In this light family game 2-4 players develop the same city. Monopolis grows by adding new building tiles, which players mark with their small houses to indicate ownership. The bigger the city, the more prestige points it can provide.

There are specific resource requirements for inserting a new building tile. These are shown on collectible demand tokens of various colors, placed randomly to the edges of the tiles already on the board. Players can build a desired building by spending the necessary resources and placing their house on the new tile. The houses are stored on their personal board, and when removed, immediate bonuses become available.

There are 5 types of building tiles, some cheaper, others more expensive to build, and the benefits and victory points they provide differ accordingly. Residential areas and parks are the easiest to implement, while business districts will have a positive impact on the value of adjacent areas and vice versa. Public functions require higher investment but they give bonuses and other benefits, and some institutions provide more prestige points. The city of Monopolis spans an area of up to 7×7 tiles. The game ends with the round when one of the players runs out of houses. The end-game scores are based on the values of the tiles built and the sets of icons collected, but additional points can be earned in a number of ways.