Winning Monopoly Board Game Strategies
Buying the Best Properties in the Classic Parker Brothers Game
Sep 14, 2009
The goal of Monopoly is to drive all the opponents into bankruptcy. This is accomplished by buying properties. Players roll the dice when it is their turn to move and when players land on an unowned property, they can buy it.
Once it is bought, those landing on it have to pay rent. If a player accumulates a set of properties of the same color, they can buy houses, and eventually hotels. The rent increases greatly when there are houses and hotels on the property.
The cost of properties, houses and rents vary based on the property. All properties are not created equal. Property names in this article are from the original board game, but equate to new names in other editions of Monopoly.
Buying Monopoly Properties
Random rolls of dice determine where players land. It is almost always advantageous to purchase any property a player lands on, in order to attempt to gain a monopoly or prevent another from getting one.
If a monopoly is broken, (that is separate properties are owned by different players) it may make sense to save money for another property.
Trading Monopoly Properties
Players may trade properties, with goal of getting a monopoly. In order to win the game, players should only make a trade if it benefits them, therefore, both players must receive something of value.
For instance, if a one player owns Mediterranean Avenue and Park Place, and another owns Baltic Avenue and Boardwalk, exchanging one of those properties will result in both players getting a monopoly. Considering their relative values, there may have to other consideration for the player who receives Mediterranean and Baltic.
The Best Monopolies to Own
Each of the color sets has positives, but some properties are more desirable to own, and players should focus their trading efforts to secure the best ones:
- The Oranges: St. James Place, Tennessee and New York Avenues. These are relatively cheap to buy and build on ($100 per house) but pack a substantial fee when another player hits one with a hotel. Additionally, there is a Chance card for back 3 spaces, which can land a player on New York, and a player who rolls doubles to exit Jail can hit either St. James and Tennessee with two threes or two fours, and any of the properties once they exit Jail.
- Reds: Kentucky, Indiana and Illinois Avenues. These are more expensive to build on, but generate a higher payout. They can catch players coming out of Jail, and a Chance card sends a player directly to Illinois Avenue
- Boardwalk and Park Place: Since there are only two properties, they are much cheaper to build on than the Greens, but have the highest payouts. There is a Chance card sending players directly to Boardwalk.
Other Properties in Monopoly
The Yellow and Purple properties can be helpful, but Yellows are expensive for the payouts, and the Purple have a fairly low payout. Baltic and Mediterranean have too low a payout to be anything more than a nuisance, and the Light Blues have a similar low payout.
The Greens are extremely expensive to build on, and many players miss them if they have to return to Jail. Railroads double in value for each additional one a player obtains. They can be helpful early in the game, but are only a nuisance when hotels have been built.
Although each game is different because of the luck of the dice, understanding the best properties to buy or trade for can increase a player’s chances of winning.
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