Monopoly. Pretty much everyone has played it at some point. We here at Solitude think it’s the king of all boardgames (although it can’t match Uno or Downfall in the broader scope of games) and were curious as to other peoples tactics. A quick survey revealed some interesting approaches:
- Medium Is The Message – the orange and red blocks are the properties to get with this tactic. They form a significant chunk of the board and are quite a good building block. Not too pricey, good returns.
- Scattergun – Grab at least one from every set and force everyone to operate through you. If you can stop sets being consolidated by players, you can control who makes progress in the game. Not a good long term tactic though, as you yourself don’t have any great capital.
- Favourite Colour – Simply pick the properties who belong to set colours that you like. Not the most tactical of all tactics, but in the particular instance of this person it might pay off. Incidentally, they went for blue, pink and yellow; good strong corner and some more diverse, upscale property.
- The Middle Man – Buy both utilities and all four train stations. This provides a large income when it pays off, but leaves your empire a little scattered for my liking.
- Rich Hostages – Get Park Lane and Mayfair. In my opinion, these properties are next to worthless on their own (until the endgame) but are great bargaining chips as so many other players want them. People like to appear opulent, so capitalise on it.
- Poor Man’s Row – The brown and blue properties of the first side are key. Snap them up early while people are clamouring for more ambitious streets and then build as many hotels as the house rules allow on them. Suddenly dirt cheap properties become the scourge of everyone.
- They’re Not Making It Anymore – They don’t make land anymore, so buy everything you can. Absolutely without regard. Similar to Scattergun, the greater risk of bankruptcy is balanced by the chances you might just get a set.
My final suggestion is to not buy more than two stations. The returns on them just aren’t worth it. If you’re buying a side or a corner, get the stations that are nearby but no more.
Any other tactics?