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Monopoly is a game of real estate that was invented early in the 20th century. Since then it has become a classic and very well known game. Playing this game actually takes a significant amount of mental effort and organizational ability because the money has to be counted, mortgage expenses have to be calculated, property has to be distributed and the exchange of money between players is quite frequent.

Monopoly Game Components:

The game of Monopoly consists of several parts and pieces including the dice, houses, hotels, player pieces, chance and community chest cards, various denominations of monopoly money, the property board and the real estate cards. Deluxe versions of the game may include a card organizer, money draw and wood casing.

Different Versions of the Game:

There are many versions of this game including but not limited to the classic American and British versions, the Lord of the Rings version. Family guy monopoly, dog and cat lovers monopoly etc.

The American version of Monopoly is named after the street names in Atlantic city. When I was in Atlantic City several years ago I found myself discovering this as I saw the streets pass my eyes, it was quite a marvel to discover this first hand.

Monopoly Strategy:

To win the game of Monopoly one must earn as much money as possible through the acquisition of sets of property upon which one may build and develop housing and hotels. The more houses and hotels the card holder has the greater the chance of earning more money from rent when other players land on those board spaces.

Clearly, a good strategy is to obtain as many high class property sets as possible without bankrupting oneself in the process as this can assist in what some might call gouging opponents for all they're worth.

If one finds oneself playing a competitive game with much developed property another strategy may prove useful. Specifically, landing in jail and staying in jail for as long as possible i.e. 3 turns after one's houses and hotels are built allows one to receive rent money without risking paying rent to other property owners for the turns spent in jail.

Informal strategies may also include trading of property cards with other players for acquisition of sets. This strategy may work better with 3 or more players as can assist in consolidating an otherwise sparse distribution of cards.

Obtaining mortgages on redundant or low income earning property cards can assist the player in financing housing development on more potentially fruitful sets of cards thereby allowing one to hopefully pay off the mortgages and develop more houses and/or hotels with the rent money generated from the property card sets.

Advantages and Disadvantages of Monopoly:

Monopoly is a grand game to develop a sense of money, capitalism and organization. Keeping within a budget, avoiding jail early in the game and calculating how and which property to acquire is another interesting dynamic of the game.

Playing monopoly takes effort especially if one finds oneself losing to another player who has successfully obtained a monopoly of property. Morale can wane when other players reap consistent benefits when others struggle to stay in the game.

All in all monopoly is a good game and I would recommend it for children and parents of children seeking to instill a sense of greed and capitalism in their young one's. While these values may not be the most modest goals for a child, it is still just a board game and can be somewhat educational. A parent may want to add comments and advice when children play the game so they can make the connection between the real world and the game.

Sources:

http://www.boardg ames.com/monopolygames1.html
ht tp://inventors.about.com/libra ry/inventors/bllandlordgame.ht m

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