Funskool's Anti-Monopoly, the box our link goes toPhoto: Funskool
What's in the box: board, cards and moneyPhoto: Funskool
University Games' photo of the board in playPhoto: University Games
Video

Strategy game

Anti-Monopoly

Two sides, two sets of rules: fair competitors against greedy monopolists

2–6players · best with 4
1–3 hrsplaying time
8+recommended age
Learning curve
Easy2 / 5
EasyDemanding
Luck & skill
More luck than skill
LuckSkill
Interaction
High
Set-up
About 5 min
Reading
Some

The quick verdict

Full verdict ↓

Great for Families who grew up on Monopoly or Business and want a version with a new idea at its heart

Think twice if You want a short game: like Monopoly, a full game usually runs an hour or more

How we rate it

Learning curve. The turn is as simple as Monopoly's, but each side has its own building, rent, penalty and tax rules, so the first game needs the rules sheet close by.

Luck & skill. The dice decide where you land and what you can buy. Choosing a side, trading and when to build give some control, but luck still matters a lot.

Interaction. You pay each other rent and trade properties all game, and the two sides are working to bankrupt each other.

Set-up. Choose a Treasurer, split the players into competitors and monopolists, shuffle the two card decks and hand out 1,500 in game money each. Counting out the money takes longest.

Reading. Title cards and the Competitor and Monopolist cards have short English text, read aloud when drawn.

Learning curve: 1 = UNO or Connect 4; 3 = Catan; 5 = a heavy strategy game. These describe the experience, not an overall score.

Is Anti-Monopoly right for you?

Great if

  • Families who grew up on Monopoly or Business and want a version with a new idea at its heart
  • Long holiday afternoons with cousins, when nobody minds a game that runs well over an hour
  • Starting a conversation with older children about fair dealing, competition and monopolies
  • Groups of four or six, which split neatly into two equal sides

Skip it if

  • You want a short game: like Monopoly, a full game usually runs an hour or more
  • Your group dislikes dice luck and player elimination, which are still part of the game
  • You simply want classic Monopoly: Hasbro's game has its own page here

How Anti-Monopoly plays

Anti-Monopoly looks like Monopoly at first glance: you roll two dice, move round the board, buy streets, transport companies and utilities, and collect rent. The big difference comes before the first roll. Players split into two equal sides, competitors and monopolists, and the two sides play by different rules all game. One player also acts as Treasurer and runs the bank.

  • Time to teach: about 15 minutes.
  • Reading and language: The title cards and the Competitor and Monopolist cards carry short English text, and the rules sheet is in English. A child who reads a little can play with an adult reading the cards aloud.
University Games' photo of the board in play · Photo: University Games

How to play Anti-Monopoly · Triple S Games

Choose a video · Watch right here

If this creator doesn’t allow embedded playback, watch on YouTube ↗.

A turn, step by step

  1. 1
    Roll

    Roll two dice and move round the board. A double gives you one extra turn, and passing Start pays you.

  2. 2
    Buy

    Buy an unowned street, transport company or utility, or pay rent to its owner: a monopolist's rent can be double a competitor's.

  3. 3
    Build

    Build houses and apartments by your side's rules: competitors on any street they own, monopolists only in cities they have cornered.

  4. 4
    Win

    Bankrupt everyone, or be the richest player on your side once the other side is wiped out, as agreed before the game.

Read the official rules (PDF)Anti-Monopoly - Instructions (University Games) · English
The full explanation: how a game of Anti-Monopoly goes

Competitors behave like ordinary businesses. They charge normal rent, can put up to four houses (and then an apartment) on any street they own, and earn the same from transport companies however many they hold. Monopolists charge double rent once they own two streets in the same city, but they may build only in cities they have cornered, and the fares on their transport companies double with each company they add.

Each side has its own deck of cards and its own penalty corner. A competitor sent there still collects rent while waiting; a monopolist goes to Prison and collects nothing until released. Other spaces treat the sides differently too: monopolists pay a bigger share in income tax, and the Anti-Monopoly Foundation space can give competitors a small grant while monopolists pay in.

Before you start, agree how to win. In one version you play until everyone else is bankrupt. In the other, a competitor wins by being the richest competitor once every monopolist has gone bust, or a monopolist wins by being the richest monopolist once the competitors are out. The rules also give a two-hour ending in which the Treasurer goes round the board paying out rents and the player with the most cash wins.

A few smaller changes from Monopoly matter in play: a street nobody buys simply stays with the Treasurer (there are no auctions), a double gives you only one extra turn, players may not lend each other money, and passing Start pays less. The rules warn that a monopolist who gets all four transport companies is very hard to beat, so competitors should not let that happen.

