Elf Monopoly Guide - Dice n Board

Are you a human with an affinity for elf culture? You don’t have to wait for Christmas to be jolly – just pick up a copy of Elf Monopoly!

Packed with iconic and hilarious quotes from the original film – “son of a nutcracker!” – this is the game our festive friends have been waiting for.

Few sights evoke more joy than Will Ferrell’s wide-eyed grin staring up from the dining room table, which is what you have to look forward to if you decide to buy this game (seriously, his face is plastered right in the middle of the board).

No doubt you’ve already watched Elf more times than you can count on both hands, so now it’s time to swap the DVD (or Netflix) for a good old-fashioned board game with a festive twist.

Read on to find out more about Elf Monopoly.

Elf Monopoly: A Quick Overview

Players – 2-6
Recommended age – 8+
Playing time – 60 minutes

Elf Monopoly is a reimagining of the classic property-trading board game Monopoly. Mega fans of Buddy the Elf (we exist!) will be delighted by the opportunity to indulge in Christmas cheer and gorge ourselves on candy corn as we explore the snow-filled streets and high-rise apartments of New York City in this game.

What Is Elf?

*Gasps*…you mean you’ve never seen the film Elf? I always thought such uncultured beings couldn’t possibly exist, but just in case, let me give you a quick recap of what is undoubtedly The Best Christmas Film Ever!

Elf is an American Christmas comedy film that was released in 2003. It stars Will Ferrell as Buddy, a man who was adopted and raised by elves at the North Pole.

Unable to shake the feeling that he just doesn’t fit in, he travels to New York to search for his birth father. This is where the chaos begins. Buddy’s father turns out to be a cynical businessman called Walter (played by James Caan) who couldn’t be any more different from his Christmas cheer-loving son.

What’s the Difference between Elf Monopoly and the Original Monopoly?

Monopoly is one of those games that’s played by many but played correctly by few, and in a way, that’s its beauty, right? We all love those family games that go on for literally hours and always end in arguments.

But, if you want the lowdown on how to play Monopoly as it’s meant to be played, rather than using the questionable rules your aunt made up two years ago just so she could win, check out this guide.

In the meantime, let’s take a closer look at the key differences between Elf Monopoly and traditional Monopoly:

Hotels and houses are renamed skyscrapers and apartments
Traditional railroad spaces are replaced by candy, candy canes, candy corn, and syrup
The Community Chest cards have been renamed as Christmas Cheer cards
Chance cards have been renamed as Christmas Spirit cards
The six tokens you can choose to play as are: Santa’s Sleigh, Polar Bear Cub, Jack-in-the-Box, Mailroom Coffee Mug, Santa’s Bag, and Maple Syrup

The Aim

The aim of the game, as with the original Monopoly, is to be the last player standing after everyone else has gone bankrupt.

You can achieve this by collecting properties and charging other players rent, then building apartments and skyscrapers to boost your income.

How to Play

Pour yourself a cup of Christmas cheer and get ready to learn how to play!

Setup

Setting up the game shouldn’t take long (especially if you’ve got a sugar rush from eating one too many candy canes, not that I’m speaking from experience or anything…).

Open the board out and place it on a table or flat surface
Shuffle the Christmas Cheer cards and place them face down in the correct place on the board
Do the same with the Christmas Spirit cards
Each player chooses a token to play as
Choose a banker to be in charge of the money

The banker should give each player:

2x $500
4x $100
1x $50
1x $20
2x $10
1x $5
5x $1

Taking a Turn

Roll the dice to decide which player goes first. Add up the scores – the player with the highest number goes first.

Roll the dice
Move your token
You may need to take an action
If you land on or pass go, you can collect $200
If you roll a double, you are allowed another turn (but be careful – you have to go to jail if you roll three doubles!)
Pass the dice to the left

Landing on a Property That Isn’t Owned

There are three types of properties you need to know about: locations, four food groups, and a giant Christmas tree & skating rink.

If you land on one of these properties and another player doesn’t already own it, now’s your chance to buy it! First, decide whether you can afford the listed price.

However, if you decide against buying the property, it goes up for auction (I’ll explain more about auctions later on).

You should always try to collect properties from the same group (for example, all green properties) because this will allow you to charge other players more rent and eventually start building.

Landing on Property Owned by Another Player

Sadly, if you land on a property that another player owns, you will have to pay rent (it sucks, I know). So reluctantly hand over the amount shown on the Deed Card.

There is a silver lining to all of this, though. If the player who owns the property doesn’t ask you to pay rent, you don’t have to. So put your thinking cap on and devise some clever tactics to distract them!

You can find the rent for an undeveloped location on the matching Deed Card. But beware! Rent is doubled if a player owns all locations in the property’s color group, and if the location has been improved with a skyscraper or apartment…well, let’s just say your poor bank balance is going to suffer.

When it comes to food groups, rent depends on how many of the four groups a player owns:

One = $25
Two = $50
Three – $100
Four – $200

If you’re unlucky enough to land on the giant Christmas tree & skating rink, you’ll need to roll the dice and multiply the number by four to find out what rent you owe. If the player owns both, multiply by ten (ouch!!).

When It’s Not Your Turn

You can still perform some actions even when it isn’t your turn.

