Since its inception in 1935, Monopoly has served as a platform to tear families, relationships and friendships apart.
Whether it's a shady banker, unruly purchasing tactics or relentless bad luck in rolling the dice, the game usually ends in tears, fights or someone tossing the board game in the bin.
One of the more frustrating moments is eyeing up a property that you're keen to take into your greedy little hands, only to see someone else land on it first.
But one person has set social media ablaze by highlighting a seemingly lesser known rule about acquiring property.
The user is indeed right.
According to the rules: "If the player lands on an unowned property, whether street, railroad, or utility, they can buy the property for its listed purchase price. If they decline this purchase, the property is auctioned off by the bank to the highest bidder, including the player who declined to buy."
This certainly would have changed the outcome in many of the games I played as a youngster as plenty of players might have dismissed the opportunity to buy Pall Mall or Leicester Square.
One LAD's trash is another LAD's treasure.
It seems as though the news of the rule has caused quite the stir on social media.
One person wrote: "Holy MOLY! That takes strategy/risk taking UP A DAMN LEVEL! I am so down for this rule. Thank you for the tip off!"
Another said: "Speeds up game enormously and guaranteed to divert all pre-existing family animosities into silent resentment as they are bankrupted far sooner."
However, this user couldn't believe this wasn't common knowledge, writing: "Always amazed by the amount of people that don't know this. HOW CAN YOU BUY A GAME AND NOT READ THE RULES?
This would dramatically reduce the amount of time spent on the game as you wouldn't need to rely on the luck of rolling the number you want to land on the property. Sure, you still need to have enough cash in your pocket to buy the square, but you wouldn't have to take seven trips around the board.
According to official figures, the average playing time is between 60-240 minutes. It's certainly not the game you pull out willy-nilly, it's the one you dust off if you have a spare five hours handy.
Surely as we get closer to the festive season where many will be spending plenty of time with their families, this rule will be loudly announced before the game starts to ensure a speedy win for someone.
Featured Image Credit: PATopics: Interesting, Monopoly, Community, Interesting, Monopoly, Community
