An Analysis of Monopoly, or Why Monopoly is Worse than Poker

The game of Monopoly (I am considering the four player game played without house rules) is played over four phases that are roughly distinct.

• In the first phase, players are randomly given properties by the roll of the dice. It is unusual that you should not buy a property on which you land, so everyone generally buys everything they land on. (It's possible that, at some point, your opponents have too little money, in which case it may be worth auctioning the property off and buying it for less (just enough to outbid your opponents); I suspect that this is a rare occurrence.)
• In the second phase, players trade properties in order to accumulate monopolies. It is unusual that you receive a monopoly from the first phase through random dice rolling (in a four player game); if you do, you already have a huge advantage. Trading takes some skill, but not a whole lot of skill if you know the actual values and expected ROI of the monopolies. Still, the negotiation can give you a leg up in the next phases.
• In the third phase, players build houses and hotels on their monopolies. It is known that the the sweet spot is three houses, both because of the large rent leap from two to three houses and because of the limitation of houses available to build during the game. The skill in this phase is in managing your cash flow; if you have a row of opponent properties in front of you, you must keep your cash to avoid mortgaging properties. There is a bit of skill in the odds calculation here, but not much.
• In the last phase of the game, players roll the dice repeatedly until all players but one are eliminated from the game. There are - essentially - no interesting decisions in this phase.

With any set of players who are not total morons, who have a rudimentary understanding of probability, and who know the relative property values on the board, there is little chance that the players' holdings will vary much in value by the time the fourth phase is entered. One player's properties might be landed on 16.2% of the time, while another player's only 12.8% of the time. The first player is in a better position. And I suspect that both players had some fun during the negotiations and resource management up to this point. But here's where the problem starts.

In poker, you may have a hand that wins 16.2% of the time and your opponent a hand that wins 12.8% of the time. There is much more left to the game. You don't know what your opponent holds in his hand. You're not playing only against the system, for which the percentage is known, you're also playing against your opponent. You have to play not only the odds of your hand and what you might draw, but also the style of your opponent, a never-ending continuous assessment that continues to challenge right up until the cards are revealed. He might bluff. He might fold. He might call or raise. You only have clues as to the value in his hand, and therefore how to evaluate your own. The power of the cards plays only one part of the game.

Compare this to Monopoly. When the fourth phase is reached, players simply roll and roll and roll until one of them wins. There is nothing left to play; all information is open, there are no more properties or houses to buy, no more resource management, no hidden values to assess. As long as the percentages are close, any property on which you have three houses or more is going to kill or nearly kill you if you land on it. Additional damage is not that relevant. If you have only $50, you are just as dead landing on a property that costs $600 as one that costs $900 or $75.

In Monopoly, the percentages for win/loss in phase four are going to be a few points: 12% vs 16% or something like that. First one to roll badly loses.

Gamewise, there is no real favorite, no unexpected winner or loser, no underdog. On any particular roll, however, the odds will vary wildly. You might be entering at a long stretch of properties owned by an opponent. On this particular roll, your odds of surviving might be 60 to 12.5, in which case survival is a win for the underdog. This is the thrill of gambling; however it is the "low" sort of gambling that allows no choices, not even on whom or how much to bet. The game state is set, you're 100% in and you simply await the outcome. You can't fold and save your money for the next game, or bluff your opponent into not charging rent. You can't bet on another player.

That's why Monopoly ultimately fails as an interesting game, when compared to other luck heavy games such as poker.

Fun Board Games to Enhance Students' Learning Experiences

The following is a guest post from Brian Jenkins

Playing board games is a great way for students to learn because children retain more information when they're having fun. Games get children motivated. Math and spelling won't induce boredom when they're integrated into fun games. By playing board games, children enhance their logic and reasoning skills, learn to solve problems, and gain skills in strategic thinking.

Kids also enhance their social skills while playing board games. They learn about following rules, taking turns, fairness, and how to graciously win and loose. Of course, gracious losing might kids some extra time to get the hang of!

Let's take a look at some of the best board games for young students:

Dino Math Tracks Place Value Game

This game has received the Oppenheim Toy Portfolio Gold Seal which is given to toys that enrich the lives of children. Players race around the game board with a pack of prehistoric pals. The game emphasizes the mathematical concept of place value and is a fun way for young students to learn addition and subtraction. The game includes multiple levels of play for children of different ages and abilities.

