I like to buy purple properties.  Not because it's a good strategy, but because I enjoy being a slum lord.

But I don't want to mortgage.

I've always liked the reds and the yellows. But if I land on either PP or BW on the first go round, I buy it even though I know I am just breaking a Monopoly.

Who wouldn't?

No, its the red ones! Odds wise, they are the most landed on pieces in the game.

I just buy everything, mortgage stuff to have enough money to keep buying, and as I pass go, unmortgage bit by bit.

The important thing is to gain a full set while preventing anyone else doing it.

The moment someone has a full set and starts building, it's fairly game over unless someone manages to do the same within a turn  or two.

But since it's mostly luck of the roll of the dice to land on anything, playing with bidding can help hugely.

Bah.  Scientific American did a report on this in their games section decades ago.  The best to have are the greens, followed by the yellows.  If you can get that corner you'll cash in all day.  There are other strategies as well; the utilities are poor investments, as you can't improve them; the railroads are marginal.  The dark blues and purples are poor as there are only two of each, so the probability of landing on them is 33% smaller.  The orange, followed by the red, have a slightly higher probability of being landed on, but their payoff is substantially less than the green and yellow.

The only way to win is rage quit while tossing the table over. Then you can play a decent game like Catan or Fresco.

Or if you don't want to follow subby's advice, if you can grab up enough cheap monopolies (about 3, but that can include the purple).  There are only 32 houses, monopolize them and the game is over.

/figured out this could easily beat computer opponents
//suspect live humans wouldn't consider ignoring that rule "cheating".

Of course the real thing monopoly teaches us is that most winners are lucky rather than good - being good might increase your odds a bit, but nothing in comparison to how much luck is involved in deciding the outcomes.

Rapmaster2000: I like to buy purple properties.  Not because it's a good strategy, but because I enjoy being a slum lord.

They're brown now.

Yeah, I still call them purple too.

Galloping Galoshes: Bah.  Scientific American did a report on this in their games section decades ago.  The best to have are the greens, followed by the yellows.  If you can get that corner you'll cash in all day.  There are other strategies as well; the utilities are poor investments, as you can't improve them; the railroads are marginal.  The dark blues and purples are poor as there are only two of each, so the probability of landing on them is 33% smaller.  The orange, followed by the red, have a slightly higher probability of being landed on, but their payoff is substantially less than the green and yellow.

So basically the complete opposite of the linked article.

taliesinwi: Galloping Galoshes: Bah.  Scientific American did a report on this in their games section decades ago.  The best to have are the greens, followed by the yellows.  If you can get that corner you'll cash in all day.  There are other strategies as well; the utilities are poor investments, as you can't improve them; the railroads are marginal.  The dark blues and purples are poor as there are only two of each, so the probability of landing on them is 33% smaller.  The orange, followed by the red, have a slightly higher probability of being landed on, but their payoff is substantially less than the green and yellow.

So basically the complete opposite of the linked article.

That's why I started the comment with "Bah."

Galloping Galoshes: Bah.  Scientific American did a report on this in their games section decades ago.  The best to have are the greens, followed by the yellows.  If you can get that corner you'll cash in all day.  There are other strategies as well; the utilities are poor investments, as you can't improve them; the railroads are marginal.  The dark blues and purples are poor as there are only two of each, so the probability of landing on them is 33% smaller.  The orange, followed by the red, have a slightly higher probability of being landed on, but their payoff is substantially less than the green and yellow.

In my experience the greens and yellows are rarely landed on.

I play Monopoly to lose. My strategy is to pick up a few random properties around the board. Once the game gets going, I'm the only thing preventing the other players from having a monopoly. So, when it gets to the point that I'll be out in a couple of turns anyway, I auction off all my properties to the highest bidder. Then I give all the proceeds to charity- puting them in the middle of the board- and retire. I get to quit stress-free, and whoever lands on Free Parking next is in for a treat.

xria: Of course the real thing monopoly teaches us is that most winners are lucky rather than good - being good might increase your odds a bit, but nothing in comparison to how much luck is involved in deciding the outcomes.

While that is a rather myopic, simplified view of life, I was going to state it as, even if everyone starts with the same resources, all of the outcomes are determined by a random number generator and/or taking advantage of other people.

My strategy is to get the utilities, the railroads and as many monopoly breakers as possible.   Then I try to collect the 5 props after go.  They are cheap and people will give them for next to nothing.  Slowly bleed the other folks while minimizing the harm to me.

stevetherobot: In my experience the greens and yellows are rarely landed on.

Would you like to play a game?

/How about Thermonuclear Warfare?

Twitch Boy: Railroads, oranges, light blues.

Don't bother with hotels. Buy 3 houses, or 4 to try and cause a building shortage.

