7 Useful Tips To Beat Your Friends at Monopoly

Monopoly is the classic property trading board game that graces the gaming cupboards and closets of many homes worldwide. Monopoly has sold over 275 million units since its creation with numerous variations and officially licensed versions of the game. Monopoly is one of the most popular board games that people like to play with family and friends over the weekend.

Originally drawing inspiration from The Landlord's Game developed by anti-capitalist Elizabeth Magie, Monopoly has transformed into something that Maggie wanted to warn society against: a ruthless endeavor to be the wealthiest player in the game, using cut-throat tactics and negotiation where possible!

But for those of us who want to be Mr. Monopoly and crush the competition around us at game nights and family events, here are seven practical tips to consider next time you place your favorite game piece on GO.

Learn the House Rules

House rules are the rules that are played in the place you are. That could be, as the name suggests, in someone's house, in a tournament, or otherwise.

Knowing the rules is important to any board game, but monopoly is notorious for having house rules, and knowing them can really help you get ahead.

House rules can be a point of conflict because everyone plays the game a little differently, and figuring out those rules could save you from making costly errors or missing opportunities during the game.

Buy Property

You probably were planning on buying property already, right? But this tip suggests buying all the rental property and stations you can get your hands on in the early game. The prices of rental property between players and in an auction only go up in the later game.

Also, remember that there is a finite number of hotels and houses in Monopoly, and once they are used up, they are gone forever.

It's worth your time to look at what's left in terms of housing and hotels, as well as keeping an eye on what property is left on the board, so your plans are always ahead.

Create monopolies and prevent your competitors from creating theirs

One of the best strategies players can employ to build their empire is acquiring monopolies early on. A monopoly is when you own all of the properties of a particular color, which allows you to begin building houses and hotels.

Owning monopolies and subsequently developing houses and hotels on them is by far the best way to make money. Unfortunately, while utilities still pull in money, the income to investment ratio isn't quite there in most cases.

As Monopoly is a game about winning and not just amassing tons of money, any money that your opponents can't have access to is going to give you an advantage towards winning. That's why stopping someone from creating a monopoly is sometimes just as effective as creating one yourself.

So don't feel bad for taking a property with the intention of doing absolutely nothing with it. Although it might pain your opponents to see a property that they need mercilessly flipped over and mortgaged, it's only good news for you! Snapping up at least one train station so that any one player can't have all four stations is also a smart move.

Owning random properties that other players need is also an excellent tool for negotiating, either for ludicrous sums of money or for trading for properties that you may need.

Avoid Utilities

Utilities are rarely worth their money in Monopoly, especially in the early game when spare cash can be better spent on acquiring properties or developing your first houses.

The problem is that they just don't provide that much money. Sometimes owning one to prevent another player from owning both can be a good move, but assess your finances first.

Alternatively, if a player who owns one utility property has a property you need, you could use it as a bargaining chip.

Learn To Negotiate

Negotiating is one of the most powerful practices to get ahead in Monopoly. Knowing how to get what you want while also giving the least amount of property value or power potential to another player is priceless.

Buying properties that will complete the monopolies of other players affords you great negotiating power. Every player will be looking to complete their color set so they can begin developing houses and hotels. If you hold the final property they need, they may be prepared to massively overpay for it.

You can cut deals between turns of other players or during your turn. Bear in mind that under official tournament conditions, you can't make deals that involve future promises, such as giving someone money on your next turn.

Know the board

Taking time to learn the board and where to invest your money can help you get a real advantage. For example, did you know that statistically, the orange properties are the ones players land on the most, as they are positioned right out of jail? They also carry a high return on investment in terms of rental prices versus housing development costs.

The light blue properties, by contrast, present the lowest chance per property for the three-property monopolies, while the brown properties are the lowest landed on out of the two-set properties.

You might think that the difference is tiny, but in a game with a lot of elements of chance, refining your strategy and making up minor percentage points in your advantage can significantly affect the outcome of the game.

Jail isn't always a bad thing

In the early game, nobody wants to end up in jail. You're wasting time that others spend buying up the property, which will eventually leave you bankrupt. So it's in your best interest to get out of there as soon as possible.

But in the late game, jail is a wonderful place. It's essentially a safe haven against you rolling and landing on other people's properties. You can sit back, enjoy three meals a day and watch your rental income soar from other players.

You can stay in jail for two full rolls if no doubles are rolled, but you must leave on your third roll, paying $50 if you didn't roll a double on your final turn.

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