Nightmare Before Christmas Board Games: licensed classic edition
How to Play Nightmare Before Christmas Monopoly
Nightmare Before Christmas Monopoly is USAopoly’s property trading game, with Halloween Town on the board and characters from the film as tokens. It’s a fit for Monopoly players who know the rules and Jack Skellington fans looking for a themed set.
- 2-6 players
- 60 minutes
- Ages 8+
- licensed classic edition
- USAopoly (now The Op)
Classic Monopoly rules with new names. Here, the houses are Toys.
This edition follows classic Monopoly rules, so learning one turn is a good place to start. The steps below take you through a turn, then the next sections cover the renamed pieces. For another night in Halloween Town, try Nightmare Before Christmas Clue.
Ask for rent before the next player rolls, or you miss your chance.
One turn of Nightmare Before Christmas Monopoly: a quick guide
A turn follows classic Monopoly. Here are the steps in order.
Trade four Toys on a site for one Assembly Line.
- Step 1:
Roll both dice and move your token clockwise by the total.
- Step 2:
Pass or land on GO, and collect $200 from the Bank.
- Step 3:
Land on an unowned property? Buy it for the board price, or the Banker auctions it.
- Step 4:
Land on another player’s property? Pay the rent listed on its Title Deed card.
- Step 5:
Land on a Halloween Presents or Christmas Presents space? Draw the top card and follow its instructions.
- Step 6:
Own every site in a color group? Buy Toys from the Bank and build evenly across the group.
- 7Step 7:
Trade four Toys on one site for an Assembly Line.
- 8Step 8:
Roll a double? Roll again. Three doubles in a row send you to Jail.
- 9Step 9:
Pass the dice to the player on your left.
The rulebook starts with the original Monopoly rules, then explains what’s different in this edition. Below, you’ll find the full turn, renamed spaces, and speed rules for a shorter game. Browse the family board games hub for more family-friendly picks.
Nightmare Before Christmas Monopoly rules: how to play
Setup
Choose a Banker to manage the Bank and run auctions. They keep their own money and properties separate from the Bank’s.
Shuffle the Halloween Presents cards and Christmas Presents cards separately. Place each pile facedown on its board space.
Each player chooses one of the six pewter tokens and places it on GO.
Each player takes the starting money shown in the rulebook from the Bank.
Everyone rolls both dice. The highest roller goes first.
Turn by turn
Roll and move
Roll both dice and move your token clockwise. Take the action for the space where you land. Pass GO and collect $200 from the Bank. Roll a double and you get another turn.
Unowned and owned properties
You can buy an unowned property for the listed price. If you pass, it goes to auction, with bids paid in cash. Land on another player’s property and you owe the rent shown on its Title Deed. The owner has to ask for rent before the next player rolls.
Halloween Town locales and Town Doors
Site rent doubles if the owner has the full color group and none of its sites are mortgaged. Town Doors take the place of railroads. Rent is $25, $50, $100 or $200, depending on how many the owner holds.
Christmas Town locales
The two Christmas Town locales take the place of utilities. Land on one, roll the dice and pay the total multiplied by 4. If the owner holds both, pay the total multiplied by 10.
Building Toys and Assembly Lines
Own a full color group and you can buy Toys from the Bank, building evenly across the group. Each site can hold 4 Toys. Pay the Title Deed price to trade 4 Toys for one Assembly Line, the game’s hotel replacement.
Jail
You go to Jail by landing on Go To Jail, drawing a card that sends you there, or rolling three doubles in one turn. Get out by paying $50, using a Get Out of Jail Free card, or trying for doubles on up to three turns.
End of the game and scoring
The standard game ends when all but one player are bankrupt. The last one standing wins. The rulebook also offers a short game of 60 to 90 minutes. That game ends when one player goes bankrupt; everyone else totals their cash, properties, Toys and Assembly Lines to see who has the most.
Key rules
What gets renamed
Houses become Toys, hotels become Assembly Lines, and railroads become Town Doors. Property values on the board stay the same as in the original game.
Build evenly
You can’t add a second Toy to a site until every site in its color group has one. You also can’t build while any site in the group is mortgaged.
Mortgages
Turn a Title Deed facedown to collect its mortgage value from the Bank. Before mortgaging sites in a color group, sell all its Toys and Assembly Lines. To repay the mortgage, pay its value plus 10%.
Debt and bankruptcy
If you owe more than you have, sell buildings and mortgage properties to cover the debt. Still short? You’re bankrupt and out of the game.
Speed play
In the short game, each player starts with three free Title Deeds. An Assembly Line takes only three Toys, and in Jail you can roll for doubles and pay the $50 on the same turn.
