Be a Winner at Monopoly

A classic intriguing game that is exciting for all age groups is Monopoly. It does take a lot of strategic thinking to win though. Here are some pointers on how to be victorious the next time you play this real estate game.

1. It's better to know the odds than to take a risk. You need to analyse how the game will end when you are playing Monopoly, if you are playing to win. If you want to make it around the entire board, on average, you will have to have five turns at the dice. There is only a 1 in 5 chance of rolling a double number. That's once every time you go around the board. Remember these facts and figures when choosing your next move.

2. Purchase the right properties. When playing Monopoly you should try and purchase as many properties as you can. But you'll make the win even better if you buy properties based on your strategy. Buy anything you can, particularly if it stops another player from completing a color set. These will be great for negotiating later.

Try to purchase Illinois Avenue (red color set) or B&O Rail. You land on these two (as well as Go) most often, so having these will up your income from rentals.

In addition, try to get the orange colored properties. It seems that players have a better chance of landing on orange once they leave jail, because they are positioned after the Jail on the board.

Since their value increases with each additional one owned, the railroads are a good buy, in fact you should even consider trading some of your less valuable properties for the railroad series if you can. Of all the railroads, Short line is less visited, so buy it last if you have the choice.

Don’t worry too much about buying the utilities. While enticing to own, the utilities won't help you win. The colored properties and railways are much better money earners.

3. You need to know the right time to get out of jail. Toward the beginning of the Monopoly game, try to collect as many real estate properties as you can. It is not a good idea to be in jail early in the game as you'll miss opportunities to purchase properties. But if it is late in the game, and you may have to pay out a lot of rent from landing on other properties, then staying in jail is a safer bet. Don’t forget that when you are in jail, you can’t collect rent from others either. If another player is swiftly approaching some of the properties you possess, be sure to remember the option of staying in jail.

4. Get building. When you have a full color set, build on those properties right away.
Because there is a large difference between the mean rent on a property with two houses ($300) or three houses ($750), aim to get a minimum of least three houses quickly. You'll likely see some return quite quickly.

This is a good idea too, so that you can stop your opponents from buying them. Only 32 houses are available to purchase, so you could potentially create a housing shortage by buying up all the houses.

Once you have hotels, all houses go back into the kitty, giving other players a chance to build. It is a good idea to wait before adding hotels if it keeps others from adding property or raising their rents. This idea will certainly help be a winner at Monopoly.

5. If possible, don’t mortgage your properties. In the game of Monopoly, you cannot collect rent from or build on a property when it is mortgaged. To decrease other players’ incomes, your properties need to be capable of making income.

6. Don’t get emotionally involved with the game. You need to have a tough attitude to win Monopoly. If a player is losing pretty badly, get them out of the game. Do not loan money to anyone. Never make it a practice to accept "IOU's". Do not ever provide your opponent with the change to recover their position. You can win at Monopoly just by playing a hard, smart game and showing no mercy to your opponents.