The fine print
Rules of the table
Everything Realty Tycoon does is below — the classic game first, then the house rules the host can switch on, and what happens when someone wants to leave or join halfway through.
The aim
Buy the streets of London, squeeze the rent out of them, and be the last player with money left. Whoever owns the best colour groups, built up first, usually wins.
Setting up
- 2–8 players at a table. Computer players can fill the gaps.
- Everyone picks a name and a symbol — bus, cab, umbrella, top hat, teapot, crown, dog or guard.
- Starting cash is £1500 by default; the host can set £1000, £1500, £2000 or £3000.
- Everyone throws two dice for the opening roll: highest total starts, and tied leaders throw again.
- With 3 random properties on, each player is dealt three random deeds before the first throw.
On your turn
Throw two dice and move clockwise, collecting £200 every time you pass GO. Then do what the square says:
- Unowned street, station or utility — buy it at the printed price, or turn it down.
- Owned — pay the rent showing on the title deed.
- Chance / Community Chest — draw a card and follow it.
- Income Tax £200 and Super Tax £100 — pay the bank.
- Free Parking — nothing, unless the jackpot rule is on.
- Go To Jail — straight to jail, no £200.
Doubles mean another throw. Three doubles in a row sends you to jail, so it pays to stop while you're ahead.
Buying and auctions
Turn down an unowned property and, with auctions on, it goes straight to auction: every player in turn bids whatever they like, or drops out. The last bidder wins and pays their bid — cash you could have spent on a street instead.
Rent
- Owning a whole colour group doubles the rent on its undeveloped streets.
- Stations pay £25 / £50 / £100 / £200 for one to four of them.
- Utilities pay 4× your dice throw with one, 10× with both.
- A mortgaged property collects no rent at all.
| Group | Streets | Prices | House |
|---|---|---|---|
| South London | Old Kent Road, Whitechapel Road | £60 | £50 |
| Clerkenwell | The Angel Islington, Euston Road, Pentonville Road | £100–£120 | £50 |
| Westminster | Pall Mall, Whitehall, Northumberland Avenue | £140–£160 | £100 |
| Farringdon | Bow Street, Marlborough Street, Vine Street | £180–£200 | £100 |
| Theatreland | Strand, Fleet Street, Trafalgar Square | £220–£240 | £150 |
| Piccadilly | Leicester Square, Coventry Street, Piccadilly | £260–£280 | £150 |
| Mayfair edge | Regent Street, Oxford Street, Bond Street | £300–£320 | £200 |
| Park Lane & Mayfair | Park Lane, Mayfair | £350–£400 | £200 |
| Stations | King's Cross, Marylebone, Fenchurch St, Liverpool St | £200 each | — |
| Utilities | Electric Company, Water Works | £150 each | — |
Houses and hotels
- You need every street in a colour group, and nothing in that group mortgaged.
- Build evenly — you can't put a second house on one street while another has none.
- Four houses then a hotel (the fifth building). Rent jumps with every one you add.
- Sell buildings back to the bank for half price, again evenly, when you need the cash.
Mortgages
Hand a deed to the bank for half its printed price. You get the cash, but the property earns no rent and can't be built on while it's mortgaged — and neither can anything else in its group. Lifting the mortgage costs half the price plus 10% interest. Any buildings on a street must be sold back before you can mortgage it.
Jail
You land there from Go To Jail, three doubles in a row, or the odd Chance card. On your throw you get out by rolling doubles, paying £50 bail, or spending a Get Out of Jail Free card. Fail three throws and you pay £50 and move on. While you're inside, the no rent in jail house rule stops you collecting anything.
Trading
Offer another player any mix of cash and deeds on your turn — buildings must be sold back first. They can accept, reject, or you can withdraw the offer. Trades are how a scattered set of streets turns into a monopoly, so they're worth arguing over.
Bankruptcy and winning
- Owe more than you can raise? Sell buildings and mortgage deeds until you can pay.
- Still short — declare bankruptcy. Your deeds go to whoever you owed (buildings stripped) or back to the bank.
- The last player standing wins. The host can call the game early, and whoever has the highest worth wins.
- Worth = cash + printed price of your deeds (half if mortgaged) + what you paid for buildings.
Leaving and joining
- Online games: ask to leave with a reason and the rest of the table votes — a majority lets you go, and your deeds return to the bank. Say no and you stay in.
- The host leaving: they hand the room to another player, or end the game on the spot.
- Pass and play: a player simply drops out — no vote, since it's all one device.
- Late arrivals: anyone with the code can watch, and the host decides whether to let them in with a full pile of starting cash.
Nobody waits
You get 30 seconds to throw the dice and 45 seconds to decide on a purchase or finish your turn. Let the clock run out and the game throws for you, skips the buy or ends the turn — so the table keeps moving.
House rules
The host switches these on in the lobby before the first throw:
- Free Parking jackpot — Taxes and fines go to the middle; land on Free Parking to scoop them.
- Double on GO — Land exactly on GO to collect £400.
- Auctions — Properties nobody buys go up for auction.
- No rent in jail — Players in jail can't collect rent.
- 3 random properties — Everyone starts with 3 random properties.
- Quick game: skip cards — Chance and Community Chest do nothing.
- Quick end — The game ends as soon as the first player goes bankrupt. Highest worth wins.