McDonald’s Monopoly game has become an exasperating mess

With a government shutdown that’s left people without pay, ceased SNAP benefits, and the rising cost of groceries in general, Americans are having a tough time. One way that some people are coping with this hardship is McDonald’s and its Monopoly promotion, where customers can redeem codes in the app in exchange for food and prizes. The problem is, people are desperate enough right now that they’re willing to do anything to exploit the promotional game, and it’s driving both customers and workers alike to the brink.

On social media, posts encouraging people to take advantage of the Monopoly promotion if they’re struggling right now and in need of free food are going mega viral. This video, which has been live for only a day, has already amassed six million views — and it’s one of many with a similar premise. Specifically, people are honing in on the fact that you don’t have to purchase anything to get a Monopoly piece. You can actually download the McDonald’s app and get pieces a few times a day straight from the app. And comments on posts like these are full of viewers who claim that the promotion is currently keeping them afloat.

u just fed me and my bf living in our car thank u,” reads one top reply on the video, which calls app redemption the “free-to-play” version of McDonald’s Monopoly.

“Being able to eat something while having no money is so..rare,” reads one Reddit post, which calls the Monopoly game a lifesaver. “I’ve been dead broke for the past month, and while I do have a job, I won’t get paid for another week.”

If there’s one undercurrent to many posts discussing McDonald’s Monopoly, it’s exasperation. People are dumpster diving for the Monopoly pieces, going through the trash inside the store, or asking other customers to give them pieces they might otherwise throw out. Others are selling codes online for hundreds of dollars. Some liken the free food to a game exploit, eager to take advantage before McDonald’s “nerfs” the promotion.

“Never patch the kiosk Monopoly method,” reads one TikTok showcasing a spread of burgers of fries that’s got hundreds of thousands of views.

While some are convinced it’s only a matter of time before McDonalds puts a stop to food min-maxxing, others are simply finding more elaborate ways to beat the system. In that same video, one commenter remarks that they deleted their data cache for the app and redownloaded it multiple times to trick it into believing that they hadn’t played yet.

Optimization tricks like these, unfortunately, do impact the workers fulfilling the orders. Social media posts show that stores are growing savvy to the food exploits, if not frustrated by their existence. Customers say they’re getting yelled at for attempting to redeem codes if they try and put in multiple separate orders to work around game limitations. Workers say that witnessing people amass huge orders through exploits seems both greedy and entitled.

Perhaps the most pervasive consequence of how people are playing McDonald’s Monopoly is that stores are simply running out of stock. Stores are starting to put out signs that people can’t play Monopoly at that location, or are opting out altogether.

Since some people are relying on McDonald’s Monopoly exploits to avoid starving, the dwindling stock of codes has left customers confused and frustrated.

“Honestly fed up with McDonalds Monopoly,” reads one X post where the user claims that they’ve ordered multiple times without receiving any pieces.

“I’ve been to three different McDonalds, and there’s no Monopoly pieces,” one annoyed customer reports on TikTok.

“Where the f*ck are my Monopoly pieces?” another customer on TikTok exclaims.

Technically, the promotion is supposed to end at the start of November, so there are a few days left before Monopoly pieces disappear altogether. But it seems that some McDonald’s fans are quickly discovering why these promotions always add the disclaimer, “while supplies last.

Amid the chaos and anger, however, people are still finding ways to hustle. For every missing Monopoly piece, there’s another McDonald’s customer bragging about how much food they got by exploiting the game.