Monopoly's New "Cheater's Edition" Will Finally Let You Play Fairly With Your Thieving Mates

According to a recent study by toy and game juggernaut Hasbro, almost half of those of us who partake in a spin around the Monopoly board try to cheat.

Which, since there is always at least one flog who keeps chucking hotels down where he shouldn't, probably doesn't come as much of a surprise to anyone.

And so, in an attempt to even the playing field a little - or to at least make the unfair a little more fair - a brand new edition of Monopoly has been launched: the Cheater's Edition.

"We decided," senior vice president of Hasbro Jonathan Berkowitz said, "it was time to give fans what they've been craving all along - a Monopoly game that actually encourages cheating."

The aim of the game is still to end up with the most amount of money but now you've got to do it by any means necessary, whether that's sneaking extra bills from the bank, trying to skip spaces on board or avoiding paying rent.

All of this is facilitated by two changes to the traditional game: the addition of "Cheat" cards amongst the Community Chest and Chance cards and the loss of one, important rule-enforcer.

"For the first time in Monopoly history, there is no designated Banker," Berkowitz explained. "Players are in control of the Bank on their turn, and pass it to the next player when their turn is over, making it easier to pull off 'cheats' such as the Bank Heist."

If you get away with your shifty move, you'll be rewarded but - and it's a big but if you're caught, you'll be punished.

Berkowitz added: "We've finally decided to embrace our less-than-honest fans by encouraging them to partake in those iconic (yet sometimes upspoken) Monopoly moments that occur during family game nights.

"We're excited to see what fans can get away with and how they'll react to the new sneaky twists in the game."

Monopoly: Cheater's Edition is set for release in spring this year - just in time for Christmas.