Monopoly

''M-O-N-O-P-O-L-Y, M-O-N-O-P-O-L-Y, MONOPOLY, MONOPOLY, MONOPOLY, MONOPOLY, M-O-N-O-P-O-L-Y. Roll the dice, it's paradise. But if you fail, you go to jail.''

Monopoly was a game show that aired in ABC primetime from June 16, 1990 to September 1, 1990. Michael Reilly hosted the show, and Charlie O'Donnell announced. The show's hostesses included Kathy Davis, Michelle Nicholas, and Kathy Karges. Monopoly was a Merv Griffin Production.

Round 1
Three contestants, playing as red, gold, and green, competed to win monopolies on the monopoly board. Staring from "Go" and moving clockwise a property at a time, each colored property went up for grabs. To win the property and its price (as money), a player had to answer a crossword puzzle-like clue beginning with a given letter provided by Reilly (the letter changed for each side of the board). Wrong answers deducted the property's price from the player's score. If no one answered a clue correctly, another clue would be asked for the property, but the money that could be gained or lost on that clue was halved.

Playoffs
Each time the last property of a colored group was taken, control of the monopoly would then be up for grabs. If one player earned all the properties in a group, then that player earned the monopoly. However, if two players had properties in the group, a series of playoff clues between those two players came into effect. Each of the two contenders needed as many right answers as opposing properties in the group. No money changed hands on these clues. If a player answered a playoff clue incorrectly, the opponent automatically received credit for a correct answer. If all three players had one property each, Reilly would give a toss-up clue to all three. The player with the right answer would get to take one property (and thus, decided whom to play against (should all three players miss, the player who gave an incorrect answer was disqualified & lost his/her property)). The two players with properties then had a separate playoff as above. After all this, whoever ended up with the monopoly earned the combined price of all the properties in that group.

After claiming all the monopolies, players then (during a commercial break) decided how to build houses and hotels on properties, using the cash won by answering clues and making monopolies. Houses cost $50 each, and hotels cost $250.

Round 2 (Big Money Round)
After all development had finished, the three players would then have a chance to earn money as a flashing neon cursor moved around the board. The hostess rolled the dice, moving the cursor the corresponding number of spaces. Depending on where the cursor landed, various outcomes were possible.


 * Regular Properties - Host Reilly read a clue to the player who owned the property. A correct answer to the clue earned the rent (there was no penalty for a wrong answer). If the owner's response was not correct, the other two players could buzz-in for a chance to earn the rent (risking losing money for a wrong answer). NOTE: Should a property have no real estate whatsoever, the mortgage value in the regular game became the rent value.
 * Chance & Community Chest - Like the normal game, a card was drawn (a computer effect of the card appeared to the home viewers) and it either effected the player(s) scores or took the neon cursor to anywhere on the board.
 * Utilities - Host Reilly read a toss-up clue to all three players. The first player to buzz-in with a correct answer won $100 times the total number last rolled.
 * Railroads - When anyone of these railroad spaces were landed on, it open the door to a "Hostile Takeover" situation. Host Reilly read a clue to all three players. The first player to buzz-in with the correct answer can move the cursor to the first property of any opponent's monopoly. The player then needed to answer one clue unopposed for each property in the monopoly, a correct answer advancing the cursor to the next property. Completing the contract stole the monopoly from that opponent. If a player failed to answer a clue, then the player was penalized the rent for the property on which the cursor was, and the owner of the property received that rent.
 * Free Parking - Reilly read a clue to all three players. The player with the correct answer won a jackpot which started at $500 plus money paid up by the player(s) in terms of taxes, fines and things.
 * Go to Jail - When that space was landed on, all three players were fined $50.
 * GO - Passing Go added $200 to all three players' totals, $400 for landing on Go.

A signal sounded when one minute remained in this round. When time ran out, all the players sold back houses and hotels (for face value) on monopolies they now owned. The player with the highest cash total won the money, the game, and the right to play the bonus round.

The Once Around the Board/Block Bonus Round
The champion then had a chance to win $25,000 or $50,000 by completing one trip around the board. Before starting the round, the champion selected one space on the second row, one space on the third row, and two spaces on the fourth row to be "Go to Jail" spaces (along with the one in the corner). The player then had up to five rolls of the dice to move the cursor, starting from "Go," once around the board without landing on any "Go to Jail" space. Rolling doubles gave the champion an extra roll. Each space traversed earned the champion $100. The champion could stop and take the winnings after any successful roll, as landing on "Go to Jail" or falling short of "Go" after the allotted rolls lost the bonus money. However, passing "Go" earned $25,000, and landing on "Go" exactly earned $50,000.

Episode status
All episodes are believed to exist, but the show has not aired since its original run. Several episodes (if not the complete run) are in the trading circuit, and portions of several episodes are on Youtube.

Inventor
Based on the board game of the same name by Charles B. Darrow

Links
Rules for Monopoly Monopoly Rules @ Loogslair.net

YouTube Videos
Clip of Round 2 & Bonus Round Clips of the Intro & Closing Credits