# How much money is there in a game of Monopoly? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [October 23, 2000, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-money-is-there-in-a-game-of-monopoly/37980 "2000-10-23T16:10:37Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Baglady](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/cab0a1/32.png) [@Baglady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baglady)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2000, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-money-is-there-in-a-game-of-monopoly/37980/1 "2000-10-23T16:10:37Z")
I can find information on how much money each player is supposed to get from the bank, but does anyone know how much money a standard game of Monopoly comes with altogether? If you can break it down by denomination that would be great, but not necessary. Thanks! ---
**Author:** ![SkySlash](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d6d6ee/32.png) [@SkySlash](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SkySlash)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2000, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-money-is-there-in-a-game-of-monopoly/37980/2 "2000-10-23T16:24:39Z")
I haven’t played that in years…so from memory… $500 = 2 $100 = 5 $50 = 2 $20 = 6 $10 = 5 $5 = 5 $1 = 10 Am I close? -SS ---
**Author:** ![Palmyra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/57b2e6/32.png) [@Palmyra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Palmyra)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2000, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-money-is-there-in-a-game-of-monopoly/37980/3 "2000-10-23T16:26:33Z")
no, that’s like, how much each person gets… there’s a lot more in the whole game… ---
**Author:** ![Baglady](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/cab0a1/32.png) [@Baglady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baglady)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2000, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-money-is-there-in-a-game-of-monopoly/37980/4 "2000-10-23T16:27:15Z")
Sorry Sky – the bills you list are what the bank gives each player. What I want to know is how much money the bank has when you first crack open a box of Monopoly, before the bank doles out any money to the players. In effect, I want to know how much money comes in a new box of regular Monopoly. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Cynical](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ee59a6/32.png) [@Mr.Cynical](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Cynical)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2000, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-money-is-there-in-a-game-of-monopoly/37980/5 "2000-10-23T16:29:32Z")
$15,140. A very topical question, in fact! [Monopoly Tournament News Article](http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/nm/20001022/od/monopoly_canada_dc_1.html) ---
**Author:** ![SkySlash](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d6d6ee/32.png) [@SkySlash](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SkySlash)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2000, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-money-is-there-in-a-game-of-monopoly/37980/6 "2000-10-23T16:30:54Z")
Sorry I was guessing from memory how much each player gets instead of the actual total. I should have mentioned that as I did understand the original question. Was I close though? I have deluxe Monopoly edition and a regular edition and I recall that the Deluxe edition has more total money it than the regular. Based on that I think it may depend on the edition as to how much the bank contains. Good luck finding an answer! -SS 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Baglady](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/cab0a1/32.png) [@Baglady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baglady)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2000, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-money-is-there-in-a-game-of-monopoly/37980/7 "2000-10-23T16:37:23Z")
**Mr. Cynical** : \*"$15,140. A very topical question, in fact! [Monopoly Tournament News Article](http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/nm/20001022/od/monopoly_canada_dc_1.html) \* Oooo awesome! **Mr. Cynical** gets the insta-trivia contest of the day! Thanks! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2000, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-money-is-there-in-a-game-of-monopoly/37980/8 "2000-10-23T21:15:26Z")
I was going to post $15,140 but I was beaten to it! Serves me right for working instead of keeping up with the boards. National Public Radio had a segment on the Monopoly championship, which aired last Friday. ---
**Author:** ![hypergirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/49beb7/32.png) [@hypergirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hypergirl)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2000, 1:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-money-is-there-in-a-game-of-monopoly/37980/9 "2000-10-24T01:41:52Z")
Dumb little fact that I know. The bank can’t go bankrupt. Even if it has no more money you can still write out little pieces of paper. So in theory a monopoly game has an unlimited amount of money. ---
