relationships in negotiation
the better you know your opponent, the easier the negotiation.
Critical to any negotiation is the relationship between the parties. If the bargain is between two family members, the history and nature of their relationship will have overwhelming influence over the outcome. Most likely, one party perceives himself or herself as having less power in the relationship. The party with less perceived power may have significant difficulty in achieving the bargain he or she seeks.
Any other relationship, other than strangers, may also contain similar, though likely less volatile, power differentials. Presumably, players recognize these dynamics going into the game; indeed, the parties may be looking to either play out or contradict these dynamics.
The more one knows about one's opponents, the more it is possible to develop a "game plan". Sports teams often scout their opponents to determine which of their strengths and weaknesses will be most important to the game's outcome. A similar analysis may be useful in Monopoly™. Is your opponent familiar with the rules? Does he or she have a favorite color group that may affect how they negotiate? Does your opponent consider you a worthy adversary who needs to be taken seriously? Is there anything in your opponent's psychological makeup that makes them more or less likely to make a deal with you? What behavior can you adopt that will enhance the likelihood you can reach a deal? Skills that are important in, say, poker, such as bluffing or reading one's opponent, while challenging, because communication is not nearly as rich and complex as in Monopoly™, are actually much simpler than the more universal skills that may be useful in Monopoly™.
