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 |