Horse-opoly Rules

Horse-opoly is much like Monopoly in the general rules and strategy. While the properties are no longer famous streets across the country but rather horse breeds, the pattern to these properties is much the same. A higher priced breed horse is more expensive than that of a lesser quality, resulting in more rent from other players. This game is a must-have for horse lovers and will bring the family hours of fun.

The traditional pewter game tokens have taken a spin toward the western side, with the introduction of a boot, saddle, horse fly, horse shoe, bag of oats and horse trailer. Houses have been replaced by bales of straw, and hotels are now big red barns. These pieces, combined with the variety of horses across the board and the alteration of Community Chest and Chance to Horse Sense and Horse Play, set the scene for a boot-stomping good time.

Horse-opoly begins by assigning a banker and a realtor. The banker will be in charge of the money disbursed and payed into the bank, while the realtor will disburse properties when purchased as well as bales of straw and barns. Players choose their token and place them in the center of the board. The banker then disburses $1,630 to each player, in the following sums: 2-$500, 3-$100, 3-$50, 5-$20, 5-$10, 5-$5 and 5-$1 dollar bills each. The Horse Sense and Horse Play cards are shuffled individually and placed on the game board in their respective places. The property cards are placed in order and placed with the realtor.

Each player rolls one die to determine the order of turns. The player with the highest roll of the die will be first, and then the procession continues to the lowest number. Player one rolls the dice and moves her token from the center of the board to GIDDYUP, formerly Go, counting this space as one, and moving forward the remainder of spaces shown on the dice. This continues for each player, in order as the game continues.

Players can purchase a horse property if it is unowned by another player, when they land on that horse. The player pays the bank the amount listed on the board, and the realtor will disburse the property card to the player. If the player who has landed on the property chooses not to purchase the horse, other players may bid to purchase it. The highest bidder receives the property card after she has paid the banker the amount of her bid. Once a series of properties is purchased, meaning all the properties in one color category, the player may purchase bales of straw for those horse properties. The price of the straw bale is listed on the deed. Properties must be evenly built on. Once four straw bales are in place on all the color horse properties, the player may elect to trade those straw bales for a barn, plus pay an additional fee to the bank.

If a player lands on a property owned by another player, he must pay the rent that is printed on that horse's deed card. Properties built on with bales of straw or barns have an increased rent fee, which must be paid to the property owner. Horse Sense and Horse Play have four places on the board. When a player lands on one of these spaces, the player must take a card from the top of the respective pile, read it and follow the directions. Should the player need to pay a fee for a service, that money is placed in the middle of the board. The Trailer is the new jail in Horse-olopy. Players may be sent here by rolling doubles three times, landing on the "Go to Trailer" space or by direction of a Horse Sense or Horse Play card. To be released from the trailer, the player must roll doubles on her turn or, on the third attempt, pay $100 to the middle of the board and move the number of spaces shown on the rolled dice. The Pasture has replaced Free Parking. When players land on Pasture, they are awarded any money that is in the center of the board.

If players owe rent or other debts they are unable to pay, they can mortgage any properties they have or sell them to other players. If a horse property has been developed with bales of straw or barns, those must be sold back to the bank first at half the price paid for them. While a property is mortgaged, the property card is turned over, with the back up, and rent is not collected on these properties. Should the player not have enough assets to mortgage, he must enter into bankruptcy and leave the game. Game play continues until there is only one player remaining.

For a faster version of Horse-opoly, disburse four property cards to each player at the start of the game and place a one- hour time limit on the game. Play continues normally for the amount of time allotted. The player with the most assets at the end of one hour is the winner.