free passes, Immunity, insurance & external currency
Some players interpret standard Monopoly rules as to allow players to grant free passes or immunity from paying rent when an opposing player lands on his or her property. Such interpretations are often based on the fact that, in the official rules, if a player fails to demand rent within one player’s completed roll or rolls after a previous player landed on a property subject to rent, the owner may no longer collect.
Another possible side agreement is an option, which might be given as a promise affecting an unsold property, should a player land on that property. Yet another is insurance, the terms of which would be determined by the players entering into such an agreement. A player might issue private currency or stock, which would not be recognized under the rules, but might be accepted as having value by one or more non-issuing players. Side bets might be placed on potential events during the game, such as who will achieve the first monopoly or who will be bankrupted first. The creativity of such side agreements is limited only by the players’ imaginations.
Such agreements are unenforceable, since they are not addressed directly in the official rules; however, considering the successful completion of any game almost always depends on a mutual understanding of fair play, some players are willing to risk the trust necessary for a successful agreement of this nature.
It should be noted that if players do agree to allow such agreements, they should not affect the integrity of the various properties, which is to say, an agreement between players does not attach to the properties themselves unless all players agree that they should (with the recognition that allowing such agreements to attach to the properties would change the nature of the game significantly). Said another way, even if, say, two players agree that one will not charge rent from another, such an agreement generally does not "travel" with a deed, should ownership of the property change. Without agreement of all the players, the nature of a property deed cannot be changed by anything fewer than all the players. To allow otherwise would give only a portion of the players the power to modify not only the integrity of a deed, but also the integrity of the game.
In determining what side agreements are allowable, players may want to note that lending money is specifically forbidden by the official rules. Players should keep this in mind when considering whether to allow such agreements. Allowing players to lend money to each other would significantly change the nature of the game.
