Like most children, my youngest child doesn’t like to lose when playing games. To solve this personal problem, he generally prefers to play games solo.

When setting up a game, he will set out enough for 2 players, which he designates as player 1 and CPU (as in Computer Processing Unit, which is the computer player in online games). Using this technique, he’s guaranteed to win.

There are at least 4 known ways to play Monopoly by yourself. Options include: playing multiple players at once, using one token to play against yourself and try to beat your score, or playing rules made by other gamers.

When bringing out Monopoly recently, I wondered if other people were interested in playing by themselves. To my surprise, I found both rules and variations. I thought I’d share the ways other people have made the game solo. 

Shuffling Between Chairs

This is the obvious first option for playing the game. You can play as normal, using just two tokens, up to crazy play of 6 tokens, playing each token in turn. You can choose whether to follow the normal rules, or make up your own.

For ease of play and to keep each player’s money and property separate,  you’ll move from chair to chair for each turn. To keep it fair, you may want to consider not allowing auctions or trading to ensure even play around the board. After all, you don’t want to develop a favorite token…or do you? 

There are several options to end the game. You can choose to end the game as written in the rules as the last token standing, you can end the the game when one token goes bankrupt, and totaling up the remaining players’ assets; the token with the most cash and assets wins or the last option is ending the game after a certain time or number of rounds.

One Token Game – 20 Minute Version

The one token game is just that: one token. To begin the game, place the board, Community Chest & Chance cards out as in normal game play. 

Start the game with $100 as your beginning cash. Using the two dice, roll and travel around the board, playing either for a set time, most often listed as 20 minutes, but of course you can decide however much time you’d like to play, or determine a certain number of dice rolls before ending the game, generally 50. 

As you go around the board, you can choose to purchase properties or let the bank continue to own. If you land on a property you own, the bank pays you rent. Being one token, you obviously won’t be putting the properties up for auction, and there’s no reason to stay in jail for 3 rolls, just pay the $50 and go on.

When playing, aside from the adjustment to rules above, the basic rules apply. Amass as many properties and money as you can in the predetermined time or rolls or you’ve gone broke. Total up your cash. 

Keep your score handy, and the next time you play, try to beat your previous score. 

Steve’s “Let’s Make This Actually Worth Playing” Monopoly Solitaire Variant

I found this very in-depth version by a guy on Board Game Geek’s forum who’s wife asked him to create a version for a friend of hers that loves Monopoly. He felt that the options found online were boring. As you’ll see from reading the rules, he went to great lengths to make it exciting for a solo play.

He has both game and hard/optional rules. Some of these game rules include to ignore doubles, what to do with un-owned properties you land on but don’t want to buy, how and when to unmortgage properties, and how and when you can purchase houses and hotels. 

Some of the hard/optional rules include: if you can buy a house, you must. You can’t mortgage a property in order to purchase another property. If you can afford to un-mortgage a property, you must. 

To end the game, you either go bankrupt, or collect all the monies and properties. Don’t want to play that long? Check out the other options on how to end the game, indicated by the wuss, wussier and wussiest rules.  

He’s even included a chicken/turd rule for those who need a little extra boost!

These are only a few of the rule adjustments to Steve’s solo Monopoly game. You can check out the entire gameplay by visiting https://boardgamegeek.com/thread/1232636/monopoly-solitaire

Play on Your Phone

Don’t want to pull out the board game and cover your dining room table with funny money? Grab your smartphone, download the app, and you can pass go anytime with Monopoly Online. At home or on the go, mobile Monopoly can be played anywhere. Watch as this colorful and customizable version comes to life before your eyes.

The single player mode pits you against the A.I. opponent. All rules are in play, including the often ignored auction rule. Pick your game piece, and begin the game. A simple shake of the phone imitates rolling of the dice.

 If you’ve run out of time to finish the game, place the game on pause and return later. There’s also a speedy rules version which reduces hotel costs and eliminates taxes to keep your gameplay short and sweet. 

With purchase, you’ll have several options to play from: Single Player, Online Multiplayer, Online with Friends and Pass & Play. While the multi-player, Online with Friends and Pass & Play versions can be a little buggy, the single play version seems to have the bugs worked out. 

Developed by Hasbro and Marmalade Game Studio, the game can currently be found for both Android and iOS devices for $3.99. There are plenty of optional upgrades designed to explore new boards AND empty your pockets! 

Conclusion

There you have it. Now you can play one of the most popular board games that has sold over 250 million units since it’s debut in 1935 by yourself. 

No longer do you have to wait for friends to arrive, or the agony of slow opponents deciding on their play. And if you’re like my youngest son, you can arrange the rules to guarantee you will win every game!