Last Updated on October 5, 2023
Monopoly is a popular board game that invites players to engage in a strategic battle of financial prowess and property acquisition. If you want to navigate this game with strategic finesse, you need to outsmart your opponents. Here are 19 tips to help you do that.
1. Try Not to Be the Banker
Avoid the banker role because it is distracting. When you do not have the burden of managing transactions, you can focus on designing strategies, evaluating other players’ moves, making trades, thinking about shrewd property purchases, and building your empire.
2. Buy Aggressively
In the early stages of the game, buy as many properties as possible. Even though you will need more money, early acquisitions have numerous benefits, including earning passive income, preventing other players’ expansion, and more.
Multiple properties will increase your chances of landing on unowned properties to expand your portfolio and prepare you for advantageous trades later.
3. Embrace the Power of Railroads
Railroads are valuable, especially during the initial stages of the game, since players often land there. This makes them a reliable source of income and has the potential to increase your revenue significantly.
4. Position Your Monopolies Strategically
The best starting monopolies are as follows: Railroads, Orange, Light Blue, Light Purple, Dark Purple. Your first monopoly is best on side one or two of the board. Your second is best on side three or four. Overall, the second and third sides are the strongest to own on the board.
5. Buy the Orange Property Group
The Orange property group is the best to own overall. They are cheap to buy, houses are only $100, pay off well, and are the most landed on.
6. Avoid Buying Utilities
The utilities are easily the weakest properties. In fact, they are the only ones you should avoid buying.
7. Buy Strong Property Groups
Red, Yellow, and Light Blue (roughly in that order) are strong candidates to consider since they offer a balance of value and a high chance of landing.
8. Do Not Empower Players With Monopolies
If you have an advantage in terms of monopolies or cannot properly develop the ones you have, avoid trades that give other players monopolies.
9. Understand the Card Order
The Chance and Community chest decks have their cards at the bottom, face down. This means that once the full deck has been played, you will know the order of the cards. Pay attention to this, especially for the street repair cards and advance to Boardwalk/Illinois/etc.
10. Avoid Buying Hotels
Hotels are often a bad choice. In many cases, it’s much better to keep four houses on your properties. You take out of play on a 3-property set, that is, 12 houses, and there are only 32 houses for all the players. If you crowd out other players from building houses with this strategy, their monopolies become meaningless. Only buy hotels when the demand for houses is deficient, and if more monopolies come into play, go back to 4 houses.
11. Handle Missed Rent Collection Gracefully
Avoid bragging when a player forgets to collect rent from you. They will be upset with you and keep a much tighter watch on collecting afterward.
12. Buy Properties of Unowned Color Groups
Throughout the game, buy properties of completely unowned color groups. The same goes for properties that only one player has a piece of. If two different players hold parts of a group, let the unowned piece you land on go to auction. The key is maximizing your chances of monopolies and minimizing them for your foes.
13. Employ an Effective Mortgage Management Strategy
When you have to mortgage a property, generally prioritize them in the following order: properties you expect to trade, properties on row 1, non-monopoly properties, a single utility/a single railroad, and both utilities. Avoid mortgaging monopolies.
14. Trade With Players to Get a Monopoly
Only trade with players to get a monopoly, and avoid trading for a weaker property group. Consider how much money you each have to build. Try to trade as soon as most of the property has been bought. Being part of the first big trade can give you an advantage over the players who have not traded.
15. Exit Jail Quickly
Get out of jail fast when there are no houses on the board. Once there are buildings on the board, stay in jail until forced to leave.
16. Invest in Property Development Swiftly
Once you have a monopoly, build on it quickly. Being the first to take a hefty rent fee from an opponent is a big deal and can lead to more development. It creates a snowball effect.
17. Construct Three Houses on Monopolies
Focus on building three houses on monopolies, especially your first one. This is the sweet spot between investment and payoff.
18. Do Not Pursue a Fourth House on Your Initial Monopoly
When you can afford to develop beyond three houses on your first monopoly, consider three on another monopoly if you have one. It is the better strategy.
19. Be Nice
And finally, be friendly to other players! It is a game about people and negotiation. Nothing hurts your trades more than turning other players against you.
If you get a player upset and in a position where they know they cannot win, they can help another player beat you.
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Master the Top Monopoly Tips to Outsmart Your Opponents
Mastering essential strategies in Monopoly can significantly increase your chances of winning the game. You must understand property development and strategic trading to outsmart your opponents and become a monopoly master.
Also, don’t forget to tailor your in-game strategy based on the rules. Most people make their own house rules or have a limited grasp of the official ones. Skilled players often highlight that these factors contribute significantly to the frustration they experience during the game. The biggest culprit behind this frustration is extra free money for players, such as free parking money or double earnings upon landing on GO. This additional money prolongs the game’s duration and makes luck a more significant factor. Adhering to the standard rules can often end the game within 90 minutes, avoiding frustration among friends and family.
One house rule that can be sensible with numerous players is to ban property buying until a player has crossed GO. This increases fairness for players at the end of the turn rotation. It will, however, add 5 or 10 minutes to the overall playtime.
