How to Win at Monopoly!

How to Win At Monopoly!

As a Financial Planner I should know at least the theory on how to win at Monopoly!

Believe it or not Monopoly began life as a game designed to show the social economic folly of land ownership based on the economic teachings of one Henry George. It was called The Landlords Game in 1903 and was essentially a satirical model.

The Parker Brothers game we know and love began in 1935, presumably offering solace to many dreaming of asset ownership in the Great Depression. It was phenomenally successful of course and is largely responsible for the English-Speaking people’s obsession with home ownership…we all get indoctrinated as kids!

So how can you win? Well it’s all about return on capital – like any investment. The best yield in rents comes from the light blue properties at 159% return, in the UK that’s Angel Islington, Euston Road and Pentonville Road, followed by the Orange Set giving 141% return. That is the return for building hotels on all three sites relative to the cost of acquisition! I always go for Orange because the odds of people landing there are far higher – 7 steps from “Go” for example as well as the fact that the Blues get bypassed often by the “advance to…” cards.

The other rule is once you complete a set...build, build and build again! The cost of mortgaging other incomplete properties will be made up by the returns on your investment… it’s called leverage in the real world. The loss of rent on a Red site will be about £18 but mortgaged it frees up enough to buy a house on one of the Orange sites which more than makes up for it.



Of course any game with die involved is based on luck but there is a large element of skill as well and over time, as in Poker, better players will win more often!

Happy House Hunting!