It's not the festive season without a competitive family game after Christmas dinner, with Monopoly up there as a must-play.
Each year is the same, that one relative that cheats, another who gets way too involved and the heated arguments and resentment towards those in the lead.
But however you play Monopoly, it has emerged that there is a fair chance you have been playing it wrong. A lesser-known Monopoly rule totally alters the game – and we're here to remind you how to utilise it.
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The forgotten rule has recently surfaced online, and after it went viral fans of the game have admitted they've been playing it incorrectly, reports the Mirror.
A Monopoly fan who goes by the username Dtrain22 shared the revelation on Twitter, and it shocked social media users.
They said: "Just found out I've played Monopoly wrong my whole life. If you don't buy a property you land on it goes to auction for everyone for any bid amount. Had no idea."
They even posted a screenshot of the rules where it clearly says: "Whenever a player lands on an unowned property he may buy that property from the Bank at its printed price [...] If he does not wish to buy the property it is sold at auction by the Banker to the highest bidder."
Commenters were baffled by the news, with one person saying: "Just realised that this is [probably] why my games went on for so long."
Another said: "Adds a whole new layer of ruthless," to with the original tweeter answered: "It really changes the whole game lmao."
A third commented: "No wonder the game always takes me so friggin [sic] long to finish. Every time a property is landed on it's fair game? Makes way more sense actually."
It seems other people are also only just discovering the actual rules of Monopoly.
One person recently said: "Don't forget while playing Monopoly this Xmas, that if you don't buy the property you land on it goes to Auction. Helps get the bloomin [sic] game done a bit quicker I find!"
Another Twitter user called Ruben shared the same news in 2017. It received thousands of likes and hundreds of retweets.
It seems the forgotten rule has resurfaced again, with someone retweeting, saying: "While we're all sitting at home freezing our literal ar*** off this holiday week, just want to send out a friendly reminder to everyone playing Monopoly with their friends and family. Properties not purchased go to auction. Every time."
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