Free Parking is a Parker Brothers

Parker Brothers

Parker Brothers is a toy and game manufacturer and brand. Since 1883, the company has published more than 1,800 games; among their best known products are Monopoly, Cluedo , Sorry, Risk, Trivial Pursuit, Ouija, Aggravation, and Probe...

 card game

Card game

A card game is any game using playing cards as the primary device with which the game is played, be they traditional or game-specific. Countless card games exist, including families of related games...

 inspired by the "Free Parking" space of the Monopoly

Monopoly (game)

Marvin Gardens, the leading yellow property on the board shown, is actually a misspelling of the original location name, Marven Gardens. The misspelling was said to be introduced by Charles Todd and passed on when his home-made Monopoly board was copied by Charles Darrow and thence to Parker...

 board game

Board game

A board game is a game which involves counters or pieces being moved on a pre-marked surface or "board", according to a set of rules. Games may be based on pure strategy, chance or a mixture of the two, and usually have a goal which a player aims to achieve...

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The game is played by two to four players, and game play focuses around using time on a parking meter

Parking meter

A parking meter is a device used to collect money in exchange for the right to park a vehicle in a particular place for a limited amount of time. Parking meters can be used by municipalities as a tool for enforcing their integrated on-street parking policy, usually related to their traffic and...

to gain points; the first to 200 points wins. Each player has their own parking meter and a hand of up to six cards. Each player may play one card each turn, of several types:

• Point cards, which deduct time from the player's meter in exchange for points.
• Feed the Meter cards, which add time to the player's meter.
• Free Parking, which allows the player to play a point card without deducting time from his meter, and protects him from Officer Jones until his next turn.
• Time Expires, which forces another player to reduce his meter to 0 minutes (making him "in violation").

There are two cards that may be played at any time:

• Officer Jones, which may be played against any player who is "in violation." When used, the selected player must discard one of his played point cards, lowering his current point total.
• Talk Your Way Out of It, which negates the effects of an Officer Jones or second chance card.

In addition to these cards, on his turn, a player may choose to draw second chance card, which cause a wide variety of effects.