How to Use Monopoly Board Game in Accounting Principles Courses

Double entry rules in financial accounting are often taught in an abstract manner in the courses. Emphasis is frequently placed on memorizing the rules and many students have very little practical experience with these cases. Many students believe that memorizing accounting rules without being able to link them to the real world is boring, hard and abstract. There are competing views on whether or not such technical skills should be taught to students within the accounting curricula. Lecturers often believe that understanding the double-entry effects of transactions is difficult for students. Presenting accounting principles to students effectively is an ongoing challenge in accounting education. Therefore, the present paper attempts to explain how to use the famous Monopoly game in the accounting principles course to facilitate the learning of double entry accounting concepts in a fun and entertaining environment. A sense of practical reality is achieved as students continually balance their books during the game, receive or pay out money, and even go to jail.