Collect rent

When a player lands on one of your properties, you can ask them to pay rent.

Auction

The banker holds an auction when:

A player decides against buying a property they have landed on
A player goes bankrupt and turns over his or her unmortgaged property to the bank
There’s a lack of apartments and skyscrapers

You can only make auction bids in cash, and any player can start the bidding for just $1. The last player who made a bid has to purchase the property.

Build

You can buy apartments and skyscrapers when you own all the properties in a color group. There are some rules, though:

The location’s Title Deed shows the listed price of each apartment
You’ll need to build properties evenly across color groups
You can have four apartments at most on a single location
When you have four apartments on a location you can swap them for a skyscraper
Only one skyscraper is allowed per location

Christmas Spirit or Christmas Cheer

Take a card and follow the instructions on it. Then, return it to the bottom of the pile. If it’s a get out of jail free card, you can keep it until it comes in handy.

Printing Error/Office Coffee

Unlucky! Landing on one of these spaces means you have to pay the bank the amount shown.

Go to Jail

Another unfortunate turn of events. Land on this spot, and you have to immediately move your token to the jail space. You can’t even collect $200 if you pass Go on your way, which isn’t at all in the spirit of Christmas!

Sell Apartments/Skyscrapers

You can sell apartments and skyscrapers back to the bank at half what you originally paid. They must be sold evenly, in the same manner, they were bought.

Mortgage Properties

Any unimproved properties can be mortgaged if you’re short on cash. To do this, turn the Title Deed card face down and collect the listed value. Repaying a mortgage involves paying the listed value plus 10%.

Do a Deal

This is where your persuasive skills might come in handy. You can buy or sell unimproved property by making a deal with another player.

Properties can be traded for any amount of money, other property, or Get Out of Jail Free cards.

You can buy mortgaged property, but you’ll need to either repay the mortgage immediately or pay 10% of the listed value and keep the card face down.

Concluding the Game

When all players have gone bankrupt except for one, the game comes to an end.

Speed Play Rules

Do you already consider yourself a bit of a Monopoly expert? If so, why not test yourself by hitting the fast lane, so to speak? Here’s how.

There are four different rules you need to be aware of:

During preparation, the banker shuffles and deals three free Title Deed cards to each player
Before you buy a skyscraper, you only need three of the same color properties
When you end up in jail, you have to exit on your next turn by either using an existing get out of jail free card or buying one; rolling doubles; or paying $50

The game ends when one player goes bankrupt. The rest of the players add up their:

Money
Properties owned (at value printed on the board)
Mortgaged properties owned at one half the value you see on the board
Apartments counted at purchase value
Skyscrapers counted at purchase value

The player who has the most money and assets is the winner.

Who Is Elf Monopoly for?

Elf Monopoly is recommended for two to six players aged eight and over. It’s the ultimate family game, with plenty of thrills, spills, and laughter to keep everyone entertained.

Even if you haven’t seen Elf before – which should be a crime, by the way! – you’ll quickly pick up on how to play and what it’s all about (though you’d definitely enjoy the game more if you understood the hilarious references that feature throughout).

How Many Pieces Are There in Elf Monopoly?

It contains the following components:

1x game board
6x collectible tokens
28x Title Deed cards
16x Christmas Spirit cards
16x Christmas Cheer cards
2x dice
32x apartments
12x skyscrapers
1x pack of money
1x rule book

Elf Monopoly Alternatives

Here are some other games I’d recommend.

The Elf Game

Help Buddy travel to Manhattan all the way from the North Pole in The Elf Game by landing on “you’re on the nice list” spaces and avoiding those rotten “you’re a cotton-headed ninny muggins” spaces. A classic game that’s easy to play.

Players – 2-4
Recommended age – 8+
Playing time – 20 minutes

Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer

Can’t get enough of Christmas-themed board games? Me neither, so here’s another one to try! Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer is another amazing family game where the aim is to save Christmas by returning all toys to the North Pole.

Players – 2-4
Recommended age – 8+
Playing time – 30-60 minutes

Friends Monopoly

Possibly the best crossover ever, am I right? I mean, who doesn’t love Friends, and who doesn’t love Monopoly? Nobody! The rules are very similar to Elf Monopoly, but instead of exploring New York during the festive season, you’ll be revisiting iconic Friends moments and locations.

If you’re as excited about Friends Monopoly as I am, make sure you check out our full game guide.

Players – 2-6
Recommended age – 8+
Playing time – 60 minutes

Frequently Asked Questions

Question: How do I get out of jail?

Answer: There are three options:
1- Pay $50 at the start of your turn, then continue as normal
2- Use a get out of jail free card or buy one from another player
3- Wait three turns. Roll the dice on each turn; if you get a double, you can leave jail.

Question: Can I borrow money from another player?

Answer: No, you can only borrow money from the bank by taking out a mortgage.

Question: Can I play Elf Monopoly solo?

Answer: It isn’t a single-player game – you’ll need at least one other person, ideally three, for a really good game – but we do have a guide to the best solo player board games if that’s really what floats your boat.

Question: Is the amount of money I have supposed to be public knowledge?

Answer: It’s entirely up to you whether you want to show your wealth off to the world or keep it hidden.

Question: Can I collect rent while I’m in jail?

Answer: Yes, absolutely!