Yeah, it sucks early on but when the board is a nasty mess jail is fine by me.

In the early game, landing in jail a couple of times can completely ruin your game as your opponents buy up all of the properties before you get a chance. But it does get a second star for the previously mentioned late game advantages.

Here's a house rule that we use especially later in the game...if you're in jail and you're rolling the dice as opposed to paying $50 or using the Get Out Of Jail Free Card and you hit seven, you have the option of staying in jail for up to another three turns without having the roll the dice again the next three turns. You can do this up to three times (a reverse three strikes law for us Californians).

Bad, but later in the game it does give you a chance for a breather. If you land on the "Go to jail space" or pick up a card, that sucks because you can't go past GO and collect $200.

Jail is a very underrated place in Monopoly, especially when it's late in the game and danger lurks with every roll of the dice. Sometimes, a 3 turn stint in jail is just what the doctor ordered - it's time to regroup, to refine, to recharge. Much like real life. But not really.