Tips for your first game
- If nobody at the table has played Monopoly, start with the original rules section, just as the rulebook says.
- Go for full color groups. As the rulebook explains, a complete group doubles the rent and lets you build.
- Ask for rent before the next player rolls the dice. The owner loses the chance to collect if they wait.
- A Get Out of Jail Free card can be a handy trade chip. You can sell it to another player.
- Want a shorter evening? The speed play rules on the back page aim for a 60 to 90 minute game.
Free Parking pays nothing. Send fines and taxes to the Bank.
The rules explain the game, but the tokens have a story behind them. The next section looks at the film and the rulebook credits for this edition, followed by the box contents.
The game and its film
Add one Toy at a time, keeping each color group even.
The game
Design and release
USAopoly, now The Op, created and distributed this edition under license from Hasbro and Disney. The rulebook calls it the Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas Collector’s Edition and includes a 2015 copyright line.
Another game based on the same film
Hasbro also makes Monopoly Deal: Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas Edition, a separate card game with its own instructions. This page covers only the USAopoly board game.
The film or series it covers
Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas is a 1993 film directed by Henry Selick and released by Walt Disney Pictures. Disney lists October 13, 1993 as its release date.
Jack Skellington, the Pumpkin King of Halloween Town, finds Christmas Town and tries to bring Christmas home. Sally warns him, and the plan ends in a clash with Oogie Boogie. The game turns those places and characters into tokens and board spaces.
Scenes and story beats in the game
- 1
The six tokens are Jack Skellington, Sally, the Mayor’s Hearse, Oogie Boogie, Zombie Duck and Evil Teddy.
- 2
The board and Title Deed cards feature Halloween Town locations, including Jack’s Tower and Dr. Finkelstein’s Laboratory.
- 3
Doors to Easter Town, Thanksgiving Town, Valentine’s Day Town and St. Patrick’s Day Town take the railroad spaces.
The pieces have new names, so it helps to know what each one represents before playing. The list below follows the rulebook’s contents box. Then there’s a short note on this edition and other Nightmare Before Christmas games on the franchise page.
Ask for rent before the next player rolls, or you miss your chance.
What’s in the box
- Game board
- 6 collectible pewter tokens
- 28 Title Deed cards
- 16 Halloween Presents cards and 16 Christmas Presents cards
- Jack Skellington Monopoly money
- 32 Toys (houses) and 12 Assembly Lines (hotels)
- 2 dice
Nightmare Before Christmas Monopoly: editions and releases
Collector’s Edition
The rulebook is titled Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas Collector’s Edition and shows a 2015 copyright line. It includes six pewter tokens and the renamed Toys and Assembly Lines.
Other editions
Wikipedia’s list of licensed Monopoly editions names four Nightmare Before Christmas versions: the standard edition, the Collector’s Edition, a Hot Topic exclusive and a 25 Years edition. This page follows the Collector’s Edition rulebook.
Nightmare Before Christmas Monopoly: answers to your questions
Do Toys and Assembly Lines work like houses and hotels?
Yes. Toys replace houses, and Assembly Lines replace hotels. Build up to 4 Toys on a site, then trade them for one Assembly Line.
What takes the railroads’ place in the Nightmare Before Christmas Monopoly?
Doors to other holiday towns: Easter Town, Thanksgiving Town, Valentine’s Day Town and St. Patrick’s Day Town. Rent is $25, $50, $100 or $200, depending on how many Town Doors the owner has.
What do the Halloween Presents and Christmas Presents cards do?
They’re the two card piles you draw from when you land on the matching space. Follow the card right away, then put it at the bottom of the pile.
How long does the Nightmare Before Christmas Monopoly game take?
A standard game lasts until all but one player is bankrupt. The rulebook also offers speed play rules for a short game of 60 to 90 minutes.
How do you play a short game of the Nightmare Before Christmas Monopoly?
Give each player three free Title Deeds, build an Assembly Line after three Toys instead of four, and let players roll for doubles in Jail and pay $50 on the same turn.
What age is the Nightmare Before Christmas Monopoly game for?
The rulebook says it’s for ages 8 and up.
Trade four Toys on a site for one Assembly Line.
Free Parking pays nothing. Send fines and taxes to the Bank.
Sources
- The Op: 20 Unique Monopoly Games to Bring to Game Night theop.games
- Hasbro instructions: Monopoly Deal Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas Edition instructions.hasbro.com
- Disney Movies: Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas movies.disney.com
- Wikipedia: List of licensed and localized editions of Monopoly (USA) en.wikipedia.org