Strategy Guide - Play to Win
- The Object
- Equipment
- Cash
- Looking Ahead
- Unowned Property
- Income Tax
- Jail
- Building
- Building Shortages
- Mortgages
- Trading
- Conduct
- Tournament Points
Never forget the object of the game in MONOPOLY
The object of the game in MONOPOLY is to bankrupt all opponents. To do so, you must be dedicated and make each decision with the aim of improving your chances and wiping out your opponents.
Never let an opponent off the ropes. Luck plays a key role in the game and luck can turn against you if you do not bankrupt a player as quickly as you can.
Back to Top>Know the MONOPOLY game equipment well...
- Remember, there are 32 houses and 12 hotels in the game of MONOPOLY. Use this knowledge to create housing shortages when it is to your advantage.
- There are 16 Chance Cards in the game of MONOPOLY:
- Ten of these cards move you elsewhere.
- 2 give you money ("rewards")
- 2 take money away ("penalties")
- One takes money away if you own buildings
- One lets you get out of jail free
- In MONOPOLY, a Chance card will, most likely, send you to another space
- Keep track of which cards have been played. Since the deck is not shuffled, you can deduce which cards haven't come up. If you have a great memory, you'll know which cards to expect when they recycle.
- There are 16 Community Chest Cards in the game of MONOPOLY:
- Nine of these cards give you money ("rewards")
- Three take money away ("penalties")
- 2 move you elsewhere
- One take money away if you own buildings.
- One lets you get out of jail free
- A Community Chest Card will, most likely, give you a reward
- Keep track of cards played from this deck as well.
- Know the odds of throwing any number with the dice.
Keep tabs on the amount of money in the game of MONOPOLY
Each player starts with $1500.
On an average circuit of the game board, prior to houses appearing, a player will make about $170. (this takes into account passing GO, earning rewards, paying penalties and taxes, and the effect of rents.)
By knowing approximately MONOPOLY money an opponent has, you can know how far he or she can bid in an auction, how much rent he or she can afford to pay, or how many buildings he or she can purchase without mortgaging.
Back to Top>Remember what's likely to take place during the game of MONOPOLY
It usually takes five turns to go around the game board. Every time you go around the game board, you'll probably roll doubles once, and you'll probably land on four of the 28 property spaces.
Count how many unmortgaged MONOPOLY properties your opponents own and divide by 7. The resulting figure will tell you approximately how many rents you can expect to pay on your next circuit around the game board. (Example: Your opponents collectively own 11 MONOPOLY properties. You can expect to land on 1.6 (round off to 2) of them on your next circuit of the game board).
Back to Top>In MONOPOLY, always buy an unowned property if...
- No other player owns a property in its color group.
- It gives you a second or third property of its group.
- It blocks an opponent from controlling a color group.
- It is an orange property (always block this group if you can).
- There are, of course, some exceptions. Don't feel you must block a group if two other players each have a property of the group and also have more valuable groups split between them.
Example: Players A and B own all the Reds and Oranges between them. They each own a Light Purple. You land on the unowned Light Purple. You do not need to buy it.
Counter-Example: Players A and B own all the Oranges and Light Purples between them. They each own a Red. You land on the unowned Red. You should buy it. Otherwise you increase the chances these players will trade and develop the most powerful color group among the three groups - the Reds.)
Back to Top>Know when to pay 10% income tax in MONOPOLY
As a general rule, pay 10% if you haven't gone around the game board three times. (Remember, you started with $1500 and will probably make $170 each time you go around the game board. After three turns your assets should be over $2000.)
Pay 10% later in the game only if you have paid heavy rents and are fairly sure your assets are below $2000.
Back to Top>In MONOPOLY, know when to stay in Jail
Pay $50 and get out off Jail early in the game while many MONOPOLY properties remain unowned and undeveloped. You need to be in circulation.
When most MONOPOLY properties are developed between Jail and the Go to Jail space, roll the dice and hope you stay in Jail. It's better than paying rent!
This is especially important when certain dangerous color groups are heavily developed (Orange, for instance). By staying in Jail you avoid the chance of landing on such a group before an opponent lands on yours.
Back to Top>MONOPOLY: Know when and where to build houses and hotels
Building advances your ability to bankrupt your opponents. Many MONOPOLY players build all they can afford. However, this strategy results in losses when houses must be torn down to pay rents or other penalties often.
You should build when you form the first complete color group.
You should build when you can do so and still be left with enough cash to pay a "high probability" expense - namely, rents on Railroads or Utilities, Luxury Tax, and the "nasty" unexposed Community Chest or Chance cards. $150 to $200 is all the cash you need to hold onto if there are no other complete color groups against you. $300 to $400 in cash is recommended if there are one or more complete color groups developed against you.
You should build late in the game, in "all or nothing" situations if you think you can financially cripple an opponent by doing so.
When you build, build according to these principles:
Build a color group up to at least three houses per MONOPOLY property before you start building on a second color group. (Note that rents rise dramatically once a third house is added to a property.)
If you can afford an extra house, put it on the most expensive MONOPOLY property of the color group.
Build up to the fourth house or hotel level only if you have plenty of cash to spare, unless the group is one of the first three on the board (Dark Purple, Light Blue, Light Purple). Due to the low rents of these groups, you should try to build hotels here.
Early in the game, develop a low rent color group as soon as you can in an attempt to bankrupt opponents before "heavier" color groups are developed against you.
When buying a second extra house for a three-property group, put it on the middle property if the group is Light Blue or Orange. Put the house on the first property if the group is Light Purple, Red, Yellow, or Green.
