How can you win by playing Monopoly? This is the question we are asking ourselves today. Tips and ideas on the quintessential economy game
How many evenings stretched indefinitely, how many arguing over a sale, how many cynical souls who escaped rolling the dice… Let's talk about Monopoly, the most famous capitalism game in the world, and here are some tricks and ideas to win without problems.
A bit of history
It all starts in Delaware, when Elizabeth magic invented in 1903 (and patented the following year) The Landlord's Game. This included a board with the Start, Prison, Public Park, Go to Prison, Stations, and Grounds boxes, but not the Chance and Community Chest cards. The goal of the game was to teach children Georgism, an economic theory according to which everything found in nature is equally available to everyone, but that everyone can appropriate the fruit of their labor. In particular, the joy of owning something and the frustration of being robbed of one's work. In short, The Landlord's Game was an anti-monopoly game. However, The Landlord's Game was easily copied with home methods and the rules passed orally. By doing this, everyone created their own version of the game, with sometimes modified rules.
All this arrived in Philadelphia, where in 1934 the engineer Charles B. Darrow proposed to Parker Brothers his Monopoly, a reworked version of The Landlord's Game. After an initial rejection by the company, Darrow produced it independently, enjoying enormous success and attracting the attention of Parker, who eventually put it on the market. Finally, Elizabeth Magie died in 1948 a widow, childless, without any recognition and remembered as a typist. While Darrow became the world's first millionaire game designer.
In Spain
Monopoly arrived in Spain in 1936, in full fascist regime, which banned the English names. The name was Spanishized with the use of the letter i, but keeping the accent: in fact it reads Monòpoli and not Monopòli. The production was by Games Publisher, recently founded by Emilio Ceretti, Paolo Palestrino and Walter Toscanini (son of Arturo Toscanini). The names of the streets are inspired by the toponymy of Milan and grouped according to themes: mountains, higher education, artists, travelers, Roman empire. Since 2009, boxes with the wording Monopoly and the image of Mister Monopoly, previously unknown to most, were also sold in Italy. There are also online versions. If you want to learn more about the history of Monopoly, read here.
The tricks to win in Monopoli
But we know that if you are here it is to know how to win in Monopoli, so no more chatter. As a scheme we will use that of the original version, with the cheapest terrains in pink (Vicolo Corto and Vicolo Stretto), and gradually up to the greens and then the two fearsome purple ones (Viale dei Giardini and Parco della Vittoria).
Trick number 1
It seems paradoxical, but avoid buying the more expensive properties, such as Viale dei Giardini and Parco della Vittoria. It is more rare for an opponent to fall on you, for two reasons: there are only two and shortly before there is the Go to prison, which allows fewer players to pass on the last stretch. But above all, building it is expensive: for a single house you will have to give up building maybe two or three on other land.
Trick number 2
Instead, your target will be medium-cost soils, especially the oranges and browns (those on the second side). The reason is simple: the prison exit is just behind, so opponents will pass through it more frequently. Furthermore, the construction has low costs. This is an interesting trick to win in Monopoly.
Trick number 3
Psychological. To have a better chance of winning in Monopoly, try to pit your opponents against each other, so as to instigate them not to ally against you.
Trick number 4
Of course try to have as many monopolies as possible - this is obvious - but as soon as you can mortgage something, in order to have cash to spend to build elsewhere. Mortgage individual properties in particular, but be careful: the ransom will cost you more.
Trick number 5
To win in Monopoly you need houses, but the houses available in the game are counted. The trick is to build to generate a shortage of houses available to opponents.
Trick number 6
In the early stages of the game it is good to move around as much as possible to buy everything, so it is preferable to get out of prison as soon as possible. But in the later stages being in prison does not create problems, contrary to reality. Staying in prison means not passing on opposing land but continuing to earn if the opponents pass on their own. Convenient, isn't it?
Trick number 7
Many monopolies consist of three lands. If two opponents each have land, and the third is free, buying it is not bad, but it can be avoided: they are already blocking themselves.
Trick number 8
Basically, avoid buying the services of light and water: they make little money and you can't build on them. If you know your opponents well, at the most buy them as a bargaining chip, it is a plus to intort them to give you the coveted ground. The stations are a bit 'in the middle: they make enough if you have the complete set, but they are secondary to the land, although they can be used as a bargaining chip.
Trick number 9
Three houses. Three houses is a good build average to earn, between an empty lot and a hotel. Once you build three houses in each monopoly, you accumulate money, then eventually add more.
Trick number 10
Get lucky with dice. Um, it's not really a trick… But it sure helps!
