Before the first roll of an online property trading game, agree five things: the starting purse, the house-rule switches, a stop time, what happens when someone drops, and how you will talk. In Property Rush the rules lock the moment you press start, so the lobby is your only chance. The rest is a conversation you can have on a call.

This matters more when friends are in different cities. Nobody can lean over and say "wait, did we play with auctions?" once the dice are rolling.

What can you change after the game starts?

Nothing about the rules. The host sets the table in the lobby, and pressing start locks every choice. To change one, you begin a fresh game.

The lobby offers a seat count from 2 to 6, a starting purse, and eight switches. All eight start switched on:

  • random player order

  • double rent on a complete country

  • Vacation cash

  • auctions for cities nobody buys

  • a lost turn for leaving Prison

  • no rent from owners in Prison

  • mortgages

  • even building

The advice on the game page is written for the defaults, so a group that flips several switches is playing a different game from the one it describes. For a first game with friends, leave them on and change nothing.

Which starting purse should you pick?

The options are $500, $1,500, $2,000, $2,500 and $5,000. The default is $1,500.

Here is a number that helps. The 22 cities on the board carry printed prices that add up to $4,600. The default purse is about a third of that. The largest purse, $5,000, is more than the whole list, so one player's purse could cover every city. A $500 purse is about a ninth of it, which makes money tight quickly.

The pattern is simple. A lean purse squeezes everyone early and shortens the evening. A fat one lets the board fill up slowly. If you only have an hour, aim low.

How long will it take, and who calls time?

A typical game is listed at about 45 minutes. Nothing in the rules ends a game early: play continues until one player remains, or until the table agrees to stop. Turns are untimed too, which leaves room to haggle.

That is friendly, and it is also why you need a stop time. Agree one before you start: "we stop at ten, and whoever is richest in cash, cities and buildings is the winner". The game will not enforce it. You will.

Time zones matter, and so do clock changes. In 2026 the UK moves its clocks on 25 October and the US on 1 November, so for one week the gap between London and New York is four hours instead of five. Check the gap for your own cities before you send a start time.

What if somebody drops?

Go quiet for 150 seconds and the game removes you, so the others are not left waiting. The cities you held become available again. If it is a bad connection and not a quarrel, say so on your call straight away and ask the group to hold on before the idle clock runs out.

Rent you cannot cover does not knock you out on the spot. It becomes a debt that blocks your next roll until you raise the cash by a mortgage, a sale or a trade.

A one-minute agreement to send round

Copy this into your group chat and ask for a thumbs-up:

  • 1. Purse: $1,500, or the one we pick.

  • 2. Switches: all on, unless we list the ones we turn off.

  • 3. Stop time: our agreed hour, and the winner is whoever is richest in cash, cities and buildings then.

  • 4. Dropping: we wait a minute, then the game goes on without that player.

  • 5. Talking: a call stays open next to the game.

Property Rush is an independent Monopoly alternative for 2 to 6 players: free, in the browser, with no download. Boardit is not affiliated with or endorsed by Hasbro.

Ahmed Moaz builds Boardit, a free browser game site. Drafted and reviewed with AI help; facts checked against the game's code.