How to win at monopoly card game

Know the odds of the game. For example, most players make a complete lap around the board in five turns; you're likely to roll doubles once in those five turns doubles happen about 17 percent of the time. Always pick up available properties if any of these apply:. Buy the properties that people land on most often. Illinois Avenue is the square most often landed on not including Jail. Railroads are better to own than utilities, but utilities should be purchased if the opportunity arises especially if you can get both of them.

Short Line Railroad is the least useful railroad to own because it is visited least often. Later on, when moving around the board is more dangerous and could prove very costly, stay in jail as long as you can. When you build on your properties, get to three houses as quickly as possible. The rent raises significantly between two and three houses. If you're stuck with low-income properties, build to four houses quickly to create a building shortage, hurting other players' chances to build.

Avoid mortgaging properties where you own two or more of the properties. The majority of the Community Chest cards, nine out of sixteen, give you money. Three Community Chest cards take money away. Of the remaining cards, two move you elsewhere on the board, one takes away money from building owners and one is a get out of jail free card. Play by the standard rules. While some players like to play a kind of custom version of Monopoly, changing certain rules gives you less control over the outcome of the game and can prolong it as well.

Play the traditional Parker Brothers rules for the game to give yourself the best possibility of winning. Part 2. Buy as many properties as you can as soon as possible. The more properties you have, and the more rent you collect, the more money you get from your opponents.

Buying as many properties as you can early in the game gives you the best chance of winning the game. Start buying whatever open property you land on as soon as possible.

The more you own, the better your standing in the game. There's little incentive in Monopoly to play conservatively and wait. Don't worry about spending all of your money in the early turns. That just means you're playing smart.

Create monopolies. Don't leave a bunch of open spaces in a color group for others to buy. Buy them yourself if you can. In general, you should always buy unowned properties if no other player owns property in that color group, especially if it gives you a second or third property in a given group, building you closer to a monopoly.

The orange properties, in particular, are the most landed-upon, making them the most desirable monopoly. The holder of a monopoly is entitled to double the rental rate normally paid.

Holding a monopoly also greatly enhances your bargaining power during property trades made at later times in the game. Buy properties that other players want. It can also be advantageous to purchase properties to block other players from creating monopolies, opening you up for trade possibilities later in the game.

If you see an opponent working towards a particular monopoly, take any opportunity that you get to buy the properties they want. Don't worry about blocking a monopoly when two players each own a property of a group. They're already blocking each other, meaning you'd be better off placing your attention elsewhere. Use the advantage that you gain from buying a property that another player wants to get something that you want. For example, if the other player has a property or two that you want, propose a trade.

Develop a strategy for railroads and utilities. In general, the railroad spaces are more valuable than the utility spaces, which offer little in the way of long-term investment. Railroads, though, are only valuable if you own all of them. Some players make acquiring all the Railroads a priority, while some prefer ignoring it as a distraction. Whatever you choose to do, stick with your policy. There's only a 1 in 38 chance of profiting from a Utilities purchase, meaning you would be better off investing in hotels and other building projects because they will make you more money.

Get three houses as quickly as possible. As soon as you get a monopoly, start building, and don't stop building until you've got three houses on each property. You will make far more money after you get up to three houses per property. This extra income will increase your chances of winning the game. If possible, wait until you pass the part of the board where there is the highest likelihood of paying the highest penalties, the last few squares of the game before Go.

Try to cause a housing shortage. When you have only three or four low-rent color groups, you should put three or four houses on each property to restrict the availability of houses to owners of high rent color groups. Don't move up to a hotel if returning houses to the bank would enable your opponent to develop an expensive color group. It's devious, and effective. Part 3. Get the most out of your mortgages. Mortgaging allows you to raise capital at crucial points in the game.

Don't mortgage a property from a group where you own 2 or more properties unless it's absolutely necessary. If you need to raise money, mortgage single properties if it allows you to own a color group of at least three houses per property or hotels in the Light Blues or Purple group.

As you cannot collect rent once a property is mortgaged, try not to mortgage those properties that players land on frequently or get higher-than-average rents from landers. Evaluate trades carefully. Pay attention to your fellow players' preferences for particular properties and try to use that knowledge to your advantage. Trying to trade for a full line of colored properties is good, as it allows for building expansions.

However, you want to avoid trading down for these color sets. For example, while gaining all of the pink properties in a trade may be good, it may not be wise if the trade enables another player to own all of the orange properties.

You will likely pay more in rent to the owner of the orange properties. Before you make a deal, decide whether or not it will be advantageous to you in the future. Always ask yourself, what will this do for me in the long run, and how will this trade help me bankrupt my opponents? A good rule of thumb is to only trade to give yourself a monopoly, or to give yourself more monopoly than your opponent. I enjoyed it quite a bit to begin with, until I figured out the game strategy and learned all the solitaire deals, both of which cut in to my overall enjoyment.

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App Store Preview. Screenshots iPad iPhone. Dec 23, Version Ratings and Reviews. App Privacy. Information Seller Mobilityware. Make your opponents think you have cards like the Just Say No or Deal Breaker even if you actually have them. One way to make your opponents think this would be to keep one card start the first time you actually have a Just Say No action card separate from the rest of the cards in your hand face down on the table. Then use it when you need to.