Chance and Community Chest cards

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Chance cards and Community Chest cards are special cards used in the board game Monopoly. The player draws one of these cards when the player's token lands on one of the respectively named spaces on the Monopoly board and must follow its instructions.

There are sixteen of each Chance and Community Chest cards in the standard editions (U.S. and UK) of Monopoly^[1]. Chance cards in the standard US edition (and older UK editions) are dark orange in color, while Community Chest cards are yellow.

The cards first appeared with the development of what became Monopoly in the 1920s. Daniel Layman's Finance board game included Chance and Community Chest cards. The first Monopoly editions, self-published originally by Charles B. Darrow, and later by Parker Brothers, featured a few different cards than the ones printed currently. Editions published between 1933-1935 featured only text on the cards, which is still true of most UK editions, as well as translations based on the UK standard edition. Various illustrations appeared on the cards in the U.S. edition starting in 1935, and the more familiar illustrations featuring the Rich Uncle Pennybags character were introduced in 1936. Every one enjoyed it until a newer version came out.

Chance

Changes in the Chance cards in the U.S. editions include:

• Parking Fine: $15 (now omitted)
• Pay Poor Tax: $12 (now $15)
• Pay School Tax: $150 (moved to Community Chest)
• You Are Assessed for Street Repairs (moved to Community Chest)
• Your Xmas Fund Matures: Collect $100 (moved to Community Chest)
• Bank Pays You Dividend of $50 (illustration change from 1936; since 2004, Uncle Pennybags no longer smokes a cigar on this card)

The following cards were introduced by Parker Brothers in 1936:

• Advance Token to the Nearest Railroad (2x)
• Advance Token to the Nearest Utility
• Elected Chairman of the Board: Pay Each Player $50

Cards in the U.S. Standard Edition (the "Atlantic City Edition") which do not appear in the UK Standard Edition:

• Advance token to the nearest utility. If unowned you may buy it from bank. If owned, throw dice and pay owner a total ten times the amount thrown.
• Advance token to the nearest Railroad and pay owner Twice the Rental to which he is otherwise entitled. If Railroad is unowned, you may buy it from the Bank. [Two such cards in the U.S. version]
• Pay poor tax of $15
• You have been elected chairman of the board. Pay each player $50

Cards in the UK Standard Edition which derived from the 1935 Darrow/Parker Brothers edition and are now omitted in the U.S. edition, or are entirely new:

• Pay school fees of £150
• You are assessed for street repairs: £40 per house £115 per hotel
• "Drunk in charge" fine £20
• Speeding fine £15
• You have won a crossword competition. Collect £100

Cards in the Monopoly Malta of 2008:

• Is-self fuq il-bini immatura. Ħu €150. (Your building loan matures. Receive €150.)
• Mur direttament il-ħabs. Tgħaddix minn fuq IBDA. Tiħux €200. (Move directly to jail. Do not pass GO'. Do not collect €200.)
• Irbaħt l-ewwel premju fil-konkors nazzjonali tal-għana. Ħu €100. (You have won the first prize in the national 'għana' contest. Receive €100.)
• Agħmel tiswijiet ġenerali fil-propjetà tiegħek. Ħallas €25 għal kull dar. Ħallas €100 għal kull lukanda. (Make general repairs on all of your buildings. For each house pay €25. For each hotel pay €100.)
• Miżata tal-iskola. Ħallas €150. (Pay school fees of €150.)
• Il-bank jagħtik €50 mgħax. (Bank pays you dividend of €50.)
• Xtrajt rigal tat-tieġ lill-kuġina. Ħallas €20. (Buy your cousin's wedding gift. Pay €20.)
• Ħu ħsieb it-tiswija tat-toroq. €40 għal kull dar. €115 għal kull lukanda. (You are assessed for street repairs. €40 per house. €115 per hotel.)
• Ħallas €15 multa tat-traffiku. (Traffic fine. Pay €15.)
• Mur in-Nadur. Jekk tgħaddi minn fuq IBDA ħu €200. (Advance to 'IN-NADUR'. If you pass GO collect €200.)
• Mur il-Mosta. Jekk tgħaddi minn fuq IBDA ħu €200. (Advance to 'IL-MOSTA'. If you pass GO collect €200.)
• Mur l-Imdina. (Advance to 'L-IMDINA'.)
• Mur dawra sal-Port tal-Imġarr. Jekk tgħaddi minn fuq IBDA ħu €200. (Take a trip to 'IL-PORT TAL-IMĠARR'. If you pass GO collect €200.)
• Mur fuq IBDA. (Advance to GO.)
• Imxi tliet passi lura. (Go back three spaces.)

