The right way to play Monopoly

If there were ever a good time to learn …

Is there a right way to play Monopoly?

Brian Valentine takes a stab at the answer. He was the United States representative to the 2015 World Monopoly championships, where he earned a third-place finish. As the above video shows, playing Monopoly right involves learning the rules all over again, processing key strategies, and, above all, valuing the people you play it with.

Valentine shares his knowledge about probability heat maps that show the likelihood of landing on a certain space, nuances of gameplay around houses and hotels, and even a few tips on making games fun instead of rancorous.

Watch the above video to learn more. You can find this video and all of Vox’s Almanac series on YouTube.

Further reading

• There are tons of articles that break down the math of Monopoly. While it’s not the only ingredient to playing Monopoly right, it’s an important one. This Business Insider article by Walt Hickey is a great primer, and this Thrillist article by Daisy Barringer gives you even more tips.
• If you really want to go deep on Monopoly championships, check out the Fandom history, including Valentine’s appearance in 2015.
• Most top Monopoly players follow in the footsteps of Philip Orbanes, who’s written a few Monopoly books, including this guide. His general board game history book, The Game Makers, is a fun read (but not really about gameplay strategy).

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