UPWORDS

UPWORDS is similar to Scrabble and exercises the same skills. However, it is easier to make words and score points because kids can stack onto existing words. Therefore, it's a better choice than Scrabble for younger kids. Also, the scoring system is simplified.

Primary Pups

This fun game integrates 1st through 3rd grade curricula. Players answer multiple choice questions from the following subject areas: Math, science, history, grammar, health, and geography. Students advance their puppies along the game board by correctly answering questions.

Flip 4

Flip 4 is designed for ages 8 to 12. It's a strategy game that teaches math and logical thinking and planning. Kids role the dice and then add, subtract, or multiply to land on board squares. Students try to strategically flip their opponents out of the game. The game received an Oppenheim Toy Portfolio Gold Award, a Dr. Toy Top 10 Game Award, and an iParenting Media Award.

Equate

This game is a mathematical version of Scrabble. Kids use tiles to make horizontal or vertical math equations. In addition to teaching kids how to add, subtract, multiply, and divide, the game requires kids to think strategically and creatively. Equate received a Parent's Choice Recommended Award, a Games Magazine Best Game award, and a Dr. Toy 100 Best Children's product award.

Word Pirates

It takes spelling and strategy skills to win this game. Kids try to be the fist player to reach the treasure by building a path of words and bridges. The game is designed for ages six and up and received a Creative Child Magazine Preferred Choice Award.

Have Kids Create Their Own Board Games

Besides playing with fun, educational games made by adults, let students have the opportunity to make their own games. Give them criteria to meet and allow them to use their creativity to develop a game. This is a great challenge for students!

Board games are a great way to break up the monotony of everyday classroom instruction. Fun and education is always a great combination!

Brian Jenkins writes feature articles, including pieces that offer career information for elementary school teachers, about a variety of different education and career topics for BrainTrack.com.

The opinions expressed in this post do not necessarily reflect the blog owner's.

Guest post: 7 Tips For Improving Your Chess Game

The following is a guest post:

Chess is not your typical board game, as not much is left to chance except maybe when your opponent "chances" to do something stupid. Becoming a skilled player involves an ability to devise a strategy (with adequate back-up plans) and some capacity for anticipating your opponent's next moves. The more you play and study the tactics of skilled players, the better you will become at developing your own unique strategies. A few best practices, however, are well-known and can be applied by any amateur player who wishes to take steps to improve their game.

1.) Don't underestimate the power of your pawns. These little guys are a great protective measure for your king, and work great in chains for organizing an attack. However, they're close to worthless when they're isolated from each other on the board or if a chain of them is blocking powerful players, like your bishops and rooks. It's usually a good practice to build inverted V chains of pawns rather than going for V-shaped chains, which are weaker. Try to maintain the pawns in the middle of the board, while remembering to open up chains for your power players.

2.) Get your knights in the middle when the board is still crowded so they can wreak more havoc against your opponent. Too many novice players leave their knights close to the sidelines where they have a more limited range of motion from which to make their L-shaped attack.

3.) Remember that bishops and rooks are much more useful in an endgame scenario than a knight or a pawn because they can cross vast distances if need be on the open board. If you're forced to sacrifice a knight or a bishop early into a game, sacrifice a knight.

4.) Don't take the queen too far out too soon. She may pack a punch, but she's also your most valuable asset.

5.) Castle your king early. This will help protect you from an early checkmate.

6.) Attack invisibly. In other words, your opponent is more likely to anticipate an attack from the piece you move. Attacking invisibly often means you move a piece merely to free up another of your pieces to attack on the next move. Your opponent is less likely to organize a defense for the invisible attack and you are more likely to capture the piece you're after.

7.) Sometimes offense is the best defense. When you're cornered and a piece of yours is about to be taken, see if you can position yourself to capture a more valuable piece from your opponent. Your opponent will then face the decision of whether to rescue his or her own piece or proceed to take your piece as originally planned.

This guest post is contributed by Angelita Williams, who writes on the topics of college courses. She welcomes your comments at her email Id: angelita.williams7 @gmail.com.