Introduction
Monopoly™ is both loved and reviled. It is loved by some because it is the first game they played as children that their parents also enjoyed. For others, it is the first board game that relied on player interaction, rather than just moving pieces to see what fantasy the game creators might provide. It is often loved because it allows the winner to not only prevail, but also demands, unlike many other games, that all opponents be utterly destroyed before victory can be declared. (Monopoly™ shares this trait with the board game Risk™, which is why many Monopoly™ enthusiasts also enjoy this game of world domination.)
Few games reward negotiation skill as much as Monopoly™ does. While our lives are filled with negotiation, we are often unaware of its importance and ubiquity. It is Monopoly's reliance on negotiation as its primary value that often brings out the best and worst in its players. If we learn anything from the many hours playing Monopoly™, we will seldom be better served than in developing our negotiation skills.
Because of its reliance on player interaction, however, the personality traits of the players, more often than in many other games, play a key role in the outcome. In the case of families, power dynamics and resentments that might otherwise lie dormant, are emphasized in the play of the game. Friendships are tested; world views challenged. It is a cliché that many Monopoly™ games lie scattered on the floor before a victor is declared.
It is this tension between amiable amusement and venality-induced rage that attracts many to the game. If we are to risk (pun intended) venturing into such a thicket, we should be well-grounded in Monopoly's most basic requirements.
A common complaint about Monopoly™ is that playing it takes too long. Another is that luck, especially through the reliance on dice, can overwhelm a player’s strategy and negotiation skill in determining the outcome.
In this website, we outline possible rule modifications that can make the game both more efficient as well as more reliant on the players’ strategies and negotiation abilities.
