Monopoly: The Game

The board game monopoly has been around for nearly a hundred years and holds the title as the most popular board game in existence. On the surface, it seems as a fun way to spend time with friends and family; however, its relations with economics are numerous if one looks closer.

The initial intent of the game, devised by Lizzie Magie in 1903, was directly related to economics. Her idea, as the name suggests, is that monopolies are not meant to be enjoyable or beneficial in both the game and in real life. Instead, people and the economy flourish when money is being spent, not being hoarded by monopolies. As people get more and more properties, other people are forced to spend more and more money just to remain in the game.

The game overall bears many similarities to a real estate market in life. For example, it is important for players to buy numerous properties, but also to make smart choices when buying these properties. This involves weighing the costs to the potential benefits before buying anything. Furthermore, an important aspect is to diversify in order to reduce risk. In monopoly, this means buying multiple different types of properties so you have a better chance of winning. In real life, this is just important when planning to invest. If all of your money goes into one companies stock and that company goes bankrupt, you will have lost all of your money as well. This can be used to go beyond just diversifying stock; one can invest in multiple industries such as real estate and tech stocks.

Additionally, the game provides a player relationship with the bank that is similar in many ways to that of a real bank; one can create loans with terms, buy from the bank, get money from the bank, and also give money to the bank. Overall, the game Monopoly gives players a look at the economics of the real world.


https://inomics.com/economic-board-games-monopoly-and-real-life-economics

https://www.rte.ie/lifestyle/living/2019/0404/1040674-what-monopoly-can-teach-us-about-learning-and-earning-money/

Comments

  1. AnonymousApril 9, 2019 at 1:17 PM

    Great post! I find it funny that many people overlook the correlation this game has with economics despite literally being called "Monopoly." I think it's also interesting to look at other games that incorporate such ideas. The game that comes to mind for me is Life because it involves the costs of taking risks and the economic choices made over the course of life. Like Monopoly, it allows consumers to look at these economics from a more holistic standpoint and can be used both for entertainment and learning.

    https://www.thesprucecrafts.com/top-economic-games-412667

    ReplyDelete
  2. AnonymousApril 10, 2019 at 5:40 PM

    Interesting post, Alan! I used to play Monopoly a lot when I was young, and I knew that some aspects of the game (like buying/selling properties, investing) had to do with economic strategies and properties. While I didn't fully understand enough economics to be able to properly analyze the costs and benefits of buying each new property in the game, I knew enough that I shouldn't buy a property that would require more cost upfront than money I could earn back. The key finance lessons Monopoly has to teach us are the importance of cash flow (ie. having a continuous income from other players landing on your properties) and not spreading yourself too thin (by buying too many properties and not properly investing in one)

    Source: https://www.investopedia.com/articles/basics/12/lessons-monopoly-teaches.asp

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  3. AnonymousApril 14, 2019 at 7:12 PM

    Nice post. When I was younger and playing monopoly, I had never payed attention on how it ties back to real world economics. Now that I see it though, the game really focuses on the real world estate market. What I find interesting about the game though it that it reflects on real world factors when dealing with the money and property such as negotiations, emotion, bad purchases, and regretting not buying something, just like real word economics.

    https://www.investopedia.com/articles/basics/12/lessons-monopoly-teaches.asp

    ReplyDelete

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