Community Chest

Changes in the Community Chest cards in the U.S. editions include:

• Everyone Must Donate 10% of His Holdings to You in Cash (one edition only, 1936)
• Go Back to Baltic Avenue (four editions, omitted in U.S. editions since 1936)
• Go to Income Tax or Jail (Darrow edition, 1934 only)
• Advance Token to the Nearest Railroad (2x, later moved to Chance)
• We're Off the Gold Standard, Collect $50 (1935-1936 only, now omitted)
• Pay Your Insurance Premium: $50 (omitted in U.S. editions since 1935)
• Pay a $10 fine or take a Chance (omitted in U.S. editions since 1936)

Certain cards were also moved from the Chance cards deck:

• Pay School Tax $150
• You are Assessed for Street Repairs-iff this happens you only repair YOUR properties
• Your Xmas Fund Matures

One further card was introduced by Parker Brothers in 1936: Grand Opera Opening, Collect $50 from each player. The "Second Prize in a Beauty Contest" was also changed in 1936 to an award of $10 from an award of $11.

Cards in the U.S. Standard Edition (the "Atlantic City Edition") which do not appear in the UK Standard Edition:

• Grand opera Night – collect $50 from every player for opening night seats
• Life Insurance Matures – collect $100
• Pay School tax of $150
• Receive for services $25
• You are assessed for street repairs – $40 per house, $115 per hotel

Cards on the short-lived U.S. Monopoly game show in 1990:

• Street repairs due on (property). Owner pays $X.
• (Color) player gets $X Income Tax Refund.
• Low player sues high player. Wins $X judgment.

Cards in the UK Standard Edition which are derived from the 1935 Darrow/Parker Brothers edition and are now omitted in the U.S. edition, or are entirely new:

• Receive interest on 7% preference shares: £25
• Pay a £10 fine or take a "Chance"
• Go back to Old Kent Road
• Pay your insurance premium £50
• It is your birthday Collect £10 from each player

Cards in the Monopoly Malta edition of 2008:

• Oħroġ mill-ħabs bla ħlas. Din il-karta tista' żżommha sakemm tiġi bżonnha jew tbigħha. (Get out of jail free. This card may be kept until needed or sold.)
• Rimborż tal-VAT. Ħu €20 (Collect VAT refund of €20)
• Irbaħt it-tombla. Ħu €10 (You have won at bingo. Collect €10.)
• Tat-taxxa jagħtuk lura €50 bħala benefattur tal-YMCA. (Receive a tax refund of €50 as a YMCA benefactor.)
• Żball tal-bank favur tiegħek. Ħu €200. (Bank error in your favour collect €200.)
• Mur lura lejn L-IMSIDA. (Go back to 'L-IMSIDA'.)
• Għeluq Sninek. Iġbor €10 mingħand kulħadd. (It's your birthday. Collect €10 from every player.)
• Xtrajt figolli lin-neputijiet. Ħallas €50. (You have bought 'figolli' for your grandchildren. Pay €50.)
• Ħallas €100 biex terfa' l-vara tal-festa. (Pay €100 to carry the 'festa' statue.)
• Ħallas multa ta' €10 jew ħu karta mix-xorti. (Pay a €10 fine or take a chance.)
• Irbaħt premju fil-Karnival tan-Nadur. Ħu €25. (You have won a competition in the 'IN-NADUR' Carnival. Collect €25.)
• Mur fuq IBDA. (Advance to GO.)
• Ħlas dovut lilek mill-kera. Ħu €100. (You receive a rent refund. Collect €100.)
• Writt €100 mingħand iz-zija. (You inherit €100 from your aunt.)
• Ħallas €50 għall-polza tal-assigurazzjoni. (Pay your insurance premium €50.)
• Mur Direttament il-ħabs. Tgħaddix minn fuq IBDA. Tiħux €200. (Go to jail. Move directly to jail. Do not pass GO. Do not collect €200.)

Mistakes

One of the Community Chest cards (later moved to Chance), referring to the train stations says "Advance token to the nearest Railroad and pay owner twice the rental to which he is otherwise entitled. If Railroad is unowned, you may buy if from the Bank."

As shown in the above quote, a typo appears in the fourth last word, saying if instead of it. This mistake has been rectified in later versions.

Other editions

Chance and Community Chest cards are customized for other local and special editions. Placenames get changed on customized boards, and the cards are further customized for local currency, though the actual amounts often stay the same. Text on the cards for the special edition boards is changed to reflect the theme of the board.

References

• Passing Go: Early Monopoly, 1933-1937 by "Clarence B. Darwin" (pseudonym for David Sadowski), Folkopoly Press, River Forest, Illinois. Pages 19, 198-206.
• UK Standard Edition (London) board, copyright 1961, Waddingtons.

External links

• Community Chest Cards on the Monopoly Wiki
• Chance Cards on the Monopoly Wiki
• Chance and Community Chest cards in early editions of the game