Monopoly is a game of luck and strategy. Most of the spaces on the board represent properties that a player can buy. There are others, such as 'Chance' and 'Community Chest', both of which allow a player to draw a card from the corresponding pile of cards. These cards have diverse effects, ranging from money loosing, to favorable bank errors. There is also a 'Jail' space.

When a player lands on a property, they have the option of purchasing the property in order to gain money from other players who would subsequently land on these spaces. These players now must pay the owner of the property. Once all the properties of a certain color are owned, the owner may decide to upgrade the properties by building houses and hotels on them. These subsequently add to the cost of landing on the space.

The object of the game is to be able to control a large number of properties to force the other players into bankruptcy.