**Author:** ![Alpha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Alpha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alpha)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2000, 2:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-money-is-there-in-a-game-of-monopoly/37980/10 "2000-10-24T02:30:12Z")
As kids we always played with I.O.U.'s, so there would always be four people playing. We didn’t want the first one or two out to go home because they were bored. You had to make all four players go into the red before the game ended. It got tricky deciding if a guy with no money could buy property, so we changed the rules several times a game. This of course meant it would continue for days. But the last guy would have one opponent at $0 and two so far in debt it was funny. ---
**Author:** ![Simetra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/278dde/32.png) [@Simetra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Simetra)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2000, 2:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-money-is-there-in-a-game-of-monopoly/37980/11 "2000-10-24T02:56:19Z")
Now see… That’s how you play Monopoly. At least, **Alpha** ’s version is the one we always played. I liked it that way because I “owned” my sister and she would always cry because she would be so far in debt by the end of the game. G-d, I was such a great older brother. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![cygnus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e0b2c6/32.png) [@cygnus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cygnus)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2000, 2:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-money-is-there-in-a-game-of-monopoly/37980/12 "2000-10-24T14:49:55Z")
When I saw this thread I thought immediately of a radio interview I heard just a couple days ago. It mentioned the amount at stake in the Monopoly tournament being the amount of money in the game, and, though I did not recall the exact amount (although I did remember it was 15K and change), I was unintimidated, knowing someone would have already provided the requested answer. I will, nevertheless, add my .02 for the topic. The person being interviewed was last year’s champion (name forgotten), who talked at great length with the interviewer about everything you could possibly discuss about Monopoly. Sample question: How do you train in the off season? (I am not making this up. His response–he seemed a bit taken aback by the question–was that he played games with his friends [roommates?] occasionally but didn’t do anything special, since the game doesn’t lend itself to “training”. He commented that, with the luck factor of the game, his eleven year old neice had beaten him just days before.) My favorite part of the interview was when, after a deep and serious discussion of strategy (such issues as which properties are most profitable, on which point he disagrees with Milton Bradly, and how to get other players to trade valuable properties with you), the interviewer intoned most solemnly on the fact that this champion normally was The Thimble, but he would not be able to be The Thimble in the championships, because, as he said, “Since it’s in Canada, they have these strange Canadian tokens.” Specifically mentioned were a bear and a hockey player, although there were others. Since I am genuinely confident that the original game didn’t have different versions, I can only surmise that this is a modern and regional variation (I have seen such things), and that they weren’t just pulling our collective legs. BTW, I played **Alpha** ’s version too. Games could go on for days (board pushed under the couch overnight). ---
**Author:** ![cygnus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e0b2c6/32.png) [@cygnus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cygnus)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2000, 3:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-money-is-there-in-a-game-of-monopoly/37980/13 "2000-10-24T15:00:15Z")
When I saw this thread I thought immediately of a radio interview I heard just a couple days ago. It mentioned the amount at stake in the Monopoly tournament being the amount of money in the game, and, though I did not recall the exact amount (although I did remember it was 15K and change), I was unintimidated, knowing someone would have already provided the requested answer. I will, nevertheless, add my .02 for the topic. The person being interviewed was last year’s champion (name forgotten), who talked at great length with the interviewer about everything you could possibly discuss about Monopoly. Sample question: How do you train in the off season? (I am not making this up. His response–he seemed a bit taken aback by the question–was that he played games with his friends [roommates?] occasionally but didn’t do anything special, since the game doesn’t lend itself to “training”. He commented that, with the luck factor of the game, his eleven year old neice had beaten him just days before.) My favorite part of the interview was when, after a deep and serious discussion of strategy (such issues as which properties are most profitable, on which point he disagrees with Milton Bradly, and how to get other players to trade valuable properties with you), the interviewer intoned most solemnly on the fact that this champion normally was The Thimble, but he would not be able to be The Thimble in the championships, because, as he said, “Since it’s in Canada, they have these strange Canadian tokens.” Specifically mentioned were a bear and a hockey player, although there were others. Since I am genuinely confident that the original game didn’t have different versions, I can only surmise that this is a modern and regional variation (I have seen such things), and that they weren’t just pulling our collective legs. BTW, I played **Alpha** ’s version too. Games could go on for days (board pushed under the couch overnight). ---
**Author:** ![cygnus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e0b2c6/32.png) [@cygnus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cygnus)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2000, 3:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-money-is-there-in-a-game-of-monopoly/37980/14 "2000-10-24T15:09:32Z")
Sorry about the double post - locked up, didn’t show in the thread, etc… (Anyone wanna recommend a good ISP?) ---
**Author:** ![Fiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e274bd/32.png) [@Fiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiver)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2000, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-money-is-there-in-a-game-of-monopoly/37980/15 "2000-10-24T17:17:20Z")
Pardon me if it seems unduly speculative, but if I ever go on “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?” and win a decent pile of money, I’m going to receive $15,140 of it as cash (in appropriate denominations), gather nine of my friends and play Monopoly with it. And I’ll let them keep what they win. Back to the OP: Back in 1986 or so I bought the 50th anniversary edition of Monopoly. It came in a square tin box, like the first edition, and had differently-modeled tokens, like the first edition. One of the special-edition bonuses was that it had a **triple** set of money. So I guess it held $45,420. ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2000, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-money-is-there-in-a-game-of-monopoly/37980/16 "2000-10-24T17:54:34Z")
> [@](#): > > the interviewer intoned most solemnly on the fact that this champion normally was The Thimble, but he would not be able to be The Thimble in the championships, because, as he said, “Since it’s in Canada, they have these strange Canadian tokens.” Specifically mentioned were a bear and a hockey player, although there were others. Since I am genuinely confident that the original game didn’t have different versions, I can only surmise that this is a modern and regional variation (I have seen such things), and that they weren’t just pulling our collective legs. When Monopoly first came out, the tokens were metal, and each was a different shape - an airplane, a race-car, a thimble, a top-hat - can’t remember the other two. Editions in the 60’s and 70’s had wooden counters, then just the standard 6 colour plastic ones used in other games, like Clue. More recently, they’ve gone back to the original counters, at least in the spiffy expensive versions you can get. In the Canadian version, the counters are: a moose, a sled, a canoe, a bear, and a hockey player. The properties are re-named after famous Canadian streets - Park Place and Boardwalk are Robson Street and Granville Street, two tony shopping areas in Vancouver. Chance and Community Chest became the federal and provincial governments - a peculiarly Canadian variation! ---
**Author:** ![John\_Kentzel-Griffin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ccd318/32.png) [@John\_Kentzel-Griffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Kentzel-Griffin)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2000, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-money-is-there-in-a-game-of-monopoly/37980/17 "2000-10-24T17:59:13Z")
There’s $15,140.00 in a game of Monopoly! Let’s see the game only costs about $30.00. That $15,110.00 pure profit! I’m going to quit my job and buy Monopoly games for a living. ---
**Author:** ![Rilchiam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/2bfe46/32.png) [@Rilchiam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rilchiam)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2000, 4:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-money-is-there-in-a-game-of-monopoly/37980/18 "2000-10-25T04:59:40Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by jti \* > **When Monopoly first came out, the tokens were metal, and each was a different shape - an airplane, a race-car, a thimble, a top-hat - can’t remember the other two.** A Scottie dog and an iron. And I think there was a battleship and a guy on horseback. At least, my parents always held that over my head…“When **we** were kids…” ---
**Author:** ![Fiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e274bd/32.png) [@Fiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiver)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2000, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-money-is-there-in-a-game-of-monopoly/37980/19 "2000-10-25T16:11:06Z")
**jti** seems to be implying there are five or six tokens in a Monopoly set. But aren’t there ten? I’ve always found a game isn’t really exciting with fewer than six or seven people. Of course it takes forever then… ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2000, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-money-is-there-in-a-game-of-monopoly/37980/20 "2000-10-25T19:26:52Z")
sadly, I’ve never played with one of the spiffy games with the original tokens - the low-end ones I’ve played have only had 6 tokens. The newspaper article about the Canadian version only mentioned those five.