Recent Comments
Jason Erdmann on 7-Roll Monopoly Game! Truly th… krusta80 on 7-Roll Monopoly Game! Truly th… Jason Erdmann on 7-Roll Monopoly Game! Truly th… krusta80 on Let’s Work Together!… Lord of Galaxy on Let’s Work Together!…
Author Archives: krusta80
Let’s Work Together! :)
So after months and months of putting off development work on my Monopoly Simulator (what can I say…board games just don’t pay the bills), I finally have some extra time on my hands to make significant changes! In fact, I have already … Continue reading
Trading: Assessing Your Position
Some board games — like chess or checkers — have an easily defined game state despite their complex nature. If you need to save the game for another time, you simply remember or write down whose turn it is as … Continue reading
Trading: Applying Game Theory to Monopoly
“Well well well…that’s the last property available for purchase, and I do believe that I will be purchasing it!” My brother looks over at me with a menacing smile, knowing all too well that I was dying to get my … Continue reading
Don’t Touch That Token!!
Most Monopoly players identify with a particular token more than the others: the car, the dog, the ship…the cat (seriously, wtf?! lol). But whatever your favorite piece may be, this post is geared toward helping you move it WITHOUT having … Continue reading
Monopoly Quiz of the Week
Here’s the scenario: You are playing against two opponents and have all properties split up among the three of you, but none of you have a complete color group / monopoly and must therefore trade. You each have about … Continue reading
Posted in Quizzes and Challenges
Tagged Monopoly, monopoly quiz, monopoly test, monopoly tournament, Monopoly trading
19 Comments
Monopoly Simulator Updated!
** Update – As of 11/3/12, the simulator will now validate all entered position information, in an effort to avoid invalid or corrupted sample games / win percentages. Well, it’s taken a bit longer to post an update than I … Continue reading
Monopoly Simulator Online!
After several weeks of Java, Javascript, and PHP coding, I am proud to present the beta release of the Monopoly Nerd’s online simulator! Here is a brief video tutorial on how to use the tool. Keep in mind that it … Continue reading
Do You Know the REAL Rules of Monopoly?
I thought that I would make today’s post a little more interactive than usual, so I encourage all of you to make your comments below. They may not show up right away, but I will do my best to approve … Continue reading
It’s NOT Just a Game of Luck!
This photo highlights the importance of board position when making a critical trade. Using my recently-completed Monopoly simulator, I’ve been able to precisely quantify the jump in win% when owning the light blues (versus oranges) and building when your opponent is on Mediterranean (the WORST place for him/her to roll from) versus Connecticut (the BEST place).
The numbers along the bottom represent how much cash each player has before building, and the assumption is that both players build as aggressively as possible at the end of each of their turns…until one of them goes bankrupt.
All other property is mortgaged, to eliminate unwanted noise or variance.
My favorite is when starting with $1000 each. As the person ending up with the light blues, your probability of winning jumps from a miserable 32.51% to a favorable 57.7% just by timing it when your opponent is in solid striking distance!
The Railroad Shuffle
**Note: This post assumes that the reader has a decent amount of Monopoly experience and fully understands the ideas behind mortgaging and unmortgaging. For those of us who have been there before, it’s one of the trickiest late-game decisions to … Continue reading
Posted in Advanced Monopoly Strategies, Short-Term Tactics
Tagged B&O Railroad, expected value in monopoly, monopoly railroad, monopoly railroads, monopoly strategy, monopoly tactics, mortgage monopoly, mortgaging monopoly, Pennsylvania Railroad, probability monopoly, reading railroad, Short Line Railroad, unmortgage monopoly, unmortgaging monopoly
1 Comment
The Importance of Going First in Monopoly
My God, has it really been over two years since my last post?!! The past two years flew by faster than a top hot getting back-to-back “Advance to Go” cards. For anyone reading this post, thanks for stopping by. While … Continue reading
7-Roll Monopoly Game! Truly the shortest possible!!
Well, I’ve come up with what I believe can be logically proven (SEE THE LINK TO MY PROOF ABOVE) as the theoretically shortest possible (in terms of total number of rolls) game of Monopoly (assuming no trading, quitting, or cheating … Continue reading
Virginia for the Win
Well after a little more thought, I came up with another 8-roll, 2-move solution to the fastest theoretical Monopoly game: Player 1, Move 1: Rolls 1,1 -> Bank Error in Your Favor +200 (1700) Rolls 6,6 -> Buy Virginia (1540) … Continue reading
Posted in Statistics and Analysis
Leave a comment
Fastest Theoretical Game!
Welcome to the Monopoly Nerd’s Blog! This blog has been inspired by another blog post I came across claiming to have found the fastest theoretical game of Monopoly (assuming that the dice fall just right and that there are no crazy auctions … Continue reading
The Monopoly Nerd's Blog! 