Also, if they won't let you be the hat punch them in the stomach

There's no such thing as a building shortage. The rules suggest that you use whatever you have if you run out of anything.

Tobin_Lam: There's no such thing as a building shortage. The rules suggest that you use whatever you have if you run out of anything.

Actually that's not true. The rules say you can "print" more money with whatever you've got laying around, but houses and hotels are strictly limited.

Spadababababababa Spadina Bus: I play Monopoly to lose. My strategy is to pick up a few random properties around the board. Once the game gets going, I'm the only thing preventing the other players from having a monopoly. So, when it gets to the point that I'll be out in a couple of turns anyway, I auction off all my properties to the highest bidder. Then I give all the proceeds to charity- puting them in the middle of the board- and retire. I get to quit stress-free, and whoever lands on Free Parking next is in for a treat.

People like you are the reason a game that should take about an hour end up taking about 3 hours and end up in a fight.

Strategy depends if you play by the official rules.  The official rules state that all unsold property must be auctioned if the person landing on it does not purchase it.  You can get some budget properties that way, or you can drive up the price until the purchaser has no cash to build houses.  Reds and oranges are the best to develop due to return on investment and chances of landing on them.  RRs are nice to have in case you need to mortgage.  You should mortgage to build improvements.  Once all properties are bought, stay in jail as much as possible.  You still collect rents and don't risk paying rent.

My strategy is to buy up all the houses, and never move on to hotels.   If you dont know why this is a winning move, you've never actually read the rules.

servlet: Actually that's not true. The rules say you can "print" more money with whatever you've got laying around, but houses and hotels are strictly limited.

Exactly.  One foundation of my Monopoly strategy is to cause a building shortage.  It works, but people don't like playing the game with me.

I don't care what strategy you use as long as you play by the god damned rules.  That means no favors, no under the table deals, no "I'll give you half price rent for three turns if you let me off just this once", no "I'll pay the $50 or use my get-out-of-jail-free-card to get them out of jail", no trading property or cards in lieu of rent unless it is a complete turning over as a result of bankruptcy.  Play by the damned rules or gtfo.

/monopoly nazi
//and hands off my purples.

My goal, Orange, and railroads.  In a perfect world, red too.  It's unbelievable the number of times people end up in jail.

SwingDancer: My strategy is to buy up all the houses, and never move on to hotels.   If you dont know why this is a winning move, you've never actually read the rules.

The real trick is to ACTUALLY attempt to create a monopoly. Friendly takeovers early in the game - based on a mutual agreement to not charge rent or to pool resources immediately makes your team the biggest player and gives a near unstoppable advantage.

Like in real life - having large amounts of liquid assets at your disposal compared to your competitors will make up for almost all differences in skill or luck.

Orange, light blue, past that it's just not being stupid.

Deneb81: The real trick is to ACTUALLY attempt to create a monopoly. Friendly takeovers early in the game - based on a mutual agreement to not charge rent or to pool resources immediately makes your team the biggest player and gives a near unstoppable advantage.

Like in real life - having large amounts of liquid assets at your disposal compared to your competitors will make up for almost all differences in skill or luck.

Except that the items you suggest are actually against the rules, plus "liquid assets" aren't important, either in the game or in the real world.  Developed property > cash on hand.

The mathematical superiority of the Oranges verse the Yellows is interesting but only as a tiny foot-note.  Getting them by chance is still just a roll of the die (literally).

The key skill is negotiation.

Treygreen13: meanmutton: Deneb81: The real trick is to ACTUALLY attempt to create a monopoly. Friendly takeovers early in the game - based on a mutual agreement to not charge rent or to pool resources immediately makes your team the biggest player and gives a near unstoppable advantage.

Like in real life - having large amounts of liquid assets at your disposal compared to your competitors will make up for almost all differences in skill or luck.

Except that the items you suggest are actually against the rules, plus "liquid assets" aren't important, either in the game or in the real world.  Developed property > cash on hand.

Well, to a point. You want some liquid assets. But yeah, the guy sitting there with $3,000 hopping around his 4 properties is not going to win. Likewise, the guy totally mortgaged out hoping he can make it to GO again without landing on any properties with rent higher than $4 is also going to lose.

Liquid assets on the first go is key. That's why I said early - and it helps to have money early to entice partners. Also, multiple pieces/rolls dilutes the risk.

meanmutton: Deneb81: The real trick is to ACTUALLY attempt to create a monopoly. Friendly takeovers early in the game - based on a mutual agreement to not charge rent or to pool resources immediately makes your team the biggest player and gives a near unstoppable advantage.

Like in real life - having large amounts of liquid assets at your disposal compared to your competitors will make up for almost all differences in skill or luck.

