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.''

''Yes, Monopoly, the world's most popular board game is now Monopoly the TV game. Here come the players... The red player (insert name), the gold player (insert name), and the green player (insert name). Here comes our hostess (insert hostess' name), and here's the host of Monopoly, Mike Reilly!''

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. Starting 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, since split/divided-ownerships were never allowed unlike the normal game, 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 any player miss, that player 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/Make You or Break You 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 via the roll of the dice. 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.

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.

Round 1
Instead of going around the board, Monopolies were captured at random; but they were not revealed until after they were captured. Plus instead of answering the number of clues based on the number of properties involved, it takes two correct answers on all Monopolies to capture them as well as the total amount of each; also the letters change for each new Monopoly. Incorrect answers eliminated the player who gave one from the Monopoly.

Round 2
The second and final is pretty much the same except with these differences:
 * There was no hostess. The dice were rolled offstage by a stagehand.
 * Instead of just a neon light, a midget posing as Rich Uncle Pennybags (aka Mr. Monopoly) walks around the board.
 * Each player also owned a Community Chest space.
 * On a steal on individual properties, a successful steal on the clue just missed earned the right to steal the Monopoly by getting one or two more clues right. Similar to the Railroad spaces.
 * Though played the same way, the Railroad spaces were replaced with "Takeover" spaces.
 * When stealing a Monopoly from another player, not only the Monopoly's value was added to the stealing player's score, it was deducted from the original owner's score.
 * There was no bonus for passing or landing on "GO".
 * Halfway into the round during the second break, the player can use the money to improve their properties.

The Once Around the Board/Block Bonus Round
The rules are the same except the payoffs are smaller.

Each passed space - $50 Making it around the board - $10,000

Episode status
All episodes are believed to exist, but the show has not aired since its original run. The 1988 pilot, 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 & Parker Brothers (now Hasbro).

Links
Rules for Monopoly

Monopoly Rules @ Loogslair.net

YouTube Videos
Clip of Round 2 & Bonus Round

Clips of the Intro & Closing Credits