Monopoly Go is a great game to play with family and friends. However, it’s not always balanced and one player can dominate with certain strategies.
The best Monopoly tricks are all about getting ahead early on. This means grabbing all the low-value properties in the first few turns. You can also use mortgages to your advantage as well, but only as a last resort.
Go to Jail
When a player is sent to jail in Monopoly they do not move and do not collect any rent. They can only leave by using a Get Out of Jail Free card, paying the $50 fine, or rolling doubles during their next turn.
According to Nicolo Falcone, a 2015 Monopoly World Champion, it is best to stay in jail as late in the game as possible because it will keep your opponents from getting those valuable properties you need, especially St. James Place and Tennessee Avenue. However, if your strategy needs to change midway through the game, then staying in jail can be beneficial too because it will decrease the chances of you landing on those two spaces – which will cost you money.
A player can get sent to jail by rolling doubles three times in a row, landing on the Go to Jail space or drawing a Go (Directly) to Jail card from a Community Chest or Chance space. Once a player is in jail, they do not pass Go and cannot collect $200. They may also not collect sore loser coins from other players and may only land on property spaces to pay a tax or fee.
Another great way to win Monopoly tricks is by stealing some of your opponent’s hotels and houses, which are not tradable. This might seem like a bad idea at first, but it can be very beneficial in the long run, especially when your opponents are close to your color sets. It’s important to keep tabs on your opponents and what they are doing with their properties because if you are too slow in buying them up, then they could have an advantage over you later on.
Don’t Save Your Money
The game of Monopoly can get very complicated when it comes to the order of play, but that is a necessary part of the game. If you want to win, it is important to know the right time to buy and when to sell. This will ensure that you have the money to pay rent when you land on other players’ properties, and it can help you avoid going bankrupt which will ultimately end your chances of winning.
Nicolo Falcone, who was the 2015 Monopoly World Champion, advises against trying to change the rules of the game in the name of winning it. He says that while there are many different tips and tricks for playing better Monopoly, you should stick to the official rules as much as possible. This will not only keep the game as fast-paced as possible but it will also make sure that you are following all the rules of the game and not veering off in any way.
He advises that you should always keep a close eye on the properties owned by your opponents. This will help you to identify the best opportunities to buy properties from them. For example, if they have a hotel on Boardwalk or Park Place, you might be able to steal it from them by buying one of their houses first.
Another thing that you should do is to watch where your opponents are heading with their dice. You can do this by paying attention to their color set and seeing where they are likely to land on the next turn. This will allow you to know when to start building up your hotels and houses because there is a higher chance of them landing on your properties.
Grab Red & Orange Properties
There are several different types of spaces on the Monopoly board that function in a variety of ways. These include property spaces that generate income if owned, trains and utilities that provide various benefits, and chance and community chest spaces that grant random effects. In addition, there are also a few special spaces like Jail and Free Parking that require players to pay if they land on them. Winning Monopoly requires a careful balance of saving and spending, as well as acquiring certain properties at the right time.
Generally speaking, the best properties to own in Monopoly are orange monopolies. These properties are landed upon most often, and they can be developed with houses for an excellent return on investment. Other good choices are light blue and red properties, followed by the dark-blue Park Place and Boardwalk spaces. Avoid the brown (Mediterranean Avenue and Baltic Avenue) and yellow properties, which tend to be landed on less often.
While it may be tempting to get into a property-acquisition race, it’s best to keep in mind that other players are looking for the same things as you are. You need to be able to make sharp trades to gain the upper hand over other players, and this means offering up some of your higher-value properties in exchange for lower-return properties that you can use to complete a color set or buy an orange monopoly.
For example, trading one of your two Greens for an Orange and a Dark Blue is worth it because the latter can be used to help you get another orange or red Monopoly later in the game. Similarly, mortgaging properties to generate cash can be a useful strategy but only if you’re able to do so without paying high rent to your rivals.
On All Four Railroads
If you’re playing Monopoly, it’s important to own all four railroad properties. That might seem like a big investment, but it’s one of the best ways to ensure you’re collecting rent throughout the game. It also makes it more likely that you’ll be able to make a quick buck in the event of a double.
The most valuable property sets to own in Monopoly are the red and orange ones, according to Koury and Craig. In addition to their high ROI, these properties are usually the first to be rolled on and the easiest to develop. Both men recommend building three houses on each monopoly and stopping once you have the maximum amount of rent that your monopoly can charge.
While it’s important to invest in these properties, you shouldn’t neglect other groups of color properties. It’s also worth buying the most landed-on properties, such as Illinois Avenue, Tennessee Avenue, and New York Avenue, Flynn Zaiger, founder of a Tulane University board games club and Monopoly enthusiast, told INSIDER. These properties will give you a good idea of who your opponents are in the game.
You should also consider buying the utility companies, Zaiger said. He said that these are the most landed-on properties in Monopoly, so it’s worth investing in them early. He also recommends trading high-value, low-return properties such as the greens to acquire more of the expensive, higher-return properties.
And finally, it’s essential to avoid landing in jail if possible. Not only does it cost you money, but it can also prevent you from landing on the most desirable properties in the game. So if you’re in a jam, try to convince your opponents that conceding is better than losing their houses and hotels. Nicolo Falcone, 2015 World Champion of Monopoly, agrees with this tip. He says that conceding can help shorten a game that would otherwise take an hour or more to play.
Go for Three Houses
Getting houses early in the game can be hugely advantageous. This helps you build monopolies, which can substantially boost your rental rates and give you bargaining power when trading properties later in the game. Ideally, focus on buying orange and red properties at the start of the game. Only buy other types of property if you need them to complete a C-G (Color Group) or to prevent opponents from building their monopolies.
Another key strategy is to play the Jail space differently. It’s generally a good idea to get out of jail as soon as possible, since landing on the square costs you money and fewer opportunities to acquire new properties. However, if you need St. James Place or Tennessee Ave to complete your C-G, then staying in jail and trying to roll doubles to get out increases your odds of getting those properties by about 25%.
By observing your opponents’ tactics and playing to their weaknesses, you can improve your chances of winning. Ganging up on a frontrunner temporarily sidelines them and allows you to steal their properties, which can help you make more money and increase your house count.
The standard rules of Monopoly are nearly perfectly balanced, but if you start changing them to your advantage then things can quickly go wrong. Using the tips in this guide can give you a significant advantage over your opponents, but the final victory still depends on luck as much as anything else. So don’t overthink it, just have fun and try to avoid going bankrupt! If you can do that, then congratulations – you’ve won!