Back to Top>Know when to cause a building shortage in MONOPOLY
If you have only low-rent color groups, quickly build three or four houses per MONOPOLY property to restrict the availability of houses to owners of high-rent color groups.
Never move up to a hotel anywhere if the return of houses to the bank would enable an opponent to develop an expensive color group. (Example: the Yellow group has just been formed. There are only three houses in the bank, but six hotels. You own the light blues with four houses on each. Do not buy hotels. Doing so would give the MONOPOLY player owning the Yellows an opportunity to build up to hotels on them.)
Back to Top>MONOPOLY: Know how to get the most out of mortgaging
Mortgaging is essential to raise money at crucial moments in the game of MONOPOLY. Follow these game tips when it comes time to mortgage.
Mortgage single properties first. Try not to mortgage a MONOPOLY property from a group where you own 2 or more properties unless you absolutely have to. (You can't build on a color group you own if one of its properties is mortgaged!)
Mortgage single properties to raise cash if it helps you develop a color group up to at least three houses per property, (or hotels on the Light Blues or either Purple group).
When you must decide between mortgaging properties, use this game tips list to prioritize. Try to mortgage:- 1st. Colored properties closest to GO
- 2nd. A Single Utility
- 3rd. Railroads
- 4th. The Utilities
Bear in mind, though, that Illinois, New York, and Boardwalk have higher chances of getting landed on than many of the other properties, with Illinois the highest. Don't mortgage these properties if you can avoid it.
If your opponents develop more expensive color groups, resist the temptation to mortgage heavily to develop a lower-rent color group to your limit, unless you're in an "all-or-nothing" situation late in the game.
Pay off mortgages only if you have developed your completed color groups to at least three houses per property and can afford to unmortgage.
When paying off mortgages, pay them off in the reverse order in which you mortgaged them, unless you can develop a new unmortgaged color group by doing otherwise.
Back to Top>How to trade in the game of MONOPOLY
To make beneficial property trades, you need to be familiar with some basic game playing principles.
Early in the game, for instance, trade to get low cost, steady income producing properties: namely, the Railroads or Utilities! (Railroads are preferable over Utilities.)
Try to trade for a complete color group that can "dominate" quickly (see the Tip Sheets).
To complete a color group, your best trading material might include the Railroads, the Utilities, or the Dark Purple group, as well as single properties that do not yield an opponent a more dominant color group.
When trading developable properties, try to trade for properties of equal or greater value and those that lie closer to Free Parking.
Use the MONOPOLY Property Tip Sheets to determine which color groups to trade for, based on what you can afford to develop, and which groups have a better chance if redeeming your investment.
If you end up with a completed color group whose dominance comes later in the game, don't overextend yourself. The lower-rent color groups are likely to give you trouble if you deplete your cash too early. Be patient until your assets grow.
Trade for cash only if your "gain" is likely to be more than your opponent's. This means that he or she shouldn't be able to afford to develop a completed color group as a result of the trade. You, on the other hand, should be in a position to put the cash to good advantage - by building further or bolstering your cash reserves.
Use common sense. Make a trade only if you're sure it will improve your chances of winning. Don't allow another MONOPOLY player to persuade you to trade just for the sake of trading.
When you interest an opponent in a trade, try to let your adversary do most of the suggesting. You may get more than you thought you could. (Nevertheless, if you feel you can show your opponent why a particular trade is worthwhile for both of you, don't hesitate to demonstrate why.) Try to show your opponent why his or her demands are too high if you are unwilling to pay his price.
Back to Top>Know how to conduct yourself as a MONOPOLY player
(This is the most important principle of all!)
- Present yourself as the type of player others won't mind losing to.
- Most players don't like losing to:
- browbeaters
- insulters
- know-it-alls
- careless players
- inconsiderate players
- Most players don't mind losing to opponents who are...
- diplomatic
- gracious
- knowledgeable
- careful
- considerate
- Why is this so important? MONOPOLY usually cannot be won without gaining the cooperation of players in trades and financial settlements. If you don't have a reasonable rapport with your opponents, you'll have a tough time making beneficial trades.
MONOPOLY TOURNAMENT POINTS TO REMEMBER
- To raise money to pay debts, only houses and hotels can be sold back to the bank (at half price), never MONOPOLY properties. If a debt is owed to another player, properties may be sold to a third player only if sufficient money is raised to cover the debt. If not, the properties are turned over as is (and not mortgaged if unmortgaged at the time the debt is incurred.)
- The owner may not collect his rents if he fails to ask for it before the second player following throws the dice. This means: Player A lands on your property. Player B has his turn. You must collect your rent before Player C throws the dice.
- If you throw a doubles to get out of Jail, you move forward that number of spaces as your turn. You do not throw the dice again. However, if you pay to get out of Jail prior to rolling the dice, and you throw doubles, you may throw again as usual.
- Though you need not disclose how much MONOPOLY money you have, you must keep your money on the table in plain view at all times.
- All trades are based on assets owned at the time of the trade. No options or immunity from paying future rents may be granted, nor may partnerships be formed.
- Trading is permitted during a player's turn or in between other player's turns, but not during an opposing player's turn.
- Players cannot sell Chance or Community Chest Cards prior to revealing them to other players.
- Players may not consult or seek advice from friends or game observers while the game of MONOPOLY is in progress.
- MONOPOLY tokens used in tournament play must be from the MONOPOLY game itself.
- While a building shortage exists, players desiring to buy the houses remaining in the bank have priority over those wishing to break down hotels.
- In Preliminary Games, when only two players remain, no further trades or deals are permitted.
