I first encountered the auction rule when I played a computer version of Monopoly. I was baffled, and thought it an optional rule or something. It wasn't until many years later that I realized it was right there in the official rules.

Nowadays, when I play Monopoly, I try to convince people to go with that rule, as it does speed things up. I also have a great deal of fun buying certain rights to others' property. Helping them establish monopolies in exchange for immunity to the property, for instance. Offering them immunities to some of my properties for similar considerations. Sometimes just a 10% cut of anybody who lands on them.

It's a lot more fun for me, that way, with lots of wheeling and dealing to get the most secure money stream possible while still helping people get what they want. It becomes a game about balancing one's own benefits against those of others as much as the luck of the dice. It really feels like we're playing a game, at that point.


I've also noticed that most people who do not play chess at a level above "casual" learn it with unknown house rules. I've seen people who think every piece a knight jumps is captured, or who don't know about capturing en passant, or for whom castling might or might not be allowed after you've been in check, or whether you can castle THROUGH a threatened square or not. I've seen people who think you can only promote a pawn to a piece that's already been captured.

So it's quite common to see games with house rules that the players are unaware are not the same rules everybody else plays by.