How To Get Out of Jail In Monopoly

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Every single Monopoly player ends up in the “big house” at some point, but getting banged up doesn’t necessarily mean game over when you’re playing Monopoly!

Here’s my guide to how to get out of jail in Monopoly…

jail in monopoly

How do you get out of Jail in Monopoly?

  1. Roll a double
  2. Pay a $50 fine
  3. Use a Monopoly Get Out of Jail Free card

There are actually three different ways to get out of jail in Monopoly, and as we’ll learn, there are pros and cons to each of them.

The 3 Ways To Get Out of Jail

1. Roll a double

The first way to get out of jail in Monopoly is potentially the least costly. However, it does rely on quite a bit of good luck!

If, on any of your three turns after landing in chokey, you roll a double with the dice, you’ll get out of jail for free.

roll a double

If you succeed in rolling a double you’ll immediately move your token the number of spaces shown on the dice. However, if you fail three times, you must immediately pay a $50 fine and move your token the number of spaces shown on the dice.

This brings us on to the second way you can get out of Jail in Monopoly…

2. Pay a $50 fine

This is the easiest way to get out of jail in Monopoly, but it’ll cost you! Simply pay the bank a $50 fine and your misdemeanor will be forgiven and your liberty restored!

Monopoly money

You should pay the fine at the start of your turn, before attempting to roll. You can’t roll and then pay the fine, unless it’s been your third attempt to roll a double.

3. Use a Get Out of Jail Free card

Another potentially free way to get out of jail free in Monopoly is to use aGet Out of Jail Free card! There are two available in each game of Monopoly – one in the deck of Chance cards and one in the deck of Community Chest cards.

Get Out of Jail Free

If you’ve been lucky enough to pick up one of the two cards on your journey around the board, your stay in the slammer could be very short indeed!

But what if another player has one of the cards? You could try to negotiate to buy it off them! If they’re amenable, it could save you a few bucks on paying the fine.

Read more: How Get Out Of Jail Free Cards Work

When can you get out of jail in Monopoly?

You can get out of Monopoly jail on any of your following three turns after landing in the slammer! To do so, you must pay the $50 fine, roll a double on the dice, or use a Get Out of Jail Free card.

When you first land in Jail, you can’t get out straight away. You must always wait until your next turn before deciding which of the options to escape you wish to go for.

How much does it cost to get out of jail in Monopoly?

It costs $50 to get out of jail in Monopoly. You can pay this to the bank on one of your turns after landing in jail, up to and including the third turn. However, if you have a Get Out of Jail Free card or roll a double switch the dice, you can get out of jail for free.

How long do you stay in jail in Monopoly?

You can only stay in jail in Monopoly for up to three turns. If you’ve not rolled a double with the dice after three turns, you must pay the $50 fine or use a Get Out of Jail Free card.

Jail can be a good place to stay, particularly if all of the properties have been taken and you want to avoid landing on costly houses or hotels. But sadly, you can’t stay in there indefinitely.

If you have insufficient funds to pay the $50 fine, then you can raise money by selling houses and hotels, mortgaging properties, or trading with other players. If these don’t work, then you’ll go bankrupt and lose the game.

Monopoly jail

Should you stay in jail in Monopoly?

Don’t be too hasty! It could actually be to your advantage to stay put in jail, depending on what stage you’re up to in your game of Monopoly.

As a rough guide, the earlier in the game you are, the faster you should try to get out of jail. This is because early in Monopoly games, it’s advisable to build up your property portfolio, and if you’re stuck in jail then properties you want for yourself may get snapped up by other players. 

However, later in the game, once most of the properties have been bought, it could be advisable to stay locked up for a while.

This could save you money, because you won’t be landing on properties owned by other players, meaning you won’t have to pay other players rent for landing on their properties. The beauty of this is that other players will still have to pay rent to you for landing on properties that you own!

Do remember though, that you can’t stay in jail indefinitely, and you must leave no later than your third turn. It can, however, be financially advantageous to stay for a while!

To Conclude

So, to sum up, there are three ways to get out of jail in Monopoly, all of which must be executed within three turns of being banged up: you can pay the $50 fine, roll a double with the dice or play the Get Out of Jail Free card.

I hope that this guide has cleared things up for you, but if you have any more questions, you should find the answers here: Monopoly Jail Rules Explained.

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Jenni Fielding

Jenni Fielding is the founder of Monopoly Land - an unofficial fan site. She has been a huge fan of Monopoly and has been playing the game for over 30 years. She is a stickler for the rules and loves to find vintage Monopoly sets in second-hand shops.