MONOPOLY

OPERATION BARBAROSSA, JUNE 22,

1941
German invasion of the Soviet Union
OBJECTIVE
The object of the game is to become
the player who controls all the cities on the
board. When all other players are knocked
out of the game, you control everything. You
bankrupt other players by making them run
out of resources.

EQUIPMENT
The board, 2 dice, player tokens, 32
small armies, and 12 tank armies.
There is a deck of 16 EVENT cards,
and 16 HIGH COMMAND cards, 22 CITY, 4
LEADER, and 2 OIL FIELD, control cards.
Players can build from 1 to 5 armies
on a city.
Strength
Equivalent
x
Brigades or Regiments
xx
Division
xxx
Corps
xxxx
Field ARMY
xxxxx
Group/Front
Note: The general term is army or
armies. Upper Case ARMY specifically
refers to a 4 strength xxxx Field ARMY.
The colour and shape of small armies
does not matter. Just make sure there are 32
available in total. Any combination of trucks,
halftracks, and guns, can be used to
represent army strength from 1 to 4 on any
particular city. A large Group (Soviet term is
Front) must use a single tank (German term
is panzer). You are not allowed to use five
small pieces for a Group/Front, you use a
strength 5 tank piece.
(In standard Monopoly, you use green houses
up to 4, and use a hotel, for level 5).

THE BOARD
Various spaces on the board, and
cards, have a German Cross, and, a Soviet
Star. If you are the German player, the
(Balkan) cross refers to you. The red star is
for the Soviet player. This is for thematic
flavour. The actual description has no effect
on the game.
WHATS DIFFERENT?
This version of Monopoly is mostly the
same as the standard game, just cooler. You
use different pieces for houses, hotels,
tokens, and the various cards. Terminology is
different, but has the same effect. If you are
familiar with standard Monopoly, you can
have fun spotting the changes. For example,
Leaders fulfil the role of railways. Instead of
paying rent you pay Combat Cost in
Resource Points. If you have never actually
seen a copy of the Monopoly rules, in living
memory, they are rewritten here, in their
entirety. You might be amazed to learn that
some of the house rules you believed in
(such as the fictitious house rule about free
parking) are NOT in the standard rules!
Jail is now displayed on the board as a
separate space called SURROUNDED, not
actually on the main track. But it plays out
exactly the same.
GO is now READY. Utilities are Oil
Fields. Rent is combat cost. Mortgages and
selling houses is Disbanding. Lifting a
mortgage is Rebuilding. Houses are
armies. Hotels are tanks.
A special rule, FORTRESSES has been
added. Optional but highly recommended.
Finally, Germany, always goes first on turn
one, just to be unfair.

All transactions and costs are

measured in RESOURCE POINTS,
abbreviated to RP, or RPs. This catch all
phrase represents everything: cost of
capturing cities, oil, troops, morale,
casualties.. to fit the theme. Dont worry, in
game terms, its still just money. You can use
play money to keep track. This can be
standard Monopoly money, custom printed
WWII notes with Reichsmarks & Roubles (the
3 Rouble note is fun), or keep a running total
on paper. Whatever works for you.
PREPARATION
Shuffle and place the EVENT cards
face down, and HIGH COMMAND cards face
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down, somewhere handy. Each player

chooses a token, such as a toy soldier, or a
national symbol marker. Place on READY.
Each player begins with 1500 RP. This can be
three 500 notes, or whatever. It doesnt
matter, so long as you start with 1500
resources.

may rest on the same space at the same

time.
According to the space your token
reaches, you may be entitled to control a
city, or leader, or oil field or obliged to pay
combat cost, pay resource costs, draw an
Event or High Command card, Go to
Surrounded, etc.
If you throw doubles, you move your
token as usual, the sum of the two dice, and
are subject to any privileges or penalties
pertaining to the space on which you land.
Retaining the dice, throw again and move
your token as before. If you throw doubles
three times in succession, move your token
immediately to the off-set area marked,
SURROUNDED. See SURROUNDED rule
section.

