Monopoly Strategies
Posted in Fun On The Net, Life Of Games, Top Entertainment on August 31st, 2010Like any game that is based on dice, there is a strong element of luck to Monopoly. Similar to poker, however, knowing a few simple rules can tilt the odds in your favor.
When the game begins, you should buy as many properties as possible. Trying to budget early on is self-defeating. It is much better to own many properties and mortgage them if necessary later in the game. However, while being aggressively is almost always the best strategy, it pays to play defensively in some cases. If you are the first to complete a set, then you can focus on preventing anyone else from completing rather than simply building hotels on your own property. As the only person with a set to build on, you will eventually wear out the rest of the players.
It’s also important to know the three most common spaces: Illinois, B&O Railroad, and Go. Go can’t help you much, but always try to get the other two properties whenever possible. Illinois is particularly valuable as the only top three space on which you can build a hotel. Additionally, the orange properties (New York, St. James, and Tennessee) are also prime properties to own. Because players often land in Jail for one reason or another, they often land on St. James or Tennessee by rolling a six or eight, which are two of the most common rolls in dice games.
Because of the way rents are structured, you can get a faster return on your housing investments if you place three hotels on all your properties rather than two on some and four on others. The rent jumps more substantially between two and three houses than other add-ons. This has the added benefit of keeping more houses on your properties rather than available in the bank. Because there are not enough houses for every property, the more you can hoard on your possessions the fewer are available for your opponents.
Finally, knowing your opponents is the most important key to the game. If you know your opponent has an irrational love of Boardwalk, make him trade an inordinate amount of properties to get it. If your opponent is more timid, treat them kindly at the beginning of the game to facilitate better trading later on.
For more Monopoly strategies, visit Monopoly-Man.com.