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Len Penzo dot Com

The offbeat personal finance blog for responsible people.

100 Words On: Why the Most Valuable Monopoly Property Isn’t Boardwalk

By Len Penzo

When playing Monopoly, the conventional wisdom is that the best property to own is Boardwalk because it commands the highest rent. However, savvy players know the most valuable property is actually Illinois Avenue. How can that be? Well, one of the biggest reasons is that Illinois Avenue’s board position — two “seven” rolls from Jail — gives it the distinction of being the game’s most-landed on property; Boardwalk is ranked fourteenth.

The bottom line: When buying real estate, the three most important factors are always location, location and location — regardless of whether you’re paying for it with Monopoly money or real cash.

Photo Credit: Mark Strozier

August 18, 2022

Comments

  1. 1

    Becky says

    My favorite properties have always been the light blue squares. Oriental, Connecticut and the last one escapes me at the moment. It doesn’t cost a lot to put 4 houses and a hotel on them so the return on your investment is good and they seem to catch their fair share of players.

    • 2

      Len Penzo says

      Vermont is the other property, Becky. As for me, I’ve always preferred the Orange properties: Tennessee Ave, New York Ave and St. James Place. Don’t ask me why. (Because I can’t really say.)

  2. 3

    Auntjenny7 says

    It’s the orange properties that are most landed on. I didn’t believe it at first, but then I Googled it and it’s due to the Chance and/or Community Chest cards: 1. Go to Jail, 2. Advance to St. Charles Place, 3. Advance to Reading Railroad, and 4. Go Back Three Spaces. You have to pass by those oranges a lot.

    I still like Boardwalk and Park Place though, you’ll at least come in second if you get those!

    • 4

      Len Penzo says

      Well, Aunt Jenny, the website I linked to was from a nerd who ran detailed probability analyses (you can see his results there) that show it’s indeed Illinois Avenue — not those Orange properties. The official Monopoly FAQ agrees with those results too! 🙂

  3. 5

    tracee says

    I don’t know what color they are…maybe orange…but I always liked the row between jail and the money stash!!!!

    • 6

      Len Penzo says

      Great minds think alike, tracee.

  4. 7

    Angie says

    And there’s a card that sends you to Illinois Ave!

    We’re board game geeks around here, and my husband and I have already sussed all this out 😀

    • 8

      Len Penzo says

      You bet there is, Angie. One more reason to go for Illinois Ave!

  5. 9

    Barb Friedberg says

    Frankly, I’d go for any of the cheaper properties, so you can get a monopoly fast, build, and wipe out your opponents. Of course, that’s just my humble strategy!!

  6. 10

    Buck says

    Great advice for real estate investors and cool tie in with Monopoly. Park Place and Boardwalk, you feel like a high roller, but in real life, the quicker you get your monopoly going, that’s when the money starts rolling in!

  7. 11

    Doable Finance says

    I sit with my kids to teach me Monopoly. It’s so confusing but when they play it among themselves it’s very interesting even if I don’t understand it completely.

  8. 12

    Money Beagle says

    It’s been awhile since I played but I would always try to target the orange properties, the light blue properties, and then the railroads.

  9. 13

    Rick says

    Have you ever played Monopoly where a fight at the end hasn’t happened? Monopoly is a cool game, but it usually ends in hurt feelings and someone walking away mad. And of course the occasional board flipped upside down with cards, money, hotels and houses flying all over the place. I wish someone would come up with a set of rules and game playing that it would make it fun for everyone until the end.

  10. 14

    bill says

    Recently, I watched an interview with Robert Kiyosaki. He said his dad was a teacher, and admitted that schools teach you nothing about money. His dad told him to ask his best friend’s dad who was an entrepreneur.

    The man made him play Monopoly over and over again. He explained that he was teaching Mr. Kiyosaki about money. Four houses get you a hotel. A hotel brings in a bigger return on investment. Mr. Kiyosaki owned over 7000 houses.

    I always liked the orange and yellow properties. I think it might be because I like those two citrus flavors. (I hate the game Monopoly.).

    • 15

      Len Penzo says

      My dad loved the yellow properties too, Bill. Marvin Gardens was his favorite. Not sure why though.

Trackbacks

  1. Black Coffee: The Ongoing 'Battle' Between Bitcoin & Precious Metals - Len Penzo dot Com says:
    October 21, 2017 at 3:15 am

    […] reading my article explaining why Boardwalk is not the most valuable property in Monopoly, Rick asked this […]

  2. Black Coffee: The Ongoing ‘Battle’ Between Bitcoin & Precious Metals – Len Penzo dot Com says:
    November 23, 2018 at 4:33 pm

    […] reading my article explaining why Boardwalk is not the most valuable property in Monopoly, Rick asked this […]

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