THE BANK
Its still called The Bank. No
unnecessary name changes here! Select as
Banker, a player who is going to be most
reliable. They also manage the auctions.
Ensure they keep their personal RP funds
separate from those of the bank.
The Bank holds the Control Cards for
all Cities, Leaders & Oil Fields, prior to
purchase by the players. The Bank pays
various RPs and bonuses. It handles the
exchange of RPs when cities are captured
and hands out the control cards. It sells
armies and tank tokens to players, and gives
RPs when armies are disbanded.
The Bank collects all RP costs and
penalties, and the resource cost of all control
cards it sells or auctions. Any RP penalties
players suffer, go to the bank.
The Bank never goes broke. Totals can
be written on ordinary paper.

READY
Each time a players token lands on or
passes over READY, whether by throwing the
dice or drawing a card, the Banker pays
them 200 RP.
The 200 RP is paid only once each
time around the board. However, if a player
passing READY on the throw of the dice lands
2 spaces beyond it on HIGH COMMAND, or 7
spaces beyond it on EVENT, and draws the
ADVANCE TO READY card, they collect 200
RP for passing READY the first time and
another 200 RP for reaching it the second
time by instructions on the card.

THE PLAY
In a two player game, one player is
always GERMAN, and the other is SOVIET.
Players 3 to 6, can be any combination of
United Kingdom, France, Italy, United States.
Or Finland, Rumania, Bulgaria whatever.
Just make sure you have colour playing
pieces that clearly identify each player.
It has no effect whether you are part of the
Axis (Germany and allies), or Allies (Soviet
Union and allies). This is purely for
background flavour. All players begin with
token on READY space.
GERMAN player always goes first.
Forget all that mucking around rolling dice to
see who goes first. This is Barbarossa.
Germany always starts the play. Place your
token on the corner marked READY, throw
the dice and move your token in the
direction of the arrow the number of spaces
indicated by the dice (result is 2 to 12). After
you have completed your play, the turn
passes to the left. The tokens remain on the
spaces occupied and proceed from that point
on the players next turn. Two or more tokens

CONTROLLING CITIES
Whenever you land on an uncontrolled
city/leader/oilfield you may buy it from the
Bank at its printed RP cost. You receive the
Control Card to show you now own it; place it
face up in front of you.
If you do not wish to buy the card, the
Banker sells it at auction to the highest
bidder. The buyer pays the Bank the amount
of the bid in RP and receives the Control
Card. Any player, including the one who
declined the option to buy it at the printed
RP cost, may bid. Bidding starts at 10 RP; if
no one else bids, the Banker receives it at
the default cost of 10 RP.
COMBAT COST
When you land on a card controlled by
another player, the owner collects RP from
you in accordance with the list printed on the
Control Card.
If a card is DISBANDED, no combat
cost can be collected. When a Control Card is
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DISBANDED, it is placed face down in front of

the owner. Alternatively, as this is print n
play, and having a bunch of white cards in
front of you is confusing (back printing is a
hassle), you might wish to turn the card
upside-down instead. Carefully keep the
DISBANDED cards a little bit apart from the
other cards, to reduce the chance of getting
them mixed up.
It is an advantage to hold all the
Control Cards in a colour-group of cities (for
example Smolensk & Moscow; or
Demyansk, Novgorod & Leningrad) because
the controller may then charge double
combat cost for ungarrisoned cities in that
colour-group. This rule applies to the
UNDISBANDED cities even if another city in
that colour-group is DISBANDED.
It is even more advantageous to have
armies, or a tank (Group/Front) on cities
because Combat Costs are much higher than
for ungarrisoned cities.
The controller may not collect Combat
Cost if he/she fails to ask for it before the
second player following throws the dice. The
Soviet player is encouraged to never be a
good sport about this, and ruthlessly try to
catch the German player out with barely a
pause (a verbal Halt, or a hand in Stop
position, is required).

