*English/Non-English: For translations, see notes at the bottom of this page.

The Monopoly™ Guru**

The Monopoly™ Guru**The Monopoly™ Guru**The Monopoly™ Guru**
Home
Rules
  • Introduction
  • Rules - Generally
  • Playing Order
  • Doubles
  • Take Out the Dice
  • Auction Everything
  • Non-property Squares
  • Rent
  • Go, Just Visiting, Etc.
  • Jail
  • Side Deals
  • Most Important Negotiatio
Strategy
  • Official or Modified?
  • The Need for Speed
  • Major & Minor Monopolies
  • Building
  • Mortgaging
  • Housing shortages
  • Cash reserves
  • Cash reserves
Negotiation
  • Negotiation Relationships
  • Knowing the Values
  • Overcoming the "Bad Deal"
  • Don't be a jerk
Ultimate Monopoly
  • Who Is the Best Player?
  • How Many Players?
  • Five or More is Best.
  • Remove the Dice.
  • Free Passes & Immunity
  • Skip Non-property Squares
  • Simplify Rent.
  • You're Ready to Play.
Miscellany
  • Books on Monopoly

The Monopoly™ Guru**

The Monopoly™ Guru**The Monopoly™ Guru**The Monopoly™ Guru**
Home
Rules
  • Introduction
  • Rules - Generally
  • Playing Order
  • Doubles
  • Take Out the Dice
  • Auction Everything
  • Non-property Squares
  • Rent
  • Go, Just Visiting, Etc.
  • Jail
  • Side Deals
  • Most Important Negotiatio
Strategy
  • Official or Modified?
  • The Need for Speed
  • Major & Minor Monopolies
  • Building
  • Mortgaging
  • Housing shortages
  • Cash reserves
  • Cash reserves
Negotiation
  • Negotiation Relationships
  • Knowing the Values
  • Overcoming the "Bad Deal"
  • Don't be a jerk
Ultimate Monopoly
  • Who Is the Best Player?
  • How Many Players?
  • Five or More is Best.
  • Remove the Dice.
  • Free Passes & Immunity
  • Skip Non-property Squares
  • Simplify Rent.
  • You're Ready to Play.
Miscellany
  • Books on Monopoly
More
  • Home
  • Rules
    • Introduction
    • Rules - Generally
    • Playing Order
    • Doubles
    • Take Out the Dice
    • Auction Everything
    • Non-property Squares
    • Rent
    • Go, Just Visiting, Etc.
    • Jail
    • Side Deals
    • Most Important Negotiatio
  • Strategy
    • Official or Modified?
    • The Need for Speed
    • Major & Minor Monopolies
    • Building
    • Mortgaging
    • Housing shortages
    • Cash reserves
    • Cash reserves
  • Negotiation
    • Negotiation Relationships
    • Knowing the Values
    • Overcoming the "Bad Deal"
    • Don't be a jerk
  • Ultimate Monopoly
    • Who Is the Best Player?
    • How Many Players?
    • Five or More is Best.
    • Remove the Dice.
    • Free Passes & Immunity
    • Skip Non-property Squares
    • Simplify Rent.
    • You're Ready to Play.
  • Miscellany
    • Books on Monopoly

  • Home
  • Rules
  • Strategy
  • Negotiation
  • Ultimate Monopoly
  • Miscellany

know the Property values and how they change

You must know the true property values to negotiate successfully.

Primary to any successful Monopoly™ negotiation is knowing the values of the properties at the time of the negotiation.  This may have little or no relationship to the price paid for the property.  Monopoly™ property values change with every play, sometimes minimally, sometimes completely.  Before entering any negotiation, view the circumstances of the entire board and each party’s cash holdings, as best you can tell.  (You may want to keep your own cash concealed, without being too obvious about it.)


There are many factors that can affect the value of any particular property.  They include:


  • Is the property part of a color group in which you already own a property?  If you do not already own a property in the color group that includes the property you want, any premium you might pay over the printed price of the property may be limited to only the value that accrues to you by avoiding the need to actually land on the property.  If the color group is a favorite of yours, that premium may be more than insubstantial; however, if your plan is to acquire an entire color group through purchase and trading, the cost to you may be significant.  A better strategy may be to limit yourself to color groups that include properties on which you actually land, or, at least, acquire in an early trade, when circumstances have not yet added significant value to the various properties.


  • The premium you might pay to acquire  a second property in a color group will  be affected by whether there is a third property in the group and whether that  property is owned, with the premium arguably being higher if the third property is unowned.  If the third property is owned (presumably by a player other than the one with whom you are negotiating for the second  property), the premium on the second property may be affected by both who owns the third property, particularly the likelihood they will negotiate with you regarding the third property.


  • If you are negotiating for the third property in a color group where you own the other two, the premium that you will need to pay above the property's title deed price will likely be substantial.  For this reason, you may not want to consider negotiating for the second property  within a color group, unless you have promising strategy for acquiring the  third.  Such a strategy might include, for example, owning a property in  another color group that you know is highly desirable to the player who owns the property you are seeking.  


  • Note that the principles that apply to acquiring multiple properties within a color group also apply to the railroads, and even the utilities; indeed, the  primary purpose for buying a utility may be to trade it for another property owned by whoever owns the other utility.  While the value of the utility being offered may not be substantial, it is clear there is only one other player in the game to whom the second utility might be more valuable than the purchase price, and that value may be sufficient to either acquire a lesser-priced property in a color group, or may be the kicker that makes an otherwise unsuccessful negotiation successful.


  • What have the fortunes been of the player who owns the property?  Note the circumstances of the player with whom you are negotiating.  Their openness to a deal will likely be affected by whatever success or lack thereof they have already sustained during the game.  Success at Monopoly™ will be enhanced by a player's cognizance of not only each player's economic status, but also the strategies each player appears to be pursuing.  In any negotiation, knowledge is power.


  • Do you have the resources to build on the property?  A property on which one can build is much more valuable than a property that must lay dormant for lack of building funds.  Monopoly™ does not reward owning property for its own sake; if a property isn't generating significant income, it may be more useful to mortgage it and use the proceeds to build houses wherever possible.



Go to overcoming the bad deal

*Translations: If you are having trouble reading this website in English, consider using the Papago or similar app to visually translate to a more familiar language.  You may need to use a separate device from the one you are using to access this site.


Copyright © 2021 THE MONOPOLY™ GURU* - All Rights Reserved.  

**Note: This is an independent website and unaffiliated with Hasbro, Inc., owners of the Monopoly™ game, as well as Parker Brothers and Milton Bradley.  All information and opinions presented on this site are entirely those of The Monopoly™ Guru and subscribers to the site, and are presented to enhance enjoyment of the game.  Information regarding Hasbro, Inc. may be found on their website, Hasbro.com

  • Home
  • About
  • Contact

This website uses cookies.

We use cookies to analyze website traffic and optimize your website experience. By accepting our use of cookies, your data will be aggregated with all other user data.

Accept