My mum always beats me at Monopoly and insists on doing an embarrassing ‘victory twerk’. How can I win?
Asked by: James Reed, age 14, Taunton
Don’t despair. Monopoly does involve a large degree of luck, but there’s still scope for making the most of what fortune comes your way.
Computer analysis by US Monopoly expert Tom Friddell has shown that Trafalgar Square is the most landed-on property, and thus worth bagging as soon as possible. The most landed-on colours are red and orange – partly because they often catch people coming out of jail – so these are always good properties to own.
But don’t get too picky or focus on saving your money for later: Friddell’s analysis shows it’s better to own squares as soon as you can. And when you own a colour group, put three houses on all properties before buying any more. Rushing to get a hotel on one property will lower your chances of recuperating your building costs.
If this all sounds like too much effort, then just remember this: if your mum has bagged most of the red and orange squares, there’s little chance of you winning, so just make your excuses and quit.
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Authors
Robert is a science writer and visiting professor of science at Aston University.
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