The Monopoly game returns to McDonald’s Oct. 6 with a $1 million top prize, Jeeps, Carnival cruises and free food. The official rules show the million pays out $50,000 a year for 20 years, and you can’t play at all without the McDonald’s app.
Monopoly is coming back to McDonald’s.
The game starts Oct. 6 and runs through Nov. 1, McDonald’s announced Sept. 22. You buy an eligible menu item, peel the game piece off the packaging, then scan it in the McDonald’s app.
The top prize is $1 million.
Read the fine print first, though.
The $1 million prize pays out over 20 years
The official rules spell it out. The $1 million is payable at $50,000 a year for 20 years, with no interest.
So the winner does not get a giant check. They get a much smaller check every year until the late 2040s.
That’s common for big sweepstakes prizes. Fifty thousand a year is a very nice raise. It is not “quit your job and buy an island” money.
You need the app to play
This is the biggest change for casual players.
To play, you have to download the McDonald’s app, opt in to MyMcDonald’s Rewards and register for the game. All of it happens in the app. McDonald’s says there is now just one way to play: peel, then scan.
No app means no game. That rule applies even to people who use the free mail-in option.
How to play McDonald’s Monopoly
Register in the McDonald’s app and pre-register for the game
Order an eligible item starting Oct. 6, like a Quarter Pounder with Cheese, an Egg McMuffin, large fries or a large drink
Peel the sticker off the packaging
Scan it in the app
Here’s a tip hidden in the rules. If you register first, then order through the app or scan your Rewards code, you get a bonus Chance Card play for each eligible item through Nov. 1.
You can scan up to eight game pieces a day, and play up to eight Chance Card games a day.
What the prizes actually are
Every peel falls into one of four buckets.
Instant-win food covers things like a McChicken, Snack Wrap, McGriddles, a shake or small fries. These are worth $1.49 to $5.19.
Instant-win Rewards points range from 1,500 to 7,000 points.
Collect to Win is the classic Monopoly part. Match the right property pieces and you can win bigger prizes.
Chance Card plays happen in the app, with gift cards, cash and more.
McDonald’s lists the overall odds at 1 in 5, and the rules say plainly that the wins are “mostly food prizes.”
50 Carnival cruises are up for grabs
Some of the prizes are real trips.
The rules list 50 Carnival Cruise Line vacation packages, each worth about $10,000. There are also 23 VIP trips for four to Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex in Florida, worth about $8,716 each.
Kennedy Space Center is about an hour from Walt Disney World, so a winner could easily turn it into a bigger Florida trip.
How many Jeeps and big prizes there are
Here’s the full count on the headline items, pulled from the official rules:
15 Jeep Cherokees total, 5 through Collect to Win and 10 through the Chance Card game, worth $45,990 each
8 Polaris vehicles, with a choice of a snowmobile, a Slingshot or a side-by-side
25 “McDonald’s for a Year” prizes, paid as one $1,040 gift card, or $20 a week
3 prizes of $50,000 toward college debt and 3 prizes of $50,000 toward a home down payment
The bulk of the prize pool is gift cards. There are 15,000 Uber Eats codes worth $20, 14,750 Ulta Beauty codes worth $20 and 8,572 Grubhub codes worth $35.
You don’t have to buy anything
Like every sweepstakes, there’s a free way in.
You can request a game piece by mail through Nov. 2. Send a self-addressed, stamped envelope to Monopoly Game at McDonald’s Game Piece Request, PO Box 4006, Dept. S9851, Grand Rapids, MN 55730-4006. You get one piece per envelope.
Buying food does not improve your odds.
Important dates to know
Oct. 6: Game starts
Nov. 1: Last day to get game pieces with purchases
Nov. 8: Chance Card game play ends
Nov. 22: Deadline to claim prizes
The game has a wild history
Monopoly has been a McDonald’s tradition since 1987.
It also has the most famous scandal in fast food history. For about a decade, a security chief at the company that ran the game stole winning pieces and funneled them to a network of fake winners. The FBI broke it up in 2001. HBO later turned it into the 2020 docuseries McMillions.
The game came back after that. It’s been back on and off ever since.
“MONOPOLY at McDonald’s is more than just a game,” said Alyssa Buetikofer, chief marketing and customer experience officer for McDonald’s USA. “It’s about childhood memories, family moments and surprises that make our day.”
For most people, the surprise will be a free small fries. That’s still a win.
Article compiled with the help of the Pirates & Princesses newsroom.
Pirates and Princesses is your destination for Disney news, theme park updates, and the pop culture you love. From Disney cruises and travel tips to Disney fashion, food, collectibles, and movie news, PNP covers it all. Visit us at piratesandprincesses.net for daily coverage. Follow PNP on Facebook and Instagram, and listen to the Pirates & Princesses podcast on Apple Podcasts and YouTube.
Hat Tips:
McDonald’s USA via PR Newswire (Sept. 22, 2026), the official announcement, how to play, the prize list and quantities, the $1 million payout terms, the odds, the mail-in entry address, the key deadlines and the Alyssa Buetikofer quote
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