How to Teach Kids the Rules of the Game Monopoly

Explain the thematic concepts of the game to the child. Most of the appeal of Monopoly comes from managing money and haggling in trades, which might be lost on small children. A good way to get a child excited about Monopoly is to explain the idea of buying up property to become the richest player.

Give the child the appropriate sum of the money for game setup, $1,500. Make sure that the child understands enough basic math to manage his money; otherwise, offer to manage the child's money for him.

Explain that each player takes turns rolling the dice and moving around the board. Remember to explain that whenever a player rolls doubles (such as a 3 on each die), that player gets to roll again after moving.

Detail how to buy and mortgage property. Once landing on an unclaimed property, a player has the opportunity to purchase the property by paying money to the bank. If she does so, she permanently gains that property. At any point, a player can mortgage an owned property by turning the property over and gaining a certain amount of money from the bank. While mortgaging is sometimes necessary, it should be avoided as much as possible because it prevents the player from earning money on that property.

Teach the child the concept of rent, which occurs when a player lands on a space owned by another player. The player who lands on the space must give money to the player who owns the property because he is spending the night, or spending the "turn" in that location.

Explain to the child that properties should be purchased in groups, or to acquire a monopoly. For example, a player has an advantage if she owns both Park Place and Boardwalk, because the rent increases and the player has an opportunity to buy houses or hotels. Explain that buying houses is an investment: it costs money now to buy the houses, but they will eventually pay themselves off if enough players land on that space.

Explain how to trade property. Make sure that the child understands that players can trade property as well as exchange money in a trade. A player could trade a property in exchange for another property, or he could acquire a property in exchange for a property and an additional $100. Be sure to explain to the child that properties farther along the board are more valuable than properties closer to the Go space.

Demonstrate the additional details of the game, such as Community Chest, Chance, Jail and Go. The Community Chest and Chance decks are cards that activate whenever a player lands on a corresponding space. These cards are highly variable and could have good, bad or neutral effects on the player. If a player lands in jail, either by drawing a "Go to Jail" card or landing on the "Go to Jail" space, she must either spend $50, wait until she rolls doubles on her turn, wait until after her third turn or use a "Get out of Jail Free" card to escape from jail. A player passing the Go space gains $200.