(1) your token lands on the space marked as

GO TO SURROUNDED;
(2) you draw a card marked, GO TO
SURROUNDED; OR
(3) you throw doubles three times in
succession.
When you are SURROUNDED you
cannot collect 200 RP in that move since,
regardless of where your token is on the
board, you must move it directly into
SURROUNDED. Your turn ends when you are
SURROUNDED. Move your piece into the area
labelled SURROUNDED. This special space
has been placed off the main turn-track, to
emphasise that you are cut off/out of
supply/besieged and isolated!
Immediately on getting out of
Surrounded, you place your piece on the
EMERGENCY SUPPLY space. There is no
penalty for being in EMERGENCY SUPPLY. It is
just where you end up, when you get out of
Surrounded. Or were just passing along that
way, during normal movement. If you did
just get out of SURROUNDED, begin counting
spaces at Kursk (not Emergency Supply), ie,
treat same procedure as Jail & Just
Visiting dual-space in standard version.
GETTING OUT OF SURROUNDED
You get out of Surrounded by:
(1) throwing doubles on any of your next
three turns; if you succeed in doing this you
immediately place your piece on
EMERGENCY SUPPLY (free, no movement
point used), then move forward the number
of that double; even though you threw a
double, you do not get another turn.
(2) using the GET OUT OF SURROUNDED
card if you have it and want to use it. Place
your token in EMERGENCY SUPPY; then throw
dice and move.
(3) purchase the card from another player,
and play it.
(4) paying a cost of 50 RP before you roll the
dice on either of your next two turns.

EVENTS & HIGH COMMAND

When you land on either of these
spaces, take the top card from the deck
indicated, follow the instructions and return
the card face down to the bottom of the
deck. Alternatively: leave the used cards face
up. When the deck is used up, then turn the
entire used deck back over face down
keeping the order in which they are recycled
intact.
The GET OUT OF SURROUNDED card is
held until used and then returned to the
discard pile. If the player who draws it does
not wish to use it, they may sell it, at any
time, to another player at an RP price
agreeable to both.

If you do not throw doubles by your

third turn, you must pay the 50 RP. You are
then placed in EMERGENCY SUPPY, move
forward the number of spaces from there,
the number of spaces shown by your dice
(Start counting 1 at Kursk).

ECONOMIC DISRUPTION
If you land here you always pay 200
RP (Same as in the standard version Short
Rules). This is a war of annihilation no
mercy asked for, none given.

NO RETREAT
A player landing on this space does
not receive any money, cards or reward of
any kind. It is just a free resting place.

SURROUNDED
You go to SURROUNDED when:
3

However, when using the FORTRESSES

optional rule, players can complete special
actions when they land on NO RETREAT:
declaring a FORTRESS and/or disbanding
armies without losing RPs.

for some player to return or disband armies.

If there are a limited number of armies
available and two or more players wish to
build more than the bank has, hold an
auction, selling to the highest bidder. Also,
see TIMING ISSUES. In a two player game,
there are never any timing issues, as players
can only build, disband, initiate deals, etc, on
their own player turn.

CITIES & ARMIES

When you own all the cities in a
colour-group you may build armies from the
Bank and position them on those cities.
If you buy one army, you may put it on
any of those cities. The next army you buy
must be placed on one of the ungarrisoned
properties of this or any other complete
colour-group you control.
The RP price you must pay the Bank
for each army is shown on your Control Card
for the city on which you build the army.
The controller still collects double
Combat Cost from an opponent who lands on
the ungarrisoned cities of that colour-group.

SELLING AND OTHER ACTIONS

Ungarrisoned cities, Leaders and
Oilfields (but not armies) may be sold to any
player as a private transaction for any
amount the owner can get; however, no City
can be sold to another player if armies are
standing on any city of that colour-group.
Any armies so located must be DISBANDED
(sold) back to the Bank before the owner
can sell any city of that colour-group.
Armies, of any size, may be sold back
to the Bank at any time for 50% of the RP
cost paid for them.
All armies of one colour-group must be
disbanded one by one, evenly, in reverse
manner in which they were built. One
Group/Front xxxxx equals five armies, and
must be sold evenly, one army at a time, no
different to other armies.

