Monopoly
A study in terrible game design
It is an old game

Why do we play games?
Because they are FUN.
Monopoly takes forever

- Money management is hard
- Rent collection is slow
- You can spend rounds without any changes
Technical Issues
Runaway Leader

Kingmaker

Player Eliminations

The worst thing any game can do is to stop the player from having fun.
Negative Progress

Closing time is undecidable

Nobody reads the rules

Time Investment != Return

Chance
Agency
100% CHANCE

Chess

Settlers of Catan
Chance | 10% |
---|---|
Skill | 30% |
Initial Settlements Position | 30% |
Is the map biased against you? | 10% |
Beating that one player | 20% |
Blackjack
Chance | Skill |
---|---|
49% | 51% |
Monopoly
Luck | 61% |
---|---|
Getting Eliminated and Sulking | 5% |
Fighting over House Rules | 7% |
Refusing to Trade | 5% |
(╯°□°)╯︵ ┻━┻ | 5% |
How to win at Monopoly
- Transports have the highest investment to return ratio
- Orange properties give the best returns
- Buying the Orange and then the Greens/Red is a sure victory
- Never buy Boardwalk
- If nothing of the above is working out, get the light blue and pink properties
- Start Mortgaging early to raise money for essential trades
Monopoly Deal

Compare
Monopoly | Monopoly Deal | |
---|---|---|
Playing Time | 60 minutes to "why are we still playing?" | 15 minutes per game |
Chance/Skill | Lots of Chance | Lots of Chance |
Eliminations | Long-eliminations | No eliminations |
House Rules | Too many house rules | Standard game works well. Remove Deal Breaker cards for more balanced games. |
Fun | One-upping your friend, stealing their properties | One-upping your friend, stealing their properties |
Monopoly:
By Nemo
Monopoly:
- 2,551