Except that the items you suggest are actually against the rules, plus "liquid assets" aren't important, either in the game or in the real world.  Developed property > cash on hand.

Also, you can sell any property to any player for any price. Just trade a couple useless properties back and forth for what you would pay in rent. It's legal, you don't have to accept other bids, and you can have a perfectly legal pseudo-monopoly as soon as one of you owns a single property.

StrangeQ: I don't care what strategy you use as long as you play by the god damned rules.  That means no favors, no under the table deals, no "I'll give you half price rent for three turns if you let me off just this once", no "I'll pay the $50 or use my get-out-of-jail-free-card to get them out of jail", no trading property or cards in lieu of rent unless it is a complete turning over as a result of bankruptcy.  Play by the damned rules or gtfo.

/monopoly nazi
//and hands off my purples.
 I swear the rules say something like 'The property owner has to ask for the due rent'.  IE, it's perfectly acceptable for you to land on my property and not pay, so long as I don't ask you and the next player begins their turn.
That seems to imply all sorts of room for wiggle.  If I'm too busy counting my stack of properties you gave me last turn to notice you landing on my property; so be it.  The rules don't say you have to pay.At least, that's how I remember it.

Spadababababababa Spadina Bus: I play Monopoly to lose. My strategy is to pick up a few random properties around the board. Once the game gets going, I'm the only thing preventing the other players from having a monopoly. So, when it gets to the point that I'll be out in a couple of turns anyway, I auction off all my properties to the highest bidder. Then I give all the proceeds to charity- puting them in the middle of the board- and retire. I get to quit stress-free, and whoever lands on Free Parking next is in for a treat.

There is a card game called Pit that simulates commodities trading. My in-laws like to play it, but I suck at it. The goal is to try to acquire all the cards of one commodity via trade for 1 for 1 trade before anyone else gets a whole set. I have taken a similar strategy to you whereby I diversify my hand and prevent as many monopolies as I can.

Don't be half a player. Or gangster.

One of my abiding Xmas memories from my teens was almost ruining Xmas day by refusal to sell my father any of the properties he wanted. I had deliberately set out to disrupt his normal play style and buy one of all the sets he always went for. He went mental eventually and the game had to be ended with no winner.

Xmas Monopoly was serious business in our house. Always ended up with me and my father the last two standing and playing to the bitter death. The first year I ever won the game stretched to 6 hours in total, 4 of those being just us two.

My fiance won't play monopoly with me now either. We played for our first and only time one sunny summer evening, kids away, sat on the patio, nice bottle of wine. Decided to break out monopoly. Boy did that go bad. Apparently going all out to win isn't "playing nice".

/serious business!
//don't give me that "fines and taxes go under free parking and whoever lands there gets it" shiat either

Fark_Guy_Rob: StrangeQ: I don't care what strategy you use as long as you play by the god damned rules.  That means no favors, no under the table deals, no "I'll give you half price rent for three turns if you let me off just this once", no "I'll pay the $50 or use my get-out-of-jail-free-card to get them out of jail", no trading property or cards in lieu of rent unless it is a complete turning over as a result of bankruptcy.  Play by the damned rules or gtfo.

/monopoly nazi
//and hands off my purples.
 I swear the rules say something like 'The property owner has to ask for the due rent'.  IE, it's perfectly acceptable for you to land on my property and not pay, so long as I don't ask you and the next player begins their turn.
That seems to imply all sorts of room for wiggle.  If I'm too busy counting my stack of properties you gave me last turn to notice you landing on my property; so be it.  The rules don't say you have to pay.At least, that's how I remember it.

Also, take the rent, sell them an unimproved property for rent+$1. They then sell it back to you for $1. It's all legal and has the effect of no rent.

Deneb81: Fark_Guy_Rob: StrangeQ: I don't care what strategy you use as long as you play by the god damned rules.  That means no favors, no under the table deals, no "I'll give you half price rent for three turns if you let me off just this once", no "I'll pay the $50 or use my get-out-of-jail-free-card to get them out of jail", no trading property or cards in lieu of rent unless it is a complete turning over as a result of bankruptcy.  Play by the damned rules or gtfo.

/monopoly nazi
//and hands off my purples.
 I swear the rules say something like 'The property owner has to ask for the due rent'.  IE, it's perfectly acceptable for you to land on my property and not pay, so long as I don't ask you and the next player begins their turn.
That seems to imply all sorts of room for wiggle.  If I'm too busy counting my stack of properties you gave me last turn to notice you landing on my property; so be it.  The rules don't say you have to pay.At least, that's how I remember it.

Also, take the rent, sell them an unimproved property for rent+$1. They then sell it back to you for $1. It's all legal and has the effect of no rent.

I just might stab you if you pulled that in a game with me.

/maybe
//probably
///might want to wear some kevlar