Property trading game vocabulary: twelve terms new players ask about

Ahmed Moaz · 20 October 2026

Every property trading game has a language of its own. A new player who hears "set", "mortgage" and "even build" in the first five minutes can feel lost. This glossary explains twelve terms as they work in Property Rush, an independent Monopoly alternative I build. Where other games use a word differently, I say so.

Set

All the cities of one country. There are eight sets: Brazil and Canada have two cities, and the other six have three each. Owning a whole set doubles the rent on bare land and allows you to build.

Rent

What you pay when you stop on a city someone else owns. It rises with buildings: base rent, then one, two, three and four houses, then a hotel.

House and hotel

Buildings you add to a city in a complete set. A hotel is the fifth step and costs the same as the fifth house. The bank holds 32 houses and 12 hotels, and when they run out, nobody can build.

Even build

The rule that houses must go up evenly across a set, so you cannot put four on one city and none on the others. It is a host switch, on by default.

Mortgage

Raising half a city's price from the bank while keeping the city. You can lift it by paying the amount back plus 10%. A mortgaged city collects no rent.

Auction

What happens when a player declines to buy a city they land on: the table bids, and the highest bid wins. The host can switch it off.

Doubles

Two dice showing the same number. They give you another throw. Three in a row send you to Prison.

Prison

The corner where tokens wait. You are sent by three doubles, the Go to Prison tile or certain cards. You leave by doubles, a fee, a pardon card or after three attempts.

Pardon card

A card that lets you leave Prison without paying or waiting. There are three in the two decks.

Debt

What you owe when a rent exceeds your cash. The unpaid part stays as a debt that you clear by mortgaging, selling buildings or trading. While you owe, you cannot throw.

Bankruptcy

Leaving the game. In Property Rush you leave by declaring it, or by walking away, not automatically when you run short.

Round limit

An optional number of rounds after which the game ends and the richest player wins, counting cash, cities and buildings. By default there is none.

Which words confuse newcomers most?

In my experience of explaining the game, the two that cause the most trouble are "set" and "even build". New players buy cities from three countries and wonder why nothing doubles. The fix is to say aloud: you need every city of one country.

What are the words you will hear at the table?

Players also use informal words. A "monopoly" in casual speech means a complete set. A "bargain" is a city bought at auction below its price. A "dead city" is one with no hope of a set, held only for its rent. "Going broke" means being short of cash, not bankrupt. These are not game terms, but they carry the mood of a table.

If you play with a mixed group, ask people to say "set" instead of "monopoly" for clarity, since the second word belongs to someone else's game.

Where can you hear them in use?

At Boardit, a free place to play a property trading game online with friends. The table explains what happens as it happens, and the words become familiar within a few turns.

A tip for teaching

Teach four words first: set, rent, mortgage, auction. The others arrive when they matter.

Ahmed Moaz builds Boardit, a free browser game site.

Boardit is not affiliated with or endorsed by Hasbro.