Following the above rules, you may

buy and place at any time as many armies
as your judgement and resources will allow.
But you must build evenly, ie, you cannot
build more than one army on any one city of
any colour-group until you have built one
army on every city of that group. You may
then begin a second level of armies, and so
on, up to the limit of five armies to a
property. For example, you cannot build
three armies on one city, if you have only
one army on another city of that group.
Same as you have to build up armies
evenly, you must also disband armies down
evenly if you sell armies back to the Bank.
Exception: Creating a FORTRESS
allows building unevenly on a partially
owned colour-group.

DISBANDING CARDS
Ungarrisoned cities, Leaders & Oil
Fields can be DISBANDED through the Bank
at any time. Standard Monopoly calls this
Mortgaging. This version uses the phrase
Disbanded, although other terms could be
Abandoned cities & oilfields, Sacked
Leaders; same thing. Before a garrisoned city
can be disbanded, all the armies on all the
cities of its colour-group must be sold back to
the Bank at half price. The Disband Value RP
is printed on each Card.
No Combat Cost can be collected on
Disbanded cities, leaders or oilfields, but
Combat Cost can be collected on
undisbanded Cards in the same colour-group
In order to REBUILD (lift the
disbanding), the controller must pay the
Bank the RP amount of the disbanding plus
10%. When all cities of a colour-group are no
longer disbanded, the controller may begin
to rebuild armies again, at full RP cost.
The player who disbands Cards retains
possession of it and no other player may
control it by paying the rebuild RP to the
Bank. However, the controller may sell this
disbanded card to another player at any

LARGE ARMIES: GROUPS/FRONTS

When a player has four armies on
each city of a complete colour-group, they
may buy a strength 5 Group/Front from the
Bank and place it on any city of the colour
group. The four small army pieces are
removed from the city, and replaced with
one tank/panzer piece. The RP cost is the
same as for each small army, as listed on the
city card. Only one Group/Front can be built
on any one city.
ARMY SHORTAGES
The limit is 32 army & 12 Group/Front,
pieces. When the Bank has no armies
available, players wishing to build must wait
4

agreed price. If you are the new controller,

you may remove the disbanding at once if
you wish by paying the disbanded RP cost
plus 10%, to the Bank. If the disbanding is
not lifted at once, you must pay the Bank
10% when you buy the Card, and if you lift
the disbanding later you must pay the Bank
an additional 10%, as well as the amount of
the disbanding.

cards) even by disbanding all you got, you

must turn over all your material to the Bank.
In this case, the Bank immediately sells by
auction all cities & cards taken, except
armies. A defeated player must immediately
leave the war (you lost).
MISCELLANEOUS
No player is allowed to borrow or lend
RPs to another player. You may never simply
give RP to another player it must be part of
an exchange of Cards and/or RP.

DEFEAT
The last player surviving in the game
wins. You are declared DEFEATED (bankrupt)
if you owe more RP than you can pay either
to another player or to the Bank. If you
cannot pay another player, you must hand
over to that player all that you have of value,
and exit the war. In making this settlement, if
you own armies, you must disband them to
the Bank, in exchange for 50% RP of build
cost you paid for them; these RPs are given
to the player who defeated you. If you have
disbanded Cards, you also turn these over to
the victor, but the new controller must at
once pay the Bank 10% plus lift the
disbanding. If they decide not to lift the
disbanding, they must pay the 10% again
upon undisbanding it later.
Should you owe the Bank, instead of
another player, more RP than you can pay
(such as penalties from spaces or event

TIMING ISSUES: ACTIONS

Basically, you can only do stuff on your own
turn, unless everyone else lets you: You can
only initiate transactions, such as building
armies, during YOUR OWN turn. You can
only do actions out-of-turn with the express
permission of: a) the players whos turn it is
officially, and b) all other parties involved in
the action/deal. The player whos turn it is,
has the right to veto any other player from
doing out-of-turn actions.
WARNER AIREY 2015, pachtovy@yahoo.com.au
Personal use only. This variant fully acknowledges all
Monopoly and Parker Brothers trademarks and, All Rights
Reserved, belong to Hasbro Inc.
An excellent book about the Great Patriotic War is WHEN
TITANS CLASHED: HOW THE RED ARMY STOPPED HITLER, by
David M. Glantz & Jonathan House, 1995. Or read anything by
David Glantz.