A whopping 51% of Monopoly games end in a fight (probably because if it didn’t the game would take years to end). There’s no word on whether the other 49% of games end because people are bored of playing and give up, but Monopoly does have a solution for the majority — at least if you’re living in the UK. The board game has set up a hotline dedicated to settling monopoly-related disputes over the holidays.
Hasbro admitted that most Monopoly feuds are caused by players making up rules to the game as they go (because you know everyone has that too-lenient uncle who always gives your cousin a get-out-of-jail-free card he doesn’t deserve). Players frequently get too competitive and exhibit unsportsmanlike behavior such as buying up a ton of properties they don’t need just because you want them badly (*cough* Dad *cough*) or gloating about their wins. People also get fed up because every game has that one person who takes way too long to take their turn. Like, we’re not going to tell you to get off your phone and get in the game, but if we have to wait another minute we’re going to throw your thimble into the fireplace.
This year, you don’t have to flip the board and stomp upstairs in a huff because Hasbro has got you covered.
Craig Wilkins, Marketing Director of Hasbro UK & Ireland who commissioned the research on Monopoly-related disputes said, “Monopoly is one of the best-loved board games of all time, because it’s a way for families to spend some quality time together. However, our research found that Monopoly games can regularly end in chaos, with some friends and family members stopping at nothing to win.”
Though Wilkins sites Christmas Day between 4-6pm as the most common time for families to play, the hotline will be open through the holiday weekend.
“Our hotline will be open from 24th – 26th December, when families will be able to call 0800 689 4903 and get mediation on any game-based arguments,” he said.
The hotline will have experts on-hand with official rulebooks (yes, the game comes with those, you awful rule maker-uppers) and attempt to mediate common disagreements. Unfortunately, this is only for in-game disputes. The hotline can’t help you with that one Trump-loving, racist relative persistently asking your gay cousin when he’s going to finally marry a nice girl.
If Monopoly is apparently so rife with cheating that over half of all games are ruined before they finish, how exactly are people getting away with it? The most common cheat is players banking on someone not paying attention when they’ve landed on their property and failing to collect before the next player has made their turn (also known as the “Cashing In On How Boring Monopoly Is” method). A whopping 13 percent of people also admitted to stealing cash from the bank — for shame! 6 p.m. is the most common time for family arguments to erupt over the game, probably because everyone just wants to eat dinner already get the stupid thing over with.
Hasbro found the 10 most common ways people cheat, so to avoid having to call the hotline next time you play (or if you happen to live in US where the hotline isn’t available), keep your eye out for the following sneaky tactics:
- Trying to keep quiet when landing on an opponent’s property
- Stealing money from the bank
- Moving your token more or less than shown on the dice, to your advantage
- Making up the rules that suit you, to someone who doesn’t know
- Sneakily adding more houses/hotels than you’ve paid for
- Moving the dice to land on the numbers you want
- Pretending your Chance/Community Chest card is a good one, when really it’s a bad one
- Fiddling the order of Chance/Community Chest cards so you get good ones
- Bribing other players with real-life rewards for help in the game
- Stealing properties from the bank
