The financial expert has top tips for board game success
Martin Lewis has shared a “powerhouse move” that almost guarantees success in Monopoly. It comes as millions of families might break out the classic board game during Christmas as they spend more time together.
Many players fail to see the real strategy in the classic property-based game that has been played in the UK since the 1930s. Some may chase the pricey streets of Mayfair and Park Lane or attempt to expand their empire and buy everything in sight, but having a few clever tactics up your sleeve can almost guarantee victory.
In a recent reshare of his ITV festive special, How to Win at Board Games, Martin explained the financial “powerhouse move” behind his building strategy to maximise his money. He said: “When you buy one house, on average, across all properties, the return on investment is 26%.
“With two houses, the return on investment is 56%, but with three houses, it’s 110% – a massive jump. After that, the incremental gain isn’t as good, so my strategy is to push up to three, then develop other properties to three [houses].”
Applying his own financial expertise to this game makes Martin a formidable opponent. But, there’s another method that could help increase your chances of always winning and becoming the Christmas Day champion.
Make this property set your top priority
Other specialists claim that there’s one set of properties that people should always aim to snap up as soon as possible for success towards the end of the game. Thankfully, it’s not the really expensive ones.
Monopoly champions claim that the fourth block of real estate for sale is usually the most important. Snapping up the entire block of orange properties is the start of this incredibly ruthless strategy.
Board game specialists claim that, statistically, the orange zone is landed on more than any other colour group. This is because it sits roughly seven spaces from Jail – one of the most frequently visited squares in the game.
Rolling a seven with the pair of standard six-sided dice provided in Monopoly sets is one of the most common outcomes, according to Quora. Stack this prime real estate with Martin’s three-house rule, and its high footfall means players create one of the best investments across the game board.
This orange set ‘rule’ applies to the standard UK version of Monopoly, but also works for the US version as well, where properties are named differently but priced and located on the same strip. People may find property prices vary in themed versions of the game, but the positioning should be the same.