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How To Win at Monopoly

Winning the Game of Monopoly

When you know how to win at Monopoly, playing one of America’s quintessential board games becomes a whole lot more entertaining. Monopoly has a good degree of luck, but a person can consistently win at Monopoly if they know what stacks the odds in their favor. Instead of buying every random property you land on, know which properties are the most valuable and purchase the essential game properties when you have the good luck to land on them.

Expensive Properties are More Valuable

No duh, right? This might seem elementary, but beginning Monopoly players should know this simple concept. The more the property costs in the early part of the game, the more it will pay off in the later stages of the boardgame.

You’re going to figure this out fairly quickly, but you might not know immediately the huge value of Boardwalk or Park Place. No matter what you have to do (debt, whatever), if you land on Park Place or Boardwalk and they are on the market, make certain you buy them. These places are worth their weight in gold. Even if you don’t control both Boardwalk and Park Place later in the game, you are either going to keep someone else from owning both, or you’ll be able to get a king’s ransom in a trade.

Target Valuable Properties

Targeting the right properties to own is a matter of value. The value of a property is commensurate with someone’s ability to monopolize that section of the board. So if you already own one of the light blue properties (Connecticut, Vermont, Oriental), then adding another light blue property is worth the trouble. If you own two of them, then owning the third makes that piece that much more valuable. Monopolize all three and you’re in a good position.

At the same time, if someone goes before you and buys one of those three properties, then it makes sense to purchase one of the others. This keeps your opponent from monopolizing that part of the board, while giving you a valuable trade chip later on in the game.

Go Green…and Blue…and Yellow

If you have the chance, buy one each of the green, blue and yellow properties. These are the high dollar properties and can be troublesome if anyone has a monopoly on them. These are highly expensive in the early parts of the game, so it will be tough to monopolize these spots. But you are playing defense, keeping others from getting control of an area.

Collect blue, yellow and green, while trying to build a monopoly at some of the cheaper properties. This keeps you in the game, while building up a base of wealth elsewhere. If you decide to add another monopoly with green, yellow or blue later, the other properties will be nice bargaining chips.

Work on One Set of Properties at a Time

When you are building houses and hotels on a section of the board, concentrate on those one at a time. Spreading your developments around the board simply waters down the effect of buying properties. The money you can earn from developing hotels and housing is cumulative, so the faster you can build any one of them, the better off you’ll be.

Build Properties in Succession

The closer you can have your properties together, the more likely your opponents are to land on your properties. This will be a steady stream of cash for you, keeping you from going bankrupt and giving you money to make investments.

Don’t Build Up More than Three Properties per Space

When you build up properties, don’t put more than three on any one space. This is the most efficient investment and will give you the highest return on your investments. Build up three and then move on to another property.

Know a Good Deal When You See One

Bargain for other players’ properties. When they are low on cash, discuss buying their properties from them. It will be worth the money to see them avoid taking out a mortgage, because heavily mortgaged properties are easy pickings for other, richer opponents still in the game. It’s better to buy the property outright.

Balance Your Check Book

What I mean is to keep track of your money at all times. Know every step of the way what your budget is and how much you can spend. Monitor how close you are to bankruptcy and plan your moves accordingly. Know what you have to spend to make improvements and investments and be willing to spend when you have the resources.

Be the Banker

No, I’m not suggesting you cheat by skimming a little extra money off the bank pile. I’m suggesting you keep others from doing the same. You would think this shouldn’t happen, but if the banker in your Monopoly game “embezzled” a few funds, it wouldn’t be the first time it’s happened in a friendly game of Monopoly.

Knowing how to win at Monopoly is sometimes knowing how to keep others from winning Monopoly. So play good defense, keep a good bankroll and make sound investments when the opportunity arises. Monopoly is one of the great American boardgames, because it embodies the American love of capitalism. Any red-blooded American has to love the game of Monopoly.

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3 Responses to “How To Win at Monopoly”

  1. [...] « How To Win at Monopoly [...]

  2. Julia says:

    You forgot one key factor in your strategy, having the cash to begin development on the high cost properties. If you buy as much as you say to, then you are not going to have any cash to develop those groups. I am not saying they are bad, but you need to have a lot of cash (by not collecting any properties other than one high rent Monopoly) or develop a low rent color group first (brown, light blue, pink, or orange) and then get a powerhouse group to develop. You could also get all the railroads for some cash.
    By the way, the worth of a property is not completly in its cost to purchase. for example: the payoff rate for the orange group (i consider the best group in the game) with hotels is 46.9% while the payoff rate of the greens is 33.6%. It is really hard to develop these properties, the greens cost $3920 to develop fully. You really need some income before you can develop this group. It is possible to win with every group in the game, just ajust your strategy acordingly.

  3. [...] How To Play Better Checkers How To Win at Chinese Checkers How To Win at Checkers Popular Games for Women How To Win at Monopoly [...]

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