What's in the box

What's in the box: board, cards and money · Photo: Funskool
  • 1Game board
  • 6Pawns
    University Games' rules give competitors green pawns and monopolists blue ones
  • 28Title cards
    one for each street, transport company and utility, with the mortgage value on the back
  • 25Competitor cards
  • 25Monopolist cards
  • 50Houses and apartments
  • 2Dice
  • –Paper money
  • 1Instructions

From the contents list on the back of Funskool's box (Funskool's own photo). The box says 'Dice' without a number; the rules' doubles mean two. University Games' own box has wooden pieces: three green and three blue pawns, 35 houses and 15 apartments; the materials in Funskool's box were not confirmed.

Where to buy

Check price on Amazon.in
How to make sure you get a genuine copyEditions and the details worth checking.

About the editions

Buy Funskool's box. Funskool makes Anti-Monopoly in India under licence: the back of the box, shown in Funskool's own photo, says 'Made in India' and carries University Games' and Ralph Anspach's notices, and Funskool's page gives India as the country of origin. University Games sells the same game abroad, with wooden pawns and buildings in its current box; the rules are the same. Our Amazon.in link goes to the Funskool box that Funskool's own page points to.

Before you choose

  • The box front says ANTI-MONOPOLY with 'The Real Estate Trading Game for the 21st Century', '2 to 6 Players' and 'Ages 8 & Up'
  • The back lists 28 title cards, 25 competitor cards, 25 monopolist cards, a game board, 6 pawns, 50 houses and apartments, dice, paper money and instructions, and says 'Made in India'
  • The small print credits Ralph Anspach and University Games and says the Anti-Monopoly name is used under licence
  • There are two card decks for the two kinds of player (Competitor and Monopolist), not Chance and Community Chest
  • The listing names Funskool as the maker; Funskool's product code for this box is 4988000

What reviewers and players say

Little has been written about Anti-Monopoly as a game; most articles are about Ralph Anspach's ten-year court fight with Monopoly's owners. Players in a MetaFilter discussion remember it fondly or with a shrug: one owner finds it a little more complex than Monopoly and less prone to endless laps of the board, another says it turns Monopoly's message round by rewarding the fair player, while one who played it as a child found it much the same as Monopoly. Some remember it as a game that tried to teach a lesson. Its two-sided rules are the reason to choose it over the original.

What people love

  • Splitting players into competitors and monopolists gives a familiar game a new idea
  • It turns Monopoly's message round: fair play can win
  • The story behind it, including copies buried in a landfill, is a good talking point
  • A clear choice of endings, including a two-hour game for a fixed finish

Common complaints

  • Some players find it plays much like Monopoly
  • The lesson about monopolies can feel heavy-handed to children who just want to play
  • Dice luck and bankruptcies are still part of the game
Based on 5 reviews and discussions

Summarised in our own words from the sources above. We don't use Amazon reviews or ratings.

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Questions people ask about Anti-Monopoly

Is Anti-Monopoly the same as Monopoly?

No. Anti-Monopoly is a separate game by Ralph Anspach, published by University Games and made in India by Funskool. It uses a similar board of streets and rents, but players split into competitors and monopolists who follow different rules, and there are no Chance or Community Chest cards. Hasbro's Monopoly has its own page here.

Who makes Anti-Monopoly?

Economics professor Ralph Anspach created it in 1973, and University Games publishes it today. Funskool makes this box in India under licence. University Games' rules sheet says the Anti-Monopoly name is a Hasbro trademark used under licence, the result of a long court fight over the word 'monopoly'.

How do you win Anti-Monopoly?

Agree before you start. You can play until one player has bankrupted everyone, or until one side is wiped out, when the richest player on the other side wins. For a fixed finish, the rules also give a two-hour game in which the Treasurer pays out rents and the player with the most cash wins.

Why is it called Anti-Monopoly?

Ralph Anspach made it in 1973 because he felt Monopoly rewarded something that hurts people in real life. Monopoly's owners sued him over the name in 1974, and in 1977 a court ordered unsold copies destroyed; about 40,000 were buried in a landfill in Minnesota. Anspach won in the end and kept the name.

Is Anti-Monopoly good for children?

The box says 8 and up. The turn is as simple as Monopoly's, but children have to remember which rules their side follows, and income tax can be a percentage of what you own, so younger players need an adult as Treasurer. It is a good way to talk about fair play and competition.

Game facts

Designed by
Ralph Anspach
Publisher
University Games (the game is © Ralph Anspach; the Anti-Monopoly name is used under licence); this box is made in India by Funskool
In India
Funskool (India) Ltd, Chennai, which makes and sells this edition in India and lists it under University Games
First published
1973
Players
2–6
Barcode
8901383498809
Language
Some English – The title cards and the Competitor and Monopolist cards carry short English text, and the rules sheet is in English. A child who reads a little can play with an adult reading the cards aloud.
Sources & photo creditsThe references behind this guide.

Facts on this page come from the publisher, the Indian maker or distributor, and the sources below